Anyone have personal experience with them?

I used to shoot borrowed 41s in bullseye comps when I was younger.  I still want one today, 25 years later, but haven't done it yet.  They are really a fantastic piece of workmanship.  If you appreciate a nice gun, they are a nice gun.

Great pistols, and worth every penny.

They are a classier but less reliable competitor to modern target pistols like Volquartsens.

If you just like nice things, go for it. People love them for a reason.

But if you want to run up a high round count with a variety of ammo? Volquartsen.

New production are pretty well made guns, but if you want one, try to find a older model.  They are incredibly well built target pistols.

So target!

Much pistol!

Beautifully made, as in hand-fit.  A friend has one, I've shot it.  It has the 7" (?) barrel and all the barrel weights & accessories in the factory box.  If you can get it reasonably, do so.  I have no idea what they're worth.

Ran across one for $200 used back in 1980.  Knew nothing about it but bought it immediately.  Forty years of flawless perfection.

I had one of the longer barrel versions

Beautiful handguns. I'd never have parted with it through choice.
Never missed a beat or misfired or failed to feed or eject.
More accurate than I was...but I was getting better

It was seen as the club gun to have for target shooters

I've owned one for over 20 years, everyone I let shoot it at the range falls in love with it

I bought one last year.....Righteous.

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I found a few more mags for it too.

I really can't say that it's anymore accurate than my High Standard Supermatic Tournament 107 Military but try finding one of those these days.

My LGS has a 41 for sale right now. I think it's in the 1K neighborhood.

They're expensive and they're excellent bullseye pistols.

I have one that's probably from the 50's.

If you're just looking for a fun accurate general purpose pistol, a Ruger MK III Hunter with a Volquartsen trigger package is what I shoot most often.

First hand gun I ever shot. My grandfather's friend had one. He took it on a fishing trip we took and let me shoot it at tin cans. I bought one years ago and take it to the range nearly every time I go. It "likes" standard velocity ammo. One thing I like to do is shoot a .357 mag and follow up with the 41. The minimal recoil all but disappears.

Probably traded a bag of flea market tube socks and a pile of used nails for it too.

Very nice pistol. I have had one for many years and it is by far my most accurate .22 pistol.

The one I had was only good for 35 - 40 rounds before it became a jamomatic. I had a bent .243 brush that I kept handy to clean the chamber.

Got on with the long and short heavy barrel.
Only problem I ever had is it will not eject a unfired round.
Changed extractor, extractor spring, cleaned chamber, looked for any defect in chamber.
It is like shooting a laser beam, see target hit target.

Fondled a Connecticut High Standard today...  But can not say it gave me a better erection than my S&W 41.

Awesome and a classic American target pistol, I shot one for a few seasons of bullseye before I went to a Walther GSP and later Hammerli 208. Nothing wrong with the 41 and they are still competitive in local league and even state level depending how good of shooters are in your area. Quite a few old timers still shoot them around these parts and do great with them, though custom Buckmarks and Rugers are becoming popular as they take optics more easily as old eyes fade. Model 41s can require some fine tuning, but they are performance guns and have tight tolerances.

S&W 41s are elegant and accurate guns that are reminiscent of a different time in this country, I recommend picking one up if you have the opportunity!

My wife and I shot Bullseye with my 41 back in the '90's. Short heavy barrel with the adjustable palm rest grips topped with an Aimpoint. Extremely accurate, awesome trigger, not 100%reliable, but not too bad. It would put 10 rounds of Eley Match in the same hole from a rest at 50'. Wouldn't mind having that back (or the Series '70 NM .45 or the NM .38 Special).

It was an "Expensive Day" at the used gun counter.

A 1943 Remington Rand 1911 (Gritty GI Trigger )

An S&W Model 41 ( Candy Cane Trigger )

That was over 20 years ago, and I would do it again.

It’s the greatest American target pistol of all time.  Anyone who disagrees is wrong.

Wanted one for a long time. Settled for this:

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My grandfather bought a first year model. Gave it to a family friend as a wedding gift in the 70’s. He gave it to me for my wedding.

Super sweet gun. High bright finish.

ETA doubly sweet since i received another gift from another good friend one of the first Ray Vin bully barrels that was game used for a few seasons by Jessie Abbate (her name changes often but she is a champ pistol shooter).

I like the older ones. Seems the blueing is better.
A - prefix serial number and loaded chamber indicator era.
I havent handled any new ones but in the pictures they look "different".

Nope.

High Standard wins all the old school cool metrics with a history that includes the Olympics and service in the OSS and CIA. Plus they made some seriously nice guns.

As far as pure function in the modern day goes, Volquartsen gets the win there.

Yep, you are one of the wrong guys I mentioned previously.  

My wife gave me a nice old 41 for Christmas a few years ago.
If I miss with it shooting CCI SV, I did something wrong.
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That's the very first group I shot with it that Christmas morning at 25 yrds.

I have owned a few over the years and currently have a performance center 41 that shoots like a laser.
Some prefer the older guns but I just like any of them that shoot well.

Barrels are interchangeable and the newer ones are drilled and tapped for red dot or optics. The PC gun has a milled top for direct mounting and tall . removable front sight.

There are some guys who like the old high standards , some fancy European model or a tricked out vorquarston better but most of those guns are hard to find ,more expensive or hit and miss.

Get yourself a new 41 or a used one that is in decent shape and you are pretty much good to go. It's a no excuse gun. Load it up with simple CCI STD and if you are not  tearing the heck out of the target be sure that it is you.

I like the idea that the gun shoots so much better than I am capable . When I take the time to practice a bit not only does my 22 scores improve but the good habits I learn carry over to all my other handgun shooting .

Not a cheap gun but a pretty solid value.

Back quite some years ago I went into a local gun shop and the guy pulled one out that had hardly been fired and asked if I was interested . At the time new ones were about $850 so I told him I didn't think I could afford it . He claimed he had bought a estate because he wanted some other guns but had to buy the 41 to get them. He said most of his customers didn't know what a S&W 41 was and offered it to me for $550 . I was a bit stunned and just stood there without saying anything for a bit .He said ."Ok $475 out the door" At the time I believe CT sales tax was 8% so it was a great deal. When I got it home and pulled it apart it really looked like it might not have been fired except for test fireing by S&W .
To be honest I don't remember what length barrel it came with but several years later I came across another barrel so I have both the longer and the shorter barrel.

I do most of my shooting now with a red dot and it seems to me the longer barrel with a bit of nose heaviness is easier to hols steady .

I own quite a few handguns and a dozen or so are 22's (more than I need but less than I want) but the 41 seems like something every serious gun guy should own

My Hamden Supermatic Citation has been absolutely reliable, and never given me a bit of trouble.
My M41 on the other hand, is a finicky pistol that only is reliable with CCI SV ammo.

I love them both, but my VQ Ruger gets shot way more.

I owned one in 22 short , it was a finely accurate pistol

I will probably be back by that gun store next week.  1k 22's don't always fly off the shelf - it might grow on me over the weekend.  I wanted that damn gun for a long time - but I just don't want to part with that money right now.

I started with one and shot in the 880s with it. I documented round counts back then and put 54,000 rounds through it before I switched to a .22 conversion on a 1911. I broke a trigger bar at around 35,000, but otherwise it was fine.

The new ones are mostly okay—the Mainers that make them are fiercely proud of having that production line and do a good job.

Like Hammerlis, they hide their round counts well. Some of the old ones are so shot out, they need their barrels relined. You can estimate round counts by how battered the barrel face is from the steel insert in the slide (over the firing pin hole).

Old or new, a few of them are complete dogs and never seem to run reliably despite very competent Bullseye smiths trying to fix them. I don’t know why that is, but you see it every once in a while on the firing line.

What kind of groups should one expect from one?

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