.41 Rimfire Cartridge
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The .41 Rimfire Cartridge was first introduced by the National Arms Company in 1863 and was also known as the .41 Short and the .41-100. (In most designations like this, the second number refers to the black powder load, though in this case, it is unlikely that it means 100 grains of black powder). According to "Cartridges of the World," the .41 Rimfire consisted of a 130 grain (8.4 g) lead bullet propelled by 13 grains (0.8 g) of black powder in its original load. The round produced a muzzle velocity of 425 feet per second and muzzle energy of 52 ft·lbf.
The original load of was very weak. The .44-40 cartridge, a very popular round ocontemporarnous with the .41 Rimfire, consisted of a bullet of approximately 200 grains with a muzzle velocity of around 1,100 ft/s and muzzle energy of around 550 ft·lbf. (In contrast, the modern .380 ACP round, with a muzzle velocity of about 1,000 ft/s and muzzle energy of 180 ft·lbf., arguably is considered the minimum cartridge adequate for self defense.) "Cartridges of the World" states that when fired at a hard object such as a tree from a distance of 15 yards or more, the bullet often bounces off. Since humans are not hard objects, a .41 Rimfire derringer probably would send an emphatic message at poker table range, but it would not be the best defensive weapon to be armed with.
The .41 Rimfire Cartridge actually was created with the intention that it be used in a small, single-shot derringer, which likely is the reason for the very low ballistics (most derringers were and are chambered for cartridges that were not originally intended to be used in such a small weapon). Remington Arms began producing their famous over/under double barrel derringer chambered for the .41 Rimfire Cartridge in 1866. The popular Remington .41, in the public mind, arguably is the classic derrringer.
A National Arms .41 Rimfire derringer was recovered from the battlefield of the Battle of Little Bighorn. Estate records reveal that it belonged to Lieutenant George Armstrong Custer, the commander of the soldiers slain in the battle.
