In 1963,
Elmer Keith and
Bill Jordan, with some help from
Skeeter Skelton, petitioned
Smith & Wesson, Remington, and
Norma to produce a
pistol and
ammunition in .41 caliber which would fall between the extant
.357 Magnum and
.44 Magnum cartridges in
ballistic performance, and at the same time address perceived shortcomings with those loads. While as early as 1955 Keith had suggested a new, medium-powered "
.41 Special" cartridge, this idea was passed over in favor of the higher-powered "Magnum" option, and the Special survives only as a custom
wildcat cartridge, bearing roughly the same relation to the .41 Magnum as the
.38 Special does to the .357 Magnum and as the
.44 Special does to the .44 Magnum. The .357 Magnum suffered from restricted
terminal ballistic effectiveness in the early 1960s, as
jacketed hollow point bullets were not yet commonly available, and the
manufacturers' standard loadings consisted of simple
lead bullets. The powerful .44 Magnum, primarily a heavy hunting round, was considered overkill for
police use, generating too much
recoil for control under rapid fire. In addition, the revolvers chambered for the .44 Magnum were considered too large, bulky, and heavy for police to carry. Keith's original vision called for dual power levels in the .41, a heavy magnum load pushing a
JHP at a
muzzle velocity of , and a milder police loading which was to send a
semiwadcutter downrange at around . The
Model 58, targeted for the law enforcement
market, was introduced on July 10, 1964. Weighing , the Model 58 compared unfavorably with other revolvers available at the time, such as Smith's own
Model 10 in .38 Special. These combined factors mostly eliminated the .41 Magnum from consideration for its intended market as a law enforcement firearm, although it continued to be touted as such and was adopted by a few law enforcement agencies. == Market reception ==