Charter arms professional vs ruger sp101 327 mag/32h&r mag

I have a SP101 3" 327 and an LCR 327.

I put Pachmayr Diamond Pro grips on both.

The LCR has been flawless from the start and handles every thing in 327 except 100 gr AE and 130 gr Buffalo Bore hardcast.

The SP101 initially had a rough trigger and light strikes. Sent it to Ruger and was returned in a couple of days over Memorial Day weekend and shipped back very quickly. They did something with the extractor and replaced the trigger return spring. They did one other thing but I can not remember without pulling out the repair sheet. Ruger Customer Service is Top Noth.

Now the SP101 is a daily pocket carry in Duluth Trading cargo pants lower pocket. Fires very well and the trigger is very smooth.

I am on the look out for a Charter Arms Patriot 2.2" 327 which I should find out in a day or so.

I carry Speer Gold Dot 100 gr. in the LCR and the SP101.

My wife has a LCR and carries 32 H&R magnum.

I have been a 367 Magnum guy for many year and still carry them, but I have become quite enamored with 327.

I have looked into reloading, but my age (72) AND many other passions like fishing thATkeeps me from the time it takes for reloading.

Once you know your way around the ammo suppliers for 327 it is not necessarily hard to find but prices are not cheap.

Have not made up my mind on the Charter Arms but am looking and have to make up a "need" to plop down the money.

OH, I paid about 520 for the SP101 including taxes, shipping and FFL.
 
I have the SP101 in .327 Federal. I really like the cartridge. It represents the cutting edge of revolver technology, if that's a thing. You get six shots on a frame that normally offers five and you get power somewhere between 9mm and .357 magnum. The longer 4" barrel helps with that equation.

In my experience, .327 really shines in the LCR. As a compact, lightweight CCW; you get six shots at least on par with 9mm +p, the reliability of a revolver, and a form factor that can be both easier for pocket carry and easier to shoot well than the tiny semi-autos.

There, I use the 85-grain SD loads because anything heavier in .327 starts to feel like .357 magnum. The lighter 85-grain loads have felt recoil on par with mid-weight .38 +p but are much more impressive on water jugs. Of course, all .327 is loud but any SD caliber fired from a tiny gun is loud. The only time you should ever be in a position to hear it without protection is a situation where your life is on the line.

The heavier SP-101 is comfortable to shoot with most any load. I recommend Hogue's Hardwood grips for the ultimate in shooting comfort. Polished up, this makes for a dandy "BBQ gun" and is definitely fun at the range. Unfortunately, there is one prevalent complaint with the modern SP-101. The trigger is heavy and sloppy. It's not the worst. It's just not good. It'll smooth up over time and a trigger job will help. I've done all that. Now, I just need some shims to eliminate the side play. (It's like 27 things out on my to-do list.) =P
 
I had a 3" SP-101 in .357 Mag several years ago. It was a solidly built gun. But in that caliber, it just fell too far in between a couple of "ideal" categories.

It's small for a hunting / target gun. I had the model with fixed sights (I think this was the only option at that time). It shot pretty close to point of aim at self-defense distances, but could not be adjusted for longer distances.

I used it for a carry gun for a few years, using a cheap nylon IWB holster. OWB with a good leather holster should work well also. However, even though it was a5-shooter, it was way too large and heavy for effective pocket carry. And if I'm going to carry a revolver on the belt, I could go with a more traditional 6-shooter.

In the end, I determined my Glock 23 was roughly the same size, lighter, and carried almost three times as much ammo onboard. And later on I bought a S&W airweight J-frame in .38 Spl. for pocket carry.

Also as noted by others already, the SP-101 has a really heavy trigger, although mine was pretty smooth, which helps. I only ever had the factory springs in the gun.

Now having said all of that, I have a Single Six chambered in .32 H&R. I've been trying to convince myself into getting something similar in .327 Fed. I woudln't be opposed to getting a Single Seven. But my biggest gripe with that platform is the loading gate was designed for a .22LR. The larger .32 cartridged will just barely fit in there, and you have to have the chamber aligned just right. It's not a huge deal, but they can hang up if you're trying to load in a hurry.

As a 6-shooter, I was thinking the SP-101 might be a good choice in .327 Fed. Size isn't bad for the smaller cartridge. I'm still turned off by the heavy trigger. And I would have to debate between the 3" and the 4". The shorter barrel would be better to carry, but the 4" has adjustable sights.

Actually, I kind of like the idea of a full-sized gun. But then a lot of my shooting these days is at targets and plates at longer distances. I have a Blackhawk in .30 Carbine that shoots like a lazer. But it means I'm stocking reloading components that are almost, but not quit interchangeable. If I could find something that shoots as well, I'd love to replace it with something of similar size in .327 Fed. Seems in a pistol-length barrel the two would provide pretty similar ballistics. And being able to stock one diameter of bullets for both the larger Blackhawk and the smaller Single Six would be nice. Ruger made an 8-shot Blackhawk in .327 some time ago, but they're not too common. A GP-100 is also a possibility.

A little off-topic, but kind of what I've been thinking about with this cartridge.
 
I really like 32 caliber guns and own several of them. Mine are all 32acp, 32 long and 32 mag. I have no plans to buy a 327 but if I did it would be the Single Seven with the longest barrel I could get. If I'm going to shoot an ear buster 327 I want all the power I can get from it.

But no matter what gun you choose in which ever caliber you really need to plan on reloading for it. If it wasn't for reloading I couldn't afford to shoot in the quantities I like to shoot when I make it out to shoot.

And all the 32 mag loads I looked at were all high dollar S loads in 20-25 round boxes. I have two Single Six 32 mags and enjoy shooting lead bullet loads at around 900fps. I don't want or need full blown SD loads for a trail gun. But you don't see those loads for sale. The only way to get them is to reload load them yourself. The load selection is just too limited and too darn expensive for the 32 mag and 327 IMHO.:mad:
 
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