Is the .327 Federal Magnum dead? -POLL-

Is the .327 Fed. Mag. Dead/Obsolete?

  • Yes

    Votes: 88 47.8%

  • No

    Votes: 96 52.2%
  • Total voters
    184
yes you can put 6 rounds into that cute pretty scandium alloy snubnose revolver, but you end up with a light weight scandium alloy snubnose firing 6 rounds of light 357 magnum ammo.
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You can also put 6 rounds into a 3" sp101, and have a well ballanced 6-gun that is smaller than any .357 holding 6.

I still want one..... just not on the top of the priorities list right now.
 
38 special -> 357 mag
44 special -> 44 mag
45 Colt -> 454 Casull
32 S&W long -> 32 H&R mag -> 327 Fed Mag


32 S&W ..............1878 0.605" case, 0.930" OAL, 12 kcup
32 S&W Long....... 1896 0.920" case, 1.280" OAL, 12 kcup or 15kpsi
32 H&R magnum.. 1982 1.075" case, 1.350" OAL, 21 kcup
327 Federal .........2007 1.200" case, 1.470" OAL, 45kpsi


Someone made a boo boo with the 32 H&R mag.
It had to be done over with the 327 Federal.

Someone should have told H&R that cases stick in a 6 point revolver extraction somewhere around 40 kpsi, not 20 kpsi.

And then there is the 32-20. It has a tradition of hot load for strong guns.

32-20 Win 1882 .351" base, .065"/.408" rim,1.315 case, 1.592" OAL 16kcup *
30 carbine 1940 .3548" case, .050"/.360"rim, 1.290" case, 1.680" OAL 40kpsi

* Ken Waters 32kpsi for rifles 1989
* Brian Pierce 16kcup for pre 1900 Colt SAA revolvers, 30kcup for post 1900 Colt revolvers, 40kcup for rifles, 2002
 

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If someone (Ruger) would make a smaller frame single action with a 3 1/2" barrel and a birds head grip, it would be my new trail gun.
 
well, the 45GAP has a company almost giving the guns away to promote their pet caliber.... the .356S&W (tactical .356) .41action express, .50G.I. and now the .327Fed Mag..... like the 32-20, what do they offer that isn't already done by other more popular calibers?
 
what do they offer that isn't already done by other more popular calibers?
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Many of the answers to that question have already been discussed in this thread.

However, you can approach many other cartridges with the same question:
What does [.460 S&W, .500 S&W, .500 Special, .357 Sig, .300 AAC Blackout, .50 Beowulf, 7mm-08, etc.] do, that another 'more popular' cartridge can't do?

The answer is almost always, "very little" or "nothing at all". But, every once in a while, a cartridge comes along, that plays outside the box.
 
Assuming you meant .350 Remington Magnum by ".357 Ultra Magnum", and .32 H&R by ".32 Magnum" (rather than .32-20)...
Every one of those has been chambered in a new firearm, over the last 8 years. Some of them, by multiple companies.

Remington chambered the 8mm Mag, .350 Mag, and 5mm Mag.
Ruger chambered 8mm Mag, .256 Winchester, .221 Fireball, and .307 Winchester.
Marlin chambered .256 Winchester and .32 H&R.
CZ chambered .221 Fireball and 5mm Mag.
Winchester chambered .307 Winchester in a commemorative 1895.
And, the list goes on, with more imports and companies along the lines of Cooper, Kimber, Montana Rifle Works, and more...

Many of those were limited runs or "distributor exclusive" type sales. But, they still got produced and sold
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How often are boxes of those cartridges seen on the dealer's shelf...especially these days. They are all but gone, if not orphans now soon will be. As will the current .32 odd ball.
 
I never understand this debate. Why is it people who would not buy one always try to disparage this round?

Sure its not going to displace the 357 magnum. But its not intended too.
If your carrying a 357 magnum your not likely to replace it with a 327 Magnum.

Pretty sure I am not the only guy who likes 32 cal guns.
As soon as the 327 came out I picked one up for the wife's bed side gun.
Whats good about it? As far as any of my snub nosed revolvers it is by far the most accurate.
Best part though is it is the perfect training caliber for the wife.
Got her up to speed shooting low recoil 32 longs. After she became comfortable with the fire arm we moved up to 32 magnum loads.
Once she became comfortable with the increased recoil. We moved up to 327 mag loads.
She likes it and can shoot it. I in no way feel under gunned if needed to pulled out of the bed stand.

Now as a fun gun. man the manufactures have let this caliber down.
It was sold mainly as a self defense cartridge. Its is in my opinion a perfect match for a lever action carbine. Pair that with a Black Hawk. Wow...
Still waiting for my Carbine, as soon as one becomes available I am buying it.
And no.. I dont feel a souped up 32-20 is the same as a full blown 327 mag load in a gun designed to take the huge pressures this load is capable of.

I Have a 32-20, 32S&W, and others. Like em all....
But I am still Jonesing for a 327..
 
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I have not researched the .327 Mag cartridge, so I know little about it. However, from a practical perspective, would 6 .327 rounds be superior to 5 .38 Special rounds?
 
Dead? Why am I always the last to know? :confused:

I shot another 250 rounds of .327 Federal Magnum this weekend through my GP-100. I guess I missed the death announcement while I was in the woods or in the reloading room. It seemed to me like the .327 was shooting just fine, it's both powerful and accurate, and cheap to reload, but I'm not really much of a ballistic pathologist so what do I know?
 
I have not researched the .327 Mag cartridge, so I know little about it. However, from a practical perspective, would 6 .327 rounds be superior to 5 .38 Special rounds?
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Hits a lot harder than a .38 or a 9mm for that matter. Energy is more on the level of the .357 mag. This is factory Federal 100 grain soft point that cost at the time about $24.99 per box of 50.

Chrono100SP_zps0b444dd0.jpg


That Federal round delivers 574 ft/lbs of energy which compares well to Federals factory offerings in .357 magnum with 125 and 158 grain loads rated around 575 and 539 ft/lbs respectively. Worth noting is the .327 is doing that with 20% or less recoil than the .357. The Federal .38 Spec is rated @ 235 ft/lbs. There are specialty manufacturers who make rounds in all of those calibers that may be higher but the .327 is a Federal round and I wanted to compare apples to apples so I stuck to their data.

The .327 has things to offer but I have 357s, 9mms and even 38s and they each have something to offer. It is all about what you are looking for.
 
I should have a bushing installed in my 7.65 Mauser to covert it to 327 permanently. That would make great use of an underused small game round.
 
That Federal round delivers 574 ft/lbs of energy which compares well to Federals factory offerings in .357 magnum with 125 and 158 grain loads rated around 575 and 539 ft/lbs respectively. Worth noting is the .327 is doing that with 20% or less recoil than the .357. The Federal .38 Spec is rated @ 235 ft/lbs.
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Energy is a very poor tool for modeling terminal performance of bullets, Momentum is more directly able to model the diameter and depth that a bullet is capable of achieving.
when you compare momentum of 327 and the heavier bullets of the 38 and 357 you'll find that the 327 is much closer to 38 than 357.
 
Energy is a very poor tool for modeling terminal performance of bullets, Momentum is more directly able to model the diameter and depth that a bullet is capable of achieving.
when you compare momentum of 327 and the heavier bullets of the 38 and 357 you'll find that the 327 is much closer to 38 than 357.
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We can cherry-pick which statistics and performance figures to compare, all day long, but it won't get us anywhere.
You need to look at the cartridge, as a whole, to understand it. No one comparison tells the whole story.



Regardless...
Neither kinetic energy, nor momentum, are a great way to compare cartridges.
Generally, KE is better for looking at a cartridge's overall potential, while momentum is better for comparing different bullet weights within the same cartridge (or very similar cartridges). But, they can both fail, miserably...
There are other variables that come into play, such as bullet construction and firearm ergonomics, that can dramatically change any perceived advantage show by KE or momentum figures.
 
We can cherry-pick which statistics and performance figures to compare, all day long, but it won't get us anywhere.
You need to look at the cartridge, as a whole, to understand it. No one comparison tells the whole story.



Regardless...
Neither kinetic energy, nor momentum, are a great way to compare cartridges.
Generally, KE is better for looking at a cartridge's overall potential, while momentum is better for comparing different bullet weights within the same cartridge (or very similar cartridges). But, they can both fail, miserably...
There are other variables that come into play, such as bullet construction and firearm ergonomics, that can dramatically change any perceived advantage show by KE or momentum figures.
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You're full of it aren't you?
Can you explain how firearm ergonomics affects what the bullet is capable of when it hits the target?
 
I would say firearms ergonomics would factor into whether you got a good hit on the target.

So for example, my 327 SS Comp'ed 632 fits my hand better than my Model 19. Thus, I might get a better hit with the former.
 
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