.327 Federal Club thread

.327 ammo is in great supply (AE 85gr & 100gr, Fed HP 85gr) at Cabela's in Allen as well, though still not cheap. I haven't seen any at any other local stores in a couple of weeks.

I did pick up a Ruger GP-100 at Cabela's a month or so ago and once I get the front ramp replaced with a fiber optic sight it's going to be damn near perfect.
 
I like the idea of the .327 Federal. Tame recoil, high velocity, hard hitting, these are things that I can get on board with.

Comparing some graphs on the barrel length and muzzle energies of the .327 and .357, it seems like they have similar performance with 4-6" barrels. Similar enough that I could live with a little bit less energy for gaining an extra round in the cylinder.

The .327 federal magnum Ruger GP-100 looks really appealing.

Do you folks expect for the .327 federal magnum to survive for a while? It seems like one of those calibers that people don't like just because they haven't tried it or looked into it yet but it seems to make a lot of sense to me. Might have to look around and see what ammo availability is around here.
 
In my circles, factory ammo is available. Funny, because they have a bunch of it in places that happen to bother to carry ammo for oddball chamberings. While every round of rimfire, 9 & .45 is out of stock, .327 Federal is sitting nicely on the shelf.

If you are NOT a handloader and don't intend to handload, then you are taking a bit of a risk by jumping on board with .327 Federal. If you handload or feel as though you will, you'll do fine. Component brass is out there and Starline makes it also. .312" slugs are on the market as well.

During the current panic, NONE of this stuff -- ammo, components, or guns are being produced in .327 Federal, because it's -FAR- down the list. But like everything, it will come back. And because it's a revolver, you won't lose your brass in the weeds.

So regardless of whether "it will die" as a caliber, we'll still be shooting it until WE die. ;)
 
I just officially joined the club by buying a Taurus Model 327 by online auction. I'm taking a chance, but I'm a patient guy and willing to take some risks. My wife wanted a 6-shot snubby that was light and shoots something small but powerful. I think she needed something that let her shoot wimpy to powerful rounds. This gun can. Neither of us have shot one, but I'll find a way to make the grip fit. I'm just getting into reloading and starting with the .32 S&W in a gun that can handle .327 Federal Mag seems like a good way to begin.
 
Alex, I think the .327 will be around for a while. Only the current political landscape has slowed it down significantly. While I expect commercial ammo to remain "pricey" for a while, I also expect that some people will take a second look at the .327 in the near future (e.g. around 2016). There are some good advantages to the .327, some of which you mentioned. Others are...
  • Reloading is very economical with .32 caliber bullets and smaller powder loads
  • The .32 caliber ammo sells slower if there is another run on ammo.
  • The revolver can fire 3-4 different cartridges of different power levels.
  • Eventually someone like Marlin will give us a lever gun in .327, coyotes beware!
  • The SP-101 in .327 makes a dandy carry gun.

Cesure
I agree with you. Using .327 to learn to reload .32 S&W or even .32 H&R Mag will leave you a considerable margin of safety. The .32 S&W is a joy when reloading as it takes little powder, it pleasingly mild to shoot and is nice to the wallet.
 
Cesure
I agree with you. Using .327 to learn to reload .32 S&W or even .32 H&R Mag will leave you a considerable margin of safety. The .32 S&W is a joy when reloading as it takes little powder, it pleasingly mild to shoot and is nice to the wallet.
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Thanks, BillCA. So far the only problem I'm finding with reloading the .32 S&W is that the charge is so small I can't find a powder scoop for it. I guess I'll have to mill one for .19cc. It would be nice not to have to weigh every charge when the pressure is only 9500 CUP.
 
Hello Cesure
If I were you, I would contact Lee dies and ask them for a Powder scoop for the .32 S&W Long Cartridge. I Bought their full set of carbide dies and it came with a Powder scoop. They are great with their cutomer's I once broke a primer remover stem, Told them it was my Fault and they sent me Two Free. ;) I use Mainly Lee dies they are very economical and work Great. With Their straight through neck expander die I set my Powder dispenser right onto it so that it expand's the neck of the cartridge and I then dump my Powder charge in with my Powder dispenser. I feel the Federal .327 Magnum will be around for a very long time as now many other's are buying gun's chambered in it now than when it first Came out. It is a super fast flat shooting round... Hammer It
 
Thanks Hammer It. I'm planning to use Lee dies and I have their full set of scoops. They just don't make one for the shorter 32 S&W. I have two that are suitable for the 32 S&W Long (.3cc) so I guess I could partially fill one with epoxy. I guess I could also pour from a .5cc into a .3cc and then use the .2cc that doesn't fit as my charge.

I think the people who say there isn't a niche for the .327 are missing something. The .22 Mag is a rimfire and the reliability of rimfires for personal defense is an issue. I wouldn't want to be the guy who tells all the women who won't shoot a .38 Special that they have to use a round that is considered to be not suitable. So a centerfire round that's smaller than .38 Special is needed for the recoil sensitive shooter and to get 6 shots in a concealable revolver. Of course, we had that with the .32 S&Ws and .32 H&R Mag, but the energy for a good personal defense round isn't there. Now it is. Training/practicing with a weak round and then loading a magnum for personal defense is common and considered sensible with the .38/.357 and it now is for the .32/.327

I also love the idea of the .327 in a short barreled rifle. I've wondered if anybody has modified an M1 Carbine to it (just for the fun of it :D).
 
If I were you, I would contact Lee dies and ask them for a Powder scoop for the .32 S&W Long Cartridge.
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The standard scoop coming with .32 S&W Long dies is a 1.3cc, I believe. ...which is still much larger than any of the charges listed in their supplied data.

And, comically, the .32 S&W dies come with a 4.3cc scoop (their largest scoop). You can fit 2 loaded .32 S&W cartridges inside the scoop. :rolleyes:
They don't even give you something that's easily modified for the appropriate volume - just a massive scoop that's completely useless for the cartridge.
 
Yup. That's why I bought the whole set. Their smallest dipper comes with the .380 ACP dies and is too big for most of their starting loads. I figure I can get some aluminum bar stock and drill holes with various drill sizes and put water in from a small syringe to find the right size. I calculated that I can get over 3500 loads from a pound of Win 231 if I can avoid waste.
 
The scoop that was included with my Lee 32 H&R Mag Carbide dies (90809) is 0.3cc. It takes around 3 scoops for my ~13gr loads for 327. The 32 shorties must take less than 1/2 of my loads.
 
I also love the idea of the .327 in a short barreled rifle. I've wondered if anybody has modified an M1 Carbine to it (just for the fun of it :D).
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I doubt that will ever happen, but IIRC, it was brought up earlier in this thread. (of course, that could be 16 pages ago...)

It would really be re-inventing the wheel, or a Rube Goldberg. The .30 Carbine round is already very, very similar to the .327 Federal and while there are a few key differences in the two rounds, they otherwise provide very similar features. They are nearly the same size in most dimensions, but the .30 Carb is obviously a much better design for a semi-auto with it's rimless case, and stacking 15 or 30 of them in a box magazine is simple whereas it would be a nightmare to build a large capacity box magazine for the .327 Federal cartridge.

Furthermore, the bullets used in a .30 Carbine round are optimized for .30 Carbine speeds from an 18-inch barrel. Those same speeds would push most handgun jacketed bullets WELL out of their design. As it is, we can already push some of these handgun bullets to their very limit -- and that's just in a 3 or 4 inch revolver. ;) The 60 grain Gold Dot bullet, for example (actually designed for the .32 Auto) can be loaded in the .327 Federal but the speeds we could conceivably push it to would go very much past the limits of the bullet.

I've been warned by the ATK ballistician that pushing jacketed bullets far beyond the scope of their design construction can lead to damage to my revolver, specifically the forcing cone. Hornady places little "speed limit specification" sheets in with thier cannelured .312" component slugs and while I haven't chrono'd a load that BREAKS those limits, I've had a lot of fun coming awfully close. :D

Just because I'm a hobbyist and a dreamer...
I'm focusing my "it'll never happen but I can still wish it" wishes on the guys at Coonan to build a .327 Federal Coonan Magnum Automatic.

Truly, I would be first in line. I love my Coonan and it runs like a top, and having a little brother in .327 Federal would be a rolling riot. :cool:
 
The standard scoop coming with .32 S&W Long dies is a 1.3cc, I believe. ...which is still much larger than any of the charges listed in their supplied data.

And, comically, the .32 S&W dies come with a 4.3cc scoop (their largest scoop). You can fit 2 loaded .32 S&W cartridges inside the scoop.
They don't even give you something that's easily modified for the appropriate volume - just a massive scoop that's completely useless for the cartridge.
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__________________


Hello Franken Mauser
My Bad here... :o I Meant to say if you Buy The Lee dies for .32 S&W that scoup is about Perfect for Powder Puff .32 S&W Long Cartridge loads. Regards, Hammer It
 
The scoop that was included with my Lee 32 H&R Mag Carbide dies (90809) is 0.3cc. It takes around 3 scoops for my ~13gr loads for 327. The 32 shorties must take less than 1/2 of my loads.
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According to Hodgdon, 1.4gr is the max load for .32 shorts for an 85gr bullet and Win 231 is the only powder they offer. That boggles my mind. Well under twice the weight of a grain of wheat and a velocity of only 595 ft/s and that's the max load. That case must be tissue thin.
 
My loads are with H110/W296. The magnum powders are pretty bulky compared to others.

On another note I just received an 8# jug of alliant power pistol mp-300. I'll be busting out the chono and 327 Blackhawk in a few days. The only bullets I have are 100gr XTP, 100gr Speer GD, and 115gr Speer GD. I'll baseline my Blackhawk w/ 100gr AE.
 
I also love the idea of the .327 in a short barreled rifle. I've wondered if anybody has modified an M1 Carbine to it (just for the fun of it :D).
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I thought of that too, but it's impractical. There isn't enough "gain" over the .30 Carbine round to justify all the engineering changes that would be needed.

On the other hand, I can see a nice lever action rifle with a Trapper sized 16" barrel being a handy rifle for the .327 and instant death on coyotes. To get the most out of the rifle might require working up new loads using a slower powder however.
 
I thought of that too, but it's impractical. There isn't enough "gain" over the .30 Carbine round to justify all the engineering changes that would be needed.

On the other hand, I can see a nice lever action rifle with a Trapper sized 16" barrel being a handy rifle for the .327 and instant death on coyotes. To get the most out of the rifle might require working up new loads using a slower powder however.
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The M1 chamber/barrel would be an easy mod, but the feed and ejection would be nightmares. But Ruger made a lot of semi auto carbines that handled rimmed cartridges just fine using both tubular and rotary magazines. They had both .357 and .44 magnum semi-auto deer guns for years. And of course there's the 10/22. I would really want the speed of a semi-auto for coyote hunting. The slower powder makes a lot of sense and it would need a good varmint bullet like Varmageddon or even a saboted .17 or .22.
 
Reduced loads for range shooting

Loads using Berry's 83 gr. double ended wadcutter and 3.2 gr. of Trail Boss with small pistol primers makes great plinking and target loads. Barely as much recoil as a 22 mag. Cheap.

Primer---------$0.035
Powder----------.015
Bullet------------.070

$0.12 per round
 
Hello Franken Mauser
My Bad here... I Meant to say if you Buy The Lee dies for .32 S&W that scoup is about Perfect for Powder Puff .32 S&W Long Cartridge loads. Regards, Hammer It
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No, no. No apology needed. It may still be a good idea to see if Lee would send a 0.3cc scoop.

I was just pointing out Lee's strange handling of powder scoops for .32 S&W and .32 S&W Long.
 
Cesure - I hadn't thought of the Ruger rifles specifically, but you're right. Modifying one of those might make it a lot easier. The only problem would be if you wanted more than the few rounds offered by a rotary mag. In a low recoiling round like the .327 (from a rifle) you could run the action without moving the rifle from the shoulder. Not quite as fast as a semi though it should be fast enough.
 
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