Model 41 reliability vs. Ammo Selection

Hello all. New guy here. A service rifle shooter making the jump to pistol to chase the Dist Pistol Shot/Double Dist. I picked up a M41 for the .22 cal portion of the matches.  During the ammo shortages, I was able to stock up on about 1500 rounds of Federal AutoMatch 22LR. They are 325 round bulk pack boxes. White box with the image of a target on them. The boxes are labeled all over with phrases like "Ideal for Semi-Autos" and "Optimized for Semi-Automatic Firearms." Despite the claims, I cannot make it through a 5 shot timed/rapid string without a failure. I've gone through one box so far. I get at least 1 failure to eject or stovepipe on every magazine. The failures happen with both of my 2 mags and show no consistency as to which round in the mag has the problem. I was thinking about experimenting with different weight recoil springs but as I read through he forum I see a trend in recommended ammo: CCI Standard Velocity. 

Which should I start with? CCI SV ammo or different recoil springs? Or maybe a different approach? Thank you in advance for your insights.

I had to replace and tune an extractor, and find an appropriate weighted recoil spring to work with my preferred ammunition (Wolf Match Target). 

I doubt it's a mag issue. 41's are finicky little suckers but once I got it right it runs great. It shoots CCI Standard Velocity good too. But Wolf grouped better for me. Lighter recoil too. I think it just barely falls under the sub sonic velocity rating. Not sure though. 

I say try springs first. And a good trick some guys use is a drop of oil on the top cartridge in the mag before inserting the mag into the gun. Good luck!

I've only had my 41 for less than a year, it's a mid 80'sl . I've had zero issues with CCI SV, Eley Club, or Federal Auto Match. 6.5 lbWolff recoil spring and the plastic buffer. Probably 3-4 thousand rounds

the volquartsen extractor worked wonders for my 41..

the Federal AutoMatch is a bit hot for the 41 IMHO.. CCI std or SK standard plus run well in mine. 1070-1080 FPS verses 1200 for the Federal.

try a standard velocity ammo with your standard recoil spring

I use Aguila Super Extra. It works flawlessly. I can also use CCI Std or Remington Std (which I've not seen in years). The Aguila groups the best out of the bunch in mine. It will not function with Federal anything. I use a buffer too. Not sure about the springs as it was my grandfather's and I'm hesitant to mess with it.

I second the Volquartsen extractor,and a 6lbs spring as recommended by well known 41 smith. 
Problems ended. I shoot SK,Wolf. Some CCI SV only because I have some for practice.
Mart

Slick it up with some teflon lubes for less friction?  Dont forget the magazines.

Thank you all for the info.  I put the Volquartsen extractor and Wolff recoil springs on order.  We'll see how that works.  I'll try the other ammo types after I work through this stash of ammo I have.

I was told by S&W that the 41 is designed for CCI standard velocity.  We use them as Steel challenge guns.  I have one that has about 60k rounds through it and maybe sees 1/1000 malfunctions.  Didn't need tweeking of the gun or mags; I am running an EWK barrel.  You do have to keep the magazines clean.  I just brush the wax out of the front every session and take them apart completely every 4-500 rounds.

I have only been shooting CCI Standard recently, but have also had good results with Norma Match.

S&W designed the M41 chamber for CCI Std Vel and this is what you see most bullseye shooters using.  I have tested my M41 with CCI Std Vel as well as many of the Eley products.  I found the CCI to group well enough to easily shoot 10's at 50 yards, but the Eley Target groups in the X-ring.  I've only found a few brands that had ejection problems, assuming the extractor is working properly.  I would shoot CCI Std Vel until you have a problem with extraction.  KC Crawford is probably the most knowledgeable gunsmith for an M41.

If there is  one thing for sure, .22 cartridges, and chambers are about any dimension that can be imagined..
Even under the guise of SAAMI they are not uniform.. I really do like the 41 pistol platform, but, S&W 41  barrels are a joke... The chambers are anything but  match quality..5 degree leades..TOO abrupt... .213/.214 bores..TOO tight...   The 41 barrel chambers I presently have measure approx. .930 deep.. I guess that should encompass just about any imaginable cartridge length one can come up with. Even the lowly Ruger has a better chamber depth at .680  High Standard has a .770 that slips into a 1-1/2 degree  leade.. Too deep, but the leade angle is far more acceptable..
The  CCI Green Tag case itself measures approx.  .607 very close to Eley...almost identical..
There's nothing specific to the CCI cartridge that makes it unique to the 41..

Seems like model 41's are all over the place function wise, mine from the early 70's shoots everything I have tried without so much as a hickup, other peoples have not had such luck.  I thought keeping them super clean was the trick but on a lark I stopped cleaning mine and so far after 500 rounds of cci sv I still have not had a single failure to feed or eject.  I suspect the recoil spring and extractor are often the culprits.  As Jerry (who knows a 1000 times what I do) said the chamber could be an issue as well.  Good luck with yours once you get it dialed in you will be happy with it.

good luck

Doing some reamer design this morning, and came across my old .22 data..
One vendor provided a list of 30 different reamers available for  the .22..
I also found my drawing on the comparison of Eley and CCI.. I had special reamers ground for each brand.. Many shooters in the past demanded CCI chambers, due to the cost of Eley... The two brands are not the same....

My stock 41 also has issues with the Fed automatch. Too bad, because I've got quite a bit purchased on clearance.

To follow up on my post...

Took my M41 to a local monthly 2700 with the Fed Automatch.  Suffered through slow fire, but no one was the wiser because, well, it was slow fire.  Problems became apparent to those around me in the timed and rapid portions of the NMC. One thing I love about this sport is how everyone is willing to help the person next to them on the line. A couple gentlemen took my gun, disassembled, cleaned, lubed (not that it needed to be cleaned and lubed, but they did it anyways), examined everything they could think of but to no avail. After another alibi in the first string of the TF match the shooter next to me graciously gifted me a box of CCI SV.  I fired the last string of TF and both RF strings without any further issues.  I picked up a small stock of CCI SV and shot another 900 match with it since then. She hasn't had the slightest hickup since switching ammo.

I would think automatch is too fast for a stock 41.. 1200 FPS verses 1070 for the CCI