The .41 Action Express (41 AE) was designed by Evan Whildin, vice president of Action Arms, in 1986.[3] It was based on the .41 Magnum case, cut down to fit in a 9 mm frame, and using a rebated rim. The .41 AE is a very attractive cartridge in many ways, as the rebated rim allows a simple barrel and magazine change to allow many 9 mm guns to be converted to .41 AE.

The powerful 10 mm Auto cartridge, which had been suffering from poor acceptance from its start in the early 1980s, was eventually accepted by the FBI in a reduced power, subsonic loading. Smith & Wesson then decided that the 10 mm Auto was too much cartridge for the reduced power loading, and that the .45 ACP sized guns that chambered it were too heavy and bulky; out of this came the .40 S&W, a shortened 10 mm Auto case, designed to fit in a 9 mm sized gun, with a reduced pressure loading that allowed a lighter, easier to shoot gun. Because most ammunition manufacturers backed the very similar .40 S&W, there was little use for the .41 AE and production of both firearms and the ammunition itself was soon phased out.