Challenge: Convince me to buy a .327 Magnum?

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LordTio3

New member
Hey all,

Next one up for purchase is a Ruger SP101 with a 3" barrel
Image243.jpg

What a gun...

I always thought I'd get it in .357 magnum. It's a smaller gun, and I'd like to shoot .38 specials as I'm saving brass from my 637 and starting to look for dies for .38's. When I carried it, I'd carry the full house .357 loads.

Aaaanyway... I've done a little bit of research about the newer .327 federal magnum loading and found a few SP101's that are chambered for that caliber with a 6 shot cylinder instead of the standard 5 for .357 mag. A couple people I've talked to have been impressed by some of the data with the new cartridge, but no one I know has any actual experience with it.

So what's the verdict on the .327 Federal Magnum? Good enough for government work, or does it meet the hype? Would 6 .327's be at least equal to some of the 5 hotter .357 loads I could pump though some Ruger steel?

327_federal.jpg


What do you think?

~LT
 
B

Billy Shears

New member
A 6-shot snubby seems like a fine idea, especially with a cartridge that develops near 357 power, but where are you going to get ammo?

Places like MidwayUSA seem to always be completely out of stock of every single brand of 327 ammo. Worse, they're usually out of stock of 32 H&R Mag ammo as well. And even when you can find it it's expensive.

I've been looking around and it's really tough to even find reloading components for the .327 Fed Mag.

All in all, I'd pass. I love the SP-101, but I'd prefer one I could actually train with and become proficient at unless you're buying it just for a collection. And barring the sudden increase in the supply of affordable .327 ammo [not likely] that means sticking with 38 special and .357 magnum.

Just a thought.
 
C

carguychris

New member
Threedogdad,

.327Mag ammo seems fairly plentiful with local dealers in my area, probably because the new guns available for the cartridge haven't sold well. Yes, it's expensive, but so are many other less mainstream handgun cartridges.

Regarding handloading supplies, word on the street is that Federal has not offered any unloaded brass to anyone except Freedom Arms, which purchased several thousand rounds' worth. FA briefly offered it to the general public last year, but once word got around and people started buying it, FA tried to order more and discovered Federal wasn't going to give it to them. They promptly restricted sales to buyers of their guns to avoid exhausting their limited stockpile. :( Rumors continue to circulate that Starline is gearing up to produce it, but AFAIK the news remains just that, rumors. :rolleyes:

For now, the only way to get .327Mag brass is to buy it with the bullets, powder, and primer installed. ;)

FWIW you can still fire .32 S&W Long for cheap low-recoil practice, and it's widely available for $14-$20/50rds through mail order.
 
A

abber

New member
Sounds like fun to me

I saw a GP100 the other day, chambered for 7 rounds of .327 Mag. Got me a little excited. I'm thinking about going back to get it, because I can. I figure I can roll my own for that one, just like all the others. I haven't done any homework yet on the caliber, but I've been told by a coworker that there are numerous rounds this gun can digest, thereby making it even more intriguing.
 
L

lashlaroe

New member
LordTio3, here's your confirmation:

http://www.gunblast.com/Ruger-SP101-327.htm

This is a great review and will answer all your questions, I should think. The SP101 in .327 Mag will chamber and shoot .32 S&W, .32 S&W Long, and .32 H&R Mag. Confirmation is at the end of this comprehensive article.

I was able to find .327 ammo at the last local gun show, FWIW. This is one caliber I will definitely add to my collection some day in the future.
 
M

mes227

New member
Places like MidwayUSA seem to always be completely out of stock of every single brand of 327 ammo. Worse, they're usually out of stock of 32 H&R Mag ammo as well. And even when you can find it it's expensive.
Click to expand...

CheaperThanDirt.com seems to usually have it in stock at reasonable prices.
 
L

LordTio3

New member
No.
Click to expand...

ZING!!! Thanks for your contribution.

lashlaroe:
Thank you very much for that link. I haven't read a lot of gunblast in the past, but now I think I ought to.

.32S&W, .32S&WLong, .32H&R Magnum, and .32 Federal Magnum out of the same revolver? Sounds like versatility to me. And with good ballistic performance. I'm starting to like it more and more.

~LT
 
F

Fiv3

New member
I have a friend who loves his. I wouldn't turn one down, but I don't think I would buy one. I don't reload and having the extra shot isn't as important as ammo availability. Yes is can fire 327 mag, the .32 long and short as well as the .32 H&R mag, and that IS real versatility on quantity alone. However, I find that puts the .327 just a step ahead of an 1895 Nagant Revolver that can fire all of those except the .327 round. In short, it fires a lot of different types of fairly obscure ammo.

I find it rather sad that a caliber like the .327 that packs performance near .357 levels has faded into the background while .410 SD shot shells are all the rage. I have nothing against the Judge or people who buy them, but it's a dang shame that marketing has pushed a round that my grandfather used to hunt rabbits to the foreground while a real ballistic performer lingers fairly unavailable:( I feel that unless things really turn around, the .327 is doomed to go the way of .45 GAP. Probably always available but in a very small niche.
 
N

NightSleeper

New member
.32S&W, .32S&WLong, .32H&R Magnum, and .32 Federal Magnum out of the same revolver? Sounds like versatility to me. And with good ballistic performance. I'm starting to like it more and more.
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Me too.
 
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tjh

New member
Don't know why so many pople say they can't find 327 ammo . THERE SEEMS TO BE PLENTY OF IT IN SEVERAL GUNSHOPS AROUND HERE . As for being expensive it's not much more than I pay for 357mag ammo.
 
T

The Great Mahoo

New member
When I first started reading about the .327 when they were developing it, I was a bit excited. "A reliable revolver that can shoot 5 different cartridges? Sign me up!"

It took me about a year to track down one of the Sp101s when they were first released, but now they are readily available, as well as offerings from other manufacturers. And Ruger now offers a 7-shot Gp100 as well as an 8-shot Blackhawk, allowing for some larger capacity if that's up your alley.

Upon getting my Sp101, I quickly fell in love with it. I'm not going to lie though, that usually happens with any gun I just bought. However the 101 has managed to keep the title of my favorite handgun in my collection despite a few more additions coming hence. It handles fantastically well, is of decent size to carry all day, and is as reliable as one can find in a handgun. And since the 101 has been around for a good while in .357 and .32 Mag, there is enough after-market support to find replacement springs as well as loaders and holsters, so no need to worry about having too much of a specialty gun that you can't get accessories for. Personally, I have replaced some custom wood grips and a Meprolight night sight since it is my carry gun of choice.


As for the ballistics, I'm not going to get too far in depth in that, since anyone can look those up. I'll just suffice to say that they are quite adequate for defensive puroposes, and offer that additional round over comparable guns in 38/357.

Recoil and report of the gun isn't terrible, but its not as meager as some might expect. This cartridge still barks loud and spits some fire, but not as bad as a .357.

As for ammo availability, this has been one drawback in my area. One of the local gunshops always has boxes of 20 defensive loads in, another boxes of 50 more general loads. Neither ever has both types, but atleast something is generally available. Price is a bit expensive, coming in at about $28 per 50 of standard loads, but not outrageous for a non-mainstream cartridge. Defensive stuff is expectedly more expensive.
While I don't as of yet have the dyes for my reloader, nor the time to do it, I have quickly amassed a pile of one-fired brass for when I do manage to get to reloading, which will drop the price considerably.


All in all, I find the new .327 to be a fantastic round. Its fast, and flat-shooting, making it great for target practice, and not overly punishing for long sessions. Yet, it still manages to inflict plenty of energy into a target (at least that of a 9mm), making it a reliable defensive cartridge . I just wish someone would finally make a levergun for it, which would make a spectacular choice for varmint and small game.
 
G

Glenn E. Meyer

New member
Cabela's had SW 3" 327s on sale a couple of weeks ago. They aren't cheap. But I have one. It's a nice little package - 6 rounds in a SS J frame.

It's been a bear to find a nice holster though - I have some recommendations in another thread.

I bought it - just because - I already have a 432.

Ammo - there's a lot of 327 around and the lower 32s are common or can be mail ordered. The 32 HR mag is the hard one to find.

I can see it as a nice SD gun for the recoil shy as you have a range of rounds and 6 shots. I'm going to shoot it off the books in an IDPA match but that will have to wait to have some matches I'm practicing for with my 9mm.
 
K

Kilgor

New member
You want to spend more money on ammo that will be harder to finder and won't do the job as well as a .357. How'd I do?
 
C

carguychris

New member
A few other comments:

Like The Great Mahoo observed, my local gun shops seem to be selling the FMJ practice ammo for $28-$30 a box- a heckuva lot more than 9mm, yes, but about on par with .357Mag and .38 Super, a bit less than 10mm Auto, and substantially less than .41Mag. Not cheap, in other words, but IMHO not out of line either.

The ".32 Short" round we're talking about is .32S&W, not .32 Short Colt. OTOH I consider the ability to fire .32S&W to be a mostly theoretical benefit because the cartridge is so obsolete that it's substantially harder to find and more expensive than .32 Long, and .32 Long has so little recoil that there's no practical reason to seek something less potent. :)
However, I find that puts the .327 just a step ahead of an 1895 Nagant Revolver that can fire all of those except the .327 round.
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I don't want to rehash all the past threads about firing .32 H&R Mag and/or .32ACP in a Nagant M1895, but AFAIK nobody in the modern Western world really knows how much pressure this gun is designed to handle. AFAIK what we know about it is based on guesswork derived from firing vintage Soviet military ammo through a chronograph and comparing the ballistics with Western cartridges that have similar case volume. The results suggest it's loaded to higher pressure than .32 Long, but how much higher is an open question.

I don't like basing the integrity of my fingers on guesswork. :eek: IMHO anyone who fires .32 H&R Mag through a Nagant M1895 is doing so at his or her own risk.
 
A

AcridSaint

New member
Unless you reload or like to collect odd calibers, don't get one. If the cartridge catches on, you'll be able to get one later. If you're interested in it because it will be rare in 20 years, then go for it.
 
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