The .41 Rimfire is in the family of firearm cartridges which were chambered in

derringer A derringer or deringer is a small handgun that is neither a revolver, semi-automatic pistol, nor machine pistol. It is not to be confused with mini-revolvers or pocket pistols, although some later derringers were manufactured with the pepp ...

s and

revolver A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...

s in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The .41 Rimfire family was first introduced by the

National Arms Company The National Arms Company was a Brooklyn, New York–based manufacturer of firearms that flourished for a decade in the mid-19th century, around the time of the American Civil War. Among the weapons it manufactured were a derringer that fired the ...

in 1863 as the .41 Short, chambered in their derringer. In 1873 the slightly more powerful .41 Long was introduced in the Colt New Line pocket revolver.

References

Pistol and rifle cartridges Cartridge families Rimfire cartridges {{ammo-stub