.327 Federal Club thread

Nothing went wrong

The 327 is geting more an more popular....My gun stores all stock a ton of ammo for it


AND for the guy who said a 9mm is good enough over the 327...Dude if you shot a 327 fed mag full house load you seriously would not even compare a 9mm+p to it at all
 
To be honest, from a reloader's standpoint, I don't know of any cartridge that gives more bang for the buck than the .327. My biggest concern has been components. Since it's a revolver, I also don't have to chase brass around like I do with the .45 or (worse yet) the 9mm.

I always regretted not buying an SP101 in .32 mag, so this was a "must buy" for me. I just hope it doesn't fade completely into the sunset.
 
AND for the guy who said a 9mm is good enough over the 327...Dude if you shot a 327 fed mag full house load you seriously would not even compare a 9mm+p to it at all
Click to expand...

So if a 357 magnum recoils more no one should be comparing with a .327, right?

To be honest, from a reloader's standpoint, I don't know of any cartridge that gives more bang for the buck than the .327. My biggest concern has been components. Since it's a revolver, I also don't have to chase brass around like I do with the .45 or (worse yet) the 9mm.
Click to expand...

I can't think of many cartridges that give a worse value for the reloader. There is nowhere to buy new brass. I actually did a google search for once fired .327 and it turned up mostly loose ends. "Hard to find" was a common term found in most advertisements. Buying ammo to get the brass out of it is about the worst way to go value wise. When I can't get 45 brass for free I pay about 6 cents for a once fired shell ($60 for 1000). I can then reload it for about 4-5 cents more. 11 cents for the first firing, less than half after that. Whats the cheapest source of .327 ammo, $25 for 50 rounds?
 
Brass is the most expensive component of any reloaded ammo, and accumulating brass from anything other than purchasing new ammo can be difficult for any reloader, unless your looking at the typical service rounds such as 9mm, .45 acp, .40 S&W or .357.

In any case, straight walled revolver ammo brass has a longer service life, due to the fact that minimally charged reloads are possible, and brass can last almost indefinitely. Add brass loss due to indiscriminate satellite bound ejection by the autos, the only real competitor is the .357. Current component availability really shouldn't limit a weapon purchase anyway. The void will be filled in the marketplace sooner or later.

Over time, lower powder costs, and the fact that I can cast more .32 bullets from a pound of wheel weights than I can the 36 caliber, (.38/357) and my savings are realized over 8 to 10 reloads.
 
This thread has gone and done it. All day long I've been thinking about a Ruger Blackhawk in .327 Federal Mag. I already have too many guns I want. Well, what is one more.
 
I have NO first hand experience with the .327, BUT, from what I have read about it, it is an ideal compromise for shooters of small stature who need a relatively small, light weight handgun for defense but can't handle the recoil of the .357 in such a handgun. The ballistics seem to be fairly inpressive, making it ideal, for example, for women and senior citizens who can't handle either a larger firearm, or the excessive recoil of the .357 fired from a small revolver such as a Ladysmith.
 
You guys are so hung up over the fact that a cartridge has to do something better than another one.


No cartridge needs to do anyhting more than be fun for someone to justify it's existence.


WildhencethecartridgeinquestionAlaska ™©2002-2011
 
I can't think of many cartridges that give a worse value for the reloader. There is nowhere to buy new brass. I actually did a google search for once fired .327 and it turned up mostly loose ends. "Hard to find" was a common term found in most advertisements.
Click to expand...

I can't give away reloader secrets, but... Dig deeper. ;)

I picked up a bulk lot of once-fired .327 Federal (Nickel Plated) brass, as well as two other reloaders on these forums (500 pieces, or more, for each reloader). I paid more than I wanted to, but still less than half the cost of "reasonably priced" new, unfired brass. (When Federal announced the availability of component brass, the price was far from reasonable. ...but that doesn't matter. They pulled the plug, when the demand for loaded ammo was greater than they expected.)


I don't care what other shooters think of the .327 Federal.

I now own more bullets and cases to feed a single .327 Blackhawk, than all of my other firearms, combined. (except for 9mm luger - for the simple reason that I have more than 8,000 range pick-up cases on hand.)
It is THAT much fun, and THAT easy to reload for. -And that fun to reload for. (Yea. I'm odd. I actually enjoy reloading, and the .327 makes it even more enjoyable.)
Picking up the .327 is one of the best firearms decisions I (and my wife) have ever made.
 
Think about it, the 327 is only 3 hundredths of an inch smaller than 357
Click to expand...

That brings up a question. Where did the ".327" come from? Bullet is .312-.314. Case is .337.

Looking at data from Federal the .327 runs about 10%-20% less energy than the .357 depending on the round selected.

Brass supply is going to be a problem. There are far fewer choices for bullets.

All that being said, it would probably be a great round in something like the LCR or Airweight if you could fit six rounds at the current weight and width or go to five rounds in a slightly thinner and lighter package. At same # of rounds and size/ weight I would stay with the .357
 
327 Magnum

I have an SP101 in 327.
I don't shoot 32S&W or S&W Long to avoid a carbon ring that could raise the pressure on an already high pressure round.
32 H&R Magnum has almost the same length so I shoot it sometimes.
The 327 gives serious ballistic performance with little felt recoil in the SP101,making a followup shot that much easier.It's also acurate and flat shooting.
I like to think of it as a modernized version of the32-20.
that round had legs for a long time.
 
Wildalaska
You guys are so hung up over the fact that a cartridge has to do something better than another one.

No cartridge needs to do anyhting more than be fun for someone to justify it's existence.
Click to expand...

^^^ what he said!!! ^^^

I can't wait to be able to afford to shoot one!! Untill then, 9mm it is ... sigh. Guess that's telling in its self :(
 
My feelings are the .327 will go the way of the .41 mag and the .401 Powermag. Kinda a cult cartridge with loyal followers. Was the time not right for these cartridges or was is marketing? No one will ever know, but altho they are all viable platforms, they never have been accepted by the masses.

I don't care what other shooters think of the .327 Federal.
Click to expand...

......and that's the way it should be. If you like it and it fits a niche in your arsenal, that's all that should matter. Same with Smith's and their IL, same with Glocks, Fords or Chevys. Just because others don't agree with your choice, don't make it wrong.
 
The .327 is selling very well here in DFW area...I dont know how it will do on a bad guy....but it kills hogs dead as a hammer! These two hogs I've killed at lease this spring Boar at 27yds and sow at 21yds! This one is a Charter Arms with CT laser.
Boar327.jpg

Hog327mag.jpg
 
Held one in my grimey little mitts!

At the local gunshop there is a brand new SP101 327 mag--3.06 barrel. Wow! nice little gun!

So, the wife said to go ahead if I wanted to get one. Came home and started figuring out the details of making ammo--and it took some doing. The dies are commonly dies for the 32 H&R mag. Ok, those are available. RCBS 3 die set is about $20 higher than 357 mag. Oh well. OK.

32 caliber bullets are fairly easy to get. Several to pick from. OK.

Load data is rather limited, but available. OK.

Brass. Look look look....huh? The brass is a bigger problem. Not expensive, just darn hard to locate. I found some, but that begs the question: If this caiber is going to survive, there needs to be components for reloaders. Not a scavanger hunt, not a game of luck, just there on the shelf. I lived through that panic induced shortage of components a couple of years ago, and there is not much that can upset me more than not finding components for loading when I need the stuff.

Much as it hurts to say it, I will pass on this one.
 
I'll pass on the 327 too. I see it as sort of a niche gun for a cop. Impressive ballistics and the extra round is good for them but it does nothing but cost more for us civilian types. I'm so wrapped up in 44 specials and magnums that I never even bought a 357 yet!
 
Some old straight wall cartridges get made a little longer and get registered at a higher pressure.
They made a mistake with the 32 H&R mag, in that it failed to take advantage of how high the pressure could be and still not get stuck cases. To exploit that margin, the case had to be lengthened and the pressure upped a second time to the 327 Fed Mag.
Revolvers with a 6 at once extractor can get stuck cases at ~~ 40,000 psi, depending on the thickness of the steel chamber wall:
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.guns/browse_frm/thread/68ca10110c80e7aa/f002ce69fa01e631


38 special [17kpsi]-> 357 mag [35kpsi]
44 special [15.5kpsi]-> 44 mag [36kpsi]
45 Colt [14kpsi]-> 454 Casull [65kpsi]
32 S&W long [15kpsi]-> 32 H&R mag [21kcup] -> 327 Fed Mag [45kpsi]

What does it all mean?
Nothing went wrong with the 327F.
What went wrong was the 32 H&R wimpiness that caused the 327F to be created to fix it.
 
You guys are so hung up over the fact that a cartridge has to do something better than another one.


No cartridge needs to do anyhting more than be fun for someone to justify it's existence.
Click to expand...

:confused: Isn't THAT the whole point behind different cartridges: I.e. that one is designed for a specific purpose which it can do better than another???

I sure as heck think that a .375 can bring down a kodiak a hell of a lot better than a .22 lr.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top