.327 Federal Club thread

I have mixed feelings about the .327. I think it has a lot of potential for a woods gun in a Ruger Blackhawk or the 4" SP101. It is very sweet in the 3" or 4" J frame Model 60. It carries easy and will a dispatch a Badger, Bobcat, or Cougar a lot better than a .22.

From a reloader's standpoint, I eats a less powder than a .357.

I personally would love to see Marlin chamber their 1894 in it but hell you can't even get one of their .357s or .44s.
 
From a reloader's standpoint, I eats a less powder than a .357.
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It would be VERY difficult to make (or win!) a case for the .327 Federal being any manner of more "affordable" over .357 Magnum for a handloader.

While it's true that the .327 Federal eats less powder than a .357 Magnum (and it also eats less lead per round), .327 Federal brass is much more difficult to get a hold of. And if we are talking about component jacketed bullets, there are many options and low-cost alternatives for .357" jacketed slugs while .312" jacketed slugs can be very difficult to find and hardly EVER found at any manner of a discount and as well-- they are not sold in bulk anywhere that I've ever seen.

You can make a number of quality arguments and points for the .327 Federal, even when compared with the obviously "more" .357 Magnum, but affordability, even at the load bench, would be a genuine reach.

There's many reasons to choose or want a .327 Federal...but not because it's going to save you money over a .357 Magnum.
 
UH
did anywhere in my post mention that is was more affordable? It eats less powder and is one is frugal with their brass sooner or later one can build a decent inventory. I said I have mixed feelings for it, I don't think it will ever be or even should be a .38 wadcutter target gun where one runs through a couple hundred rounds during a range session. I will make a nice working gun...big difference but a difficult concept for those that don't spend any time in the outdoors.
 
Rainier Ballistics makes plated FP and HP 100gr .312" bullets in bulk. I bought 1k HP awhile back for ~$95. Haven't loaded them yet. I'll need to see how they hold up to 1400+fps loads though.
 
I don't think it will ever be or even should be a .38 wadcutter target gun where one runs through a couple hundred rounds during a range session.
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:p Well, it's good to know what you "think." I run through hundreds of rounds of it at my range sessions. I do everything from punch paper to knock down steel plates with it. Mostly what I use it for is the pure fun and enjoyment of shooting it. This may be a difficult concept for those who don't go through about 20k a year.
 
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You can make a number of quality arguments and points for the .327 Federal, even when compared with the obviously "more" .357 Magnum, but affordability, even at the load bench, would be a genuine reach.
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Cast your own bullets, baby. Cast your own bullets. ;)
 
1) Casting is just not "grabbing" me, but maybe when I'm retired in another 30-35 years! ;)

2) When I do, I'll be swaging spent .40cal brass in to rhino-killin' .327 slugs! (inside joke)

3) In all seriousness -- if you are casting your .327 slugs, I'm still going to win the argument. You may be using a lighter slug in .327 than you would in .357, but the "savings" would be miniscule... whereas, the .357 Magnum brass is still incredibly plentiful while the .327 brass is extremely difficult to find. Because afterall... if you are casting your .327 slugs, then you are casting your .357 slugs. The saving in lead & powder aren't going to make up the difference in getting a hold of the brass.
 
Even if you do still "win" the margin is much slimmer.

At a minimum, for plain-base bullets from the same alloy, my .32 cal 115 gr FN costs at least $0.01 less than a .35 cal 158 gr bullet in the same alloy. (I consider them to be comparable.)

Variables beyond that, like lube and gas checks, can also increase the savings.

Even if I compare loads using the same powder charge, the cost of .327 Federal, at the reloading bench, comes out $0.50 to $0.90 cheaper per box, than .357 Mag.



Folks - we are think of changing the title of this threat to something like the 327 Club to reflect the discussion.

What do you think?
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I think a few of us have felt that way for about 20 pages. ;)
The original discussion was buried long ago.
 
That won't happen. One of us knuckleheads will bring up the 30 carbine and get that comparison going again. :D


I might have considered a 327 but I was lusting after a 30 carbine Blackhawk for as long as I've been shooting. One of them finally landed in my lap a couple years ago and I have a difficult time going to the range without it. I don't know how I made it so long without one of them in my collection.
 
The .327 magnum fascinates me since I love the .357, but I've never shot one and I almost never see the ammo available anywhere (but then again I'm not looking for it) so those would be a big concern if I wanted one.
 
I might have considered a 327 but I was lusting after a 30 carbine Blackhawk for as long as I've been shooting. One of them finally landed in my lap a couple years ago and I have a difficult time going to the range without it. I don't know how I made it so long without one of them in my collection.
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I lusted after a .30 Carb B'Hawk and bought one a handful of years ago and I've had a lot of fun with it. Since I bought my .327 Federal, the .30 Carb B'Hawk just simply isn't as much fun. It's unwieldy in comparison, holds less, and handloading for it is simply more work. And it's saying something for me to say such a thing, because I absolutely enjoy handloading. :D But I abhor case trimming. :mad:

I still like my .30 Carb B'Hawk, but if I had gotten the .327 Federal first, I wouldn't have bought the .30 Carb B'Hawk.
 
Dear Friends:

This thread started with a discussion of marketing but became what we call a club thread - a place for the fans or not so of the 327 to discuss the gun. It has been going on for a long time.

Thus, staff discussed changing the thread's name to reflect this.

Let the discussion continue! Got to love those 32s.

Glenn
 
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Folks, this is what happens when the chambering in question just ain't very popular. It gets it's own thread, because it so rarely shows up ion any other threads. :o:p
 
I've gotten my 632 back from the shop. It was to get new sights but they were so long on back order that I retrieved the gun and the smith will tell me when they come in. SW is just sooo slow.

I think I will shoot it in an IPDA local match. Yes, it isn't an approved caliber but at a local, you can play. And I will win the 32 category.
 
This thread helped me find this forum, so this is my first post here. My wife is very interested in a .327 snubby for a concealed carry gun. There just don't seem to be any currently being manufactured. I like the flexibility of being able to shoot other rounds through it and my wife is interested in a small 6-shot revolver that isn't .22 Mag and doesn't require her to practice with wimpified .38 Specials. She wants a gun that's light, has a grip like a J-frame and a short barrel. She doesn't like the recoil of her Model 60 3" but she shoots it well. Apparently Charter Arms recalled their .327s and Taurus is, well Taurus, so the used market is iffy. Anyway, I haven't read the whole thread, but what I've read so far is interesting. Carry on. I'll get around to putting a noob post in the right place.
 
Glenn, I like your re-naming the thread. Just one thought for the benefit of new folks as well as returns to the thread--you might also post your good comment above (about it's being re-named) up front before the OP's first post - as.a "preamble" of sorts... Something along the lines of "the thread under a different name having started out with a certain tone, but over the course of a year and a half* or so has taken on many twists, and...." blah blah...or I guess pretty much the same as what you said :)
Just a thought, and yes, gotta love them .32s!
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* going on 23 months to be more exact, gotta be some kind of record!
 
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My wife is very interested in a .327 snubby for a concealed carry gun. There just don't seem to be any currently being manufactured.
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The .327 Federal Magnum runs a vicious-high pressure. That translates very poorly to a snub-length barrel. Quality chrono testing has shown that if the barrel is shorter than 3 inches, the bullet speed of the .327 Federal drops off TREMENDOUSLY and I can't even imagine the colossal, stunning amount of muzzle blast.

These guys have done quite a service to handgunner with their chrono project, please take a quick look at some of their results:
http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/327mag.html

I would imagine your wife would NOT like the muzzle blast and she would not be getting the true benefit of this particular cartridge.

Only two manufacturers even marketed a snub-length barrel .327 Federal (Taurus and Charter) and both are out of production.

On the good side, a new Taurus snub in .327 Federal can be had for low dollars -- call up CDNN in Abilene, TX, I believe they have a slew of them. For not a lot of money...you could TRY one of these snubbies.

As for the idea that you can shoot all the other lower powered rounds in these guns... I think that's simply a marketing & perceived benefit rather than a real one. I say this simply because .32 H&R and .32 S&W/S&W Long ammo is horribly expensive to buy, as is .327 Federal. I'll also add that if you've never shot a round of .32 S&W or .32 S&W Long, you'll think you had a squib or complete misfire. They're unbelievably low powered.

The best place for a .327 Federal owner is a handloader... and when you handload, you can build your ammo to any power spec of those listed above, or handload in any of those cases...assuming you can get a supply of them.

For your wife's needs--please do consider the Ruger SP-101 with it's slightly-bit more than 3-inch barrel. This gun will give you all the hairy goodness of the .327 Federal Magnum.
 
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