As we entered the last decade of the 20th Century, handguns were developing at breakneck speed. Cartridge development was hot, particularly for semi-automatic pistols. One branch of interest was a workable mid-bore round for the magazine-fed autos—a cartridge that bridged the gap between the 9 mm and the .45 ACP. Eventually, a joint Winchester/Smith & Wesson effort won the day over the closest contender—the 10mm Auto. But for a year or two, there was another round out there that was mighty interesting. Called the .41 Action Express or .41 AE, it was developed in the devious mind of one Evan Whildin, Vietnam Marine and head of Action Arms of Philadelphia. Based on a shortened .41 Magnum case with its head rebated back to the dimensions of the 9 mm, the .41 AE worked well in suitably rebarreled 9 mm pistols. Bullets up to 210 grains in .41 Mag. could be used, and powder capacity of the cartridge allowed velocities around 900 f.p.s. Some ammunition was made by IMI in Israel, and a few pistols were sold that worked with it. In the end, the ingenious cartridge lost out to the heavily promoted .40 S&W.
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