Blackhawk .327 Range Report

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glenncal1

New member
Finally got to the range this weekend with my new Ruger Blackhawk in .327 Federal Magnum.

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First impressions. The .327 is a fun and accurate little round. I had American Eagle 85 and 100 grain JSP loads. I didn't have a chrono but based on how flat they shot out to about 110 yards they had to be moving right along. Once I got used to the gun it was fairly easy to shoot 1" or so groups at 25 yards off sandbags.

The Blackhawk is a big heavy gun so recoil was mild with mostly a little muzzle flip. This would be a great small game/varmit round.

It would be great if someone would bring out a handy carbine or lever action rifle for the round. I think the longer barrel lengths take better advantages of this cartridge than the snubbies that it has mostly been chambered for IMHO.
 
Thanks for sharing! Sounds like a great time. I'm not surprised that the Blackhawk is such a good platform for this little round.

I've been wishing someone would make a levergun in one since the cartridge came out. Would make an awesome small-game gun, and a nice companion for my SP101.
 
Do you realize that Ruger is no longer making the Blackhawk or SP101 in 327 Federal Mag? The GP100 might get the axe also.:(
 
I bought an SP101 two weeks ago right after I found out Ruger was dropping the 327. Still haven't had a chance to try it out. The store was out of ammo, and I'm still waiting to receive some bullets so I can load some up. That Blackhawk is a sweet looking revolver!
 
I have 5 handguns in this round and LOVE it! The Black Hawk is a lot of fun to shoot and I cary the GP100 nearly every day. I'll put the 327 up against the 9mm any day!
I also wish someone would make a sleek carbine chambered in this round. Heck I may even have to get a Contender carbine and custom barrel for it.
 
I believe Ruger dropped the Blackhawk as well. It is no longer listed on their web site. The GP is still there, for now. The good news is that the 480 is back, but that's another story.
 
Bob- I think 32-20 loads are about 1200 fps and the .327 are about 1600 fps out of a revolver. My seat of the pants impression (i have a 6" Smith in 32-20) would tend to back that up. The .327 made impressive hits on beer cans filled with ice and like I said shout very flat out to about 110 yards. My 32-20 also shoots very flat. I am sure if you had a blackhawk or some other modern strong revolver in 32-20 you could load it up to meet or exceed the .327 performance. Since my Smith was made in 1916 I don't think I will try that :D
 
The BH in 327 is very similar to the BH in 30 carbine. The rounds have similar velocity in revolvers with a slight edge in bullet weight for the Carbine.
It all falls to shooter preference and rimmed vs rimless.
 
I believe Ruger dropped the Blackhawk as well. It is no longer listed on their web site. The GP is still there, for now. The good news is that the 480 is back, but that's another story.
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Aye. The Blackhawk is gone, as well.
Ruger says it's only a temporary break in production, though - not a permanent discontinuance.
 
I think the longer barrel lengths take better advantages of this cartridge than the snubbies that it has mostly been chambered for IMHO.
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That's actually fact more than opinion. The BBTI guys did really quality testing on the factory .327 Federal ammo and when you cut the barrel off under 3 inches, performance drops like a lead zeppelin.
http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/327mag.html
However, I do have to disagree with you about it "mostly" being chambered in snubbies: Ruger's SP-101 is over 3 inches by a hair, and wrings a heap of power from the round. Only Charter Arms and Taurus ever marketed a .327 snubbie and both are well out of production. The Taurus guns in particular are hitting the market at outrageously low prices from retailers such as CDNN out of Texas. As much as I love the round... I am not a snubbie guy, and have zero interest in them.

As for Ruger, keep in mind that the .30 Carbine Blackhawk was first rolled out for production in like what...1969?! It's been "out of production" more times than anyone can count, but they continue to make it available when they do runs of them. I have hope...I have extreme hope that Ruger continues to back this excellent cartridge with it's three different .327 Federal revolvers.

As for it being like the .30 Carbine Blackhawk -- it is, really, a LOT. But the few differences make it a better choice for some... and a worse choice for others.

.30 Carb B'Hawk only comes in black/blued. I call it black because Ruger's "blue" these days isn't like a classic, deep blue. My revolver was born in '08 and it's...black. The .30 Carb only comes in 7.5" barrel, too. Extra length gives you longer sighting plane and a bit more velocity -- but makes the whole package a bit unwieldy depending on what kind of use you intend for it. For sure, the .327 B'Hawk is a prettier revolver and easier to handle with 2 less inches of barrel. The .327 also gives you 8 shots over the .30 Carb's 6 shot cylinder.

If you are buying factory ammo, the advantage: tough call! .30 Carb ammo used to be a real cheap, easy affair. Mountains of surplus stuff. In fact, that's the reason that Ruger introduced a .30 Carb B'Hawk to the market -- even before they ever built & sold their first .45 Colt. Hard to believe, but true. These days however, .30 Carbine ammo is just as expensive as anything else. Except, perhaps... .327 Federal. :p Also, full-spec factory .30 Carbine has a reputation for sticking in the cylinders of .30 Carb B'Hawk revolvers. This is due to the high pressure -- but more so, the tapered .30 Carb cartridge case. Wiping out the cylinders on a .30 Carb B'Hawk -OFTEN- helps a lot. And yeah...major PITA.

In that respect, .327 Federal B'Hawk blows away the .30 Carbine. And at the load bench, the .327 Federal kills the .30 Carbine. More bullet selection, better bullets, much easier to handload. However the brass is difficult to get a hold of...or expensive if you simply buy Federal factory or Starline brass. .30 Carb brass is much more plentiful.

I won't buy a .327 B'Hawk because I own a .30 Carb B'Hawk. But you couldn't talk me out of my .327 Federal GP-100 no matter what you did. And I'd take my .327 GP-100 over TWO .30 Carb B'Hawks any day of the week. :D
 
.327 Federal runs a similar weight slug (but a slug that covers more range in weight...85 to 115 grains) over the .30 Carbine (110 only in factory ammo) but it runs it at a slightly higher chamber pressure. .327 Federal peaks at 45k PSI to the .30 Carb's 40k PSI.

The .32-20 is much lower in max pressure in comparison, and uses a weaker piece of slightly bottle-necked brass. .32-20 has been run very hot, to similar levels, LONG before the .327 Federal came out, and run searches on Paco Kelly to find out more.

In the year 2013, there's nothing you could do safely with a .32-20 that you couldn't do better in every way with a .327 Federal -- assuming you had the firearm. What I mean to say is... yeah, nobody makes a .327 Federal lever-action rifle right now.
 
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