I agree with you on the .41 Magnum--it could have been a great police round, and as you know of course, what the cops do, private citizens are sure to follow.  My only question is this--do you think the police would have accepted the large, N-frame revolver, en masse?

Both the Detroit and San Antonio PDs adopted the Model 58 .41 Magnum.  They both hung onto them for some time if my memory is working, which it often isn't.  Especially SAPD.  But of course in those days most police recruits were men, and not little guys 5'2" tall, either.  These days they want guns to fit women and small fellas.  But I'm comparing apples to oranges.  In those days the revolver was king of the roost, and it was just a matter of the medium-frame .38 vs the large frame .41, same gun that housed the .44 Magnum.  Those S&W "Magna" service grips were okay for shape, but they did nothing to attenuate recoil.  And of course with the N-frame it is length of pull that might have been an issue.  I never found the N-frame trigger reach a problem and I have medium-large hands--not huge.  The other complaint that was voiced at the time was that the .41 Magnum revolver was heavy.  Yeah, and when you're carrying all that other stuff it weighs you down, but it's part of the job, right?