327 fed levergun????

For comparison from my revolvers: 5.5" Blackhawk in 327 magnum, a 120 grain bullet with a sectional density of 0.176 does 1590 fps for 674 ft/lbs of energy. 6" 357 magnum, 158 grain bullet with a sectional density 0.177 does 1412 fps for 700 ft/lbs of energy. 44 magnum, 240 grain bullet with a sectional density of 0.186 does 1358 fps for 983 ft/lbs of energy. All of these bullets have sufficient sectional density for good penetration.

By going from a 5.5" barrel to a 20" barrel, if you gain about 320 fps (a conservative guess), then you would have 972 ft/lbs of energy or about the same energy as my 44 magnum revolver with a 240 grain bullet. So if you think a 44 magnum revolver is enough for deer, you should fine with a 327 mag rifle. YMMV
 
The usefulness of this rifle/cartridge combo kind of escapes me. A bit light for deer, and a bit much for rabbits, squirrels, or turkeys. I guess it would be good for Javelina, but that's a pretty niche market.

I like the idea, I think, but what's it for?
Click to expand...
Use .32 S&W Long and it's perfect for squirrel or rabbit. Use .32 H&R Magnum for fox, possum, woodchuck, or small boar.
 
Are we all ignoring the long established 30 carbine for any particular reason?
Click to expand...

Same reason we are ignoring the much longer established 32-20:

This discussion is about the 327 Federal Magnum.
 
I wish I had kept all the oddball guns I had bought that didn't have a long production life. If my 327 suffers a similar fate I'll smile as the value skyrockets.
 
I gotta tell 'ya...
mkkkyv.jpg

I'm truly hard-pressed to se the need for the cartridge in the middle when
the two on either end already exist/have existed for a combined 200 years.

Talk about reinventing the wheel....:rolleyes:

But y`all have fun now, 'heah? :D
 
Alright mehavey, I'm game to put you in your place.

I'll start with .32-20 Winchester. The .32-20 hasn't had a production rifle or revolver made in decades and I can say I haven't seen a .32-20 firearm or ammunition for sale at a gun show or store in 3 years. Why bother buying a .32-20 when it's already on the road to being obsolete? Besides, unlike .327, it can't shoot the more popular .32 S&W Long or other .32 S&W family cartridges. Hell, it can't even shoot .32 ACP. If I wanted to do some shooting and not be forced to make some handloads, I'm pretty much SOL with .32-20 and if I do find some, I'm paying big $ to buy that ammo.

You can say that if manufacturers made more guns in .32-20 that it would be more popular, but that's not the case and there's a reason why: because the gun companies know that .327 is better.

As for .30 Carbine, there is one or two revolvers available in that chambering and they're both Single Actions. Oh, that's just great that I get one choice that's pretty unimpressive in a revolver's shorter barrel.

The one thing that the .30 Carbine has over the .327 is there are more rifles made for it and the performance is decent, but I'm not buying a .327 or a .30 Carbine just to shoot in a rifle. So in that regard, the .327 is a more versatile cartridge, but the rifles are not as available.

As time goes by, S&W, Charter, Taurus, and others will offer .327 revolvers again, just like Ruger did and the .327 will become more popular and common than .41 Magnum is today.
 
Why do I need a new cartridge when there's one already in existance?
Click to expand...

Because the other ones won't share cartridges with my SP101 or LCR. The .327 already shines as a reasonably powerful six-shooter on those platforms. Now it gets to shine as a Henry. :)

So while you might not need it, you might want to try it. Who knows? You might even like it.
 
When I first learned that Henry had listened to my pleas for a .327 lever gun, I wanted one last week.
I had been contacting Henry, Marlin, Rossi, Winchester, and anyone else I could think of to beg them to produce this rifle.
My first .327 was a Taurus 2" snubby, and I simply fell in love with the cartridge.
My next .327 was the newer version of the Ruger SP101 with a 4.2" barrel.

I looked EVERYWHERE trying to locate a Henry Big Boy steel.
No luck, and no distributor would give me any information about shipping dates.
I was determined to get one of the first run Henry's that were to be released in .327, so I emailed Mr. Anthony Imperato to ask for help.

In less than 48 hours, I had a reply from Mr. Imperato himself.
He gave me the name and email address of a very nice lady in Rice Lake Wisconsin.
She would assist me in finding my Henry.

The very next day Deb, from Henry emailed me with a few questions.
Who was my preferred FFL (name and contact info.)
Who was his preferred distributor?
Which model EXACTLY did I wish to purchase?

I supplied her with the answers she needed, and the wait began...
A few weeks went by, and I heard nothing.
I emailed Deb and asked for an update.
Shipping was being delayed for "a couple of weeks".
More weeks went by, and no word, so I emailed Deb again.

Production issues had once again delayed distribution...
I was getting antsy now.
He had not asked, but I had offered, and had given my FFL a $500 cash deposit for the Henry because I didn't want him to have to tie up his funds for an unknown time.

A few weeks later still andI finally received an email telling me my new Henry would ship by weeks end!
I was on cloud 9.

When it arrived, I had already amassed some 500 rounds of factory ammo, because I had the 2 revolvers.
I had dies and projectiles, but relying on factory once-fired cases until Star-Line stepped up.

I have been watching the internet talk about the .327 round.
Many just love the round.
Some are just so-so, and others couldn't be less interested.
Many seem to think that the round won't stay around long.

As a matter of fact, there has been quite a bit of talk about how some believe the .327 is already on it's way out.
I decided to make an investment, so I bought a double for my Henry .327.
I now have two Henry Big Boys in .327 Federal magnum.

Well, I for one, will be shooting the .327 Federal magnum for years to come
Time will tell if I decide to sell the duplicate.
That depends on the market, but my first one is home to stay.
 
TruthTellers said:
The .32-20 hasn't had a production rifle or revolver made in decades
and I can say I haven't seen a .32-20 firearm or ammunition for sale
at a gun show or store in 3 years.
Click to expand...
Been to Cabela's lately? It's FULL of 32-20 ammunition ... at least a full shelf/6 brands and various loadouts. Brass ? It's all over the place. Midway/Cabelas/Midsouth, et al -- and Starline to boot.

As to no production rifles, I picked up a Ducks Unlimited/Marlin 32-20 at GreenTop 18 months ago, near unfired. Flawless function. Since then I've seen at least a dozen at the Nation's Gunshow. In fact... it's the 327 Fed that seems ghosted.

Performance? The 32-20 has 16% greater case capacity and therefore handloads meet/exceed 327 ballistics for considerably less pressure.
And remember -- the case is just fine for high-pressure/M1 Carbine-like loads in Carbine-rated actions -- like the `94Marlin and the Ruger 30-Carbine.

So if ...
(a) you're a handloader; and
(b) see a 32-20 Marlin...

Buy it


.
 
Last edited:
I gave $647 for my new Henry .327.
Please show me ANY .32-20 for even CLOSE to that price, AND in decent condition.

Go ahead, I'll wait...
 
"The .32-20 hasn't had a production rifle or revolver made in decades
and I can say I haven't seen a .32-20 firearm or ammunition for sale
at a gun show or store in 3 years."


Wrong.

The .32-20 has been chambered in any number of firearms within the past 20 years. Granted, they've not been huge production runs, and haven't stayed cataloged for long, but they've been made.

The Marlin 1894CL, cataloged for, I believe, at least 2 or 3 years, maybe longer.

United States Firearms (USFA). They made primarily Colt clone SAAs and for a time made them in .32-20 before going out of business.

Uberti made the Cattleman model in .32-20 for a number of years. In fact, it looks like it's STILL available! https://www.dixiegunworks.com/index...me/CR0722+UBERTI+CATTLEMAN+REVOLVER+3220+5.5"

It looks like Cimmaron either makes (or made in the past) a Bisley version with swap cylinders, one chambered for .32-20.

https://www.cimarron-firearms.com/model-p-jr-32-20-32-h-and-r-dual-cylinder-5-1-2-in.html

I'm not 100% certain, but I believe that a .32-20 rifle was available from Chiappa some years ago.

Finally, Thompson Center still makes Contender and Encore barrels in .32-20.
 
I gave $647 for my new Henry .327.
Please show me ANY .32-20 for even CLOSE to that price, AND in decent condition.
Click to expand...
I'm a fan of .327 Federal, as well.
But, since you asked, and I also like .32-20...

A good condition and mechanically sound Winchester 1892 manufactured in 1893 and chambered for .32-20 sold Wednesday at a local auction for $530.
That price is an anomaly. The rifle should have gone for notably more. But, these things do happen, and prices like that are possible.

Though I was interested in the .32-20, most of my attention was on a .25-20 1892 and a .25-35 1894. .32-20 is good. .25-20 and .25-35 are more interesting...
 
The 327 is a straight walled cartridge and very easy to load, head spaces on a rim. The 32-20 is a pain for reloaders. The 327 is available in a Single Six, a GP100 and a SP101 and a couple of them plastic thingies from Ruger that will handle 327, 32H&R Mag, 32SW Long, 32SW, and 32 ACP. There is still a few 32-20s out there and they will handle
32-20s. Henry makes 4 versions of lever guns in 327. I don't think anyone makes a production lever in 32-20 today. Maybe I'm wrong about that, I don't know.

I don't see anything not to like about the 327. I've heard it said a 327 don't fill a niche. I have never seen a niche and if I did, I would not put any of my 327s in the thing.
 
LOLBELL said:
The 327 is a straight walled cartridge and very easy to load, head spaces on a rim. The 32-20 is a pain for reloaders. The 327 is available in a Single Six, a GP100 and a SP101 and a couple of them plastic thingies from Ruger that will handle 327, 32H&R Mag, 32SW Long, 32SW, and 32 ACP. There is still a few 32-20s out there and they will handle
32-20s. Henry makes 4 versions of lever guns in 327. I don't think anyone makes a production lever in 32-20 today. Maybe I'm wrong about that, I don't know.

I don't see anything not to like about the 327. I've heard it said a 327 don't fill a niche. I have never seen a niche and if I did, I would not put any of my 327s in the thing.
Click to expand...
I don't know if it's a niche, but the purpose that the .327 and the other members of the .32 S&W family fill is it's the closest thing to a reloadable .22 I know of whilst also being capable of much greater power and velocity.

It's also pretty inexpensive to reload, again falling into that .22 LR competition category.

I guess the reason I can't call a .327 revolver or rifle a "niche" is that there's nothing else out there that does what the .327 does. .38/.357 is as close as it gets in comparison, but even those can't shoot as light a bullet as the .327 can, nor will they have as flat a trajectory, which when shooting small game at 75 or 100 yards... an inch or two of extra drop makes a big difference.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top