shorter cartridges in .327 federal.Damage potential???

E

ElmerHFudd

Inactive
So, i have shot .38 in a .357 and .44 special in a .44 Mag.
and all the .22's - CB, short Long and Long rifle, in my old marlin 22.
and i know there is a number of rounds i can shoot in a .327 fed.

BUT

My buddy insists that shooting the shorter cartridges will ruin the gun... it has been some heated debates on this.
.
i know I have read about it in the past, but not in the last decade...
anyone have thoughts AND experience on this topic?
It seems the metals have been developed over the years and the likelihood of damages of the less hot cartridges would be less of a factor... but i am a mere Mortal.

I can see the advantages of multi cartridge in one gun, but how bad can it get and how fast?

I now have a .327 ruger GP100 with a 6" barrel and love it, and thinking about getting a lever carbine in same caliber....

but this question keeps gnawing at me...

Thanks in advance
 
It's no different than shooting .38 Special in a .357 and .44 Special in a .44 Mag. The problem (to the extent that you regard it as a problem) is the carbon ring that builds up ahead of the case mouth. If you never clean that out and you never shoot actual .327 Magnum, that ring can make itself pretty difficult to chip out down the road.

I can't think of any other problems. I don't shoot .327 Magnum in my .327 revolver.
 
My biggest issue with .327 and shorter cartridges in my SP101 is just that the 32 S&W long isn't as accurate, and they generally shoot dirty. And while they are a little cheaper than .327FM ammo, it isn't a lot. .32H&R mag wouldn't be bad, but that stuff is even more expensive and harder to find than .327FM (at least, that's my experience). .327 does still seem to be best for the handloader.

As for the rifle, I have a Henry in .327FM and the 32S&W long don't feed through the gun well at all. They won't hurt the gun, but you might when you get frustrated enough to wrap it around a tree... (I should say, for the record, that this gun has been incredibly stiff and jammy even with .327FM ammo. I've been contemplating sending it back to Henry for some love.)
 
Your buddy is evidently listening to "internet experts" ...
The truth is if 22 CB , 22 Short , 22 Long can be shot in a 22 Long Rifle chambered gun and if 38 special can safely be fired in 357 magnum ,and if 44 special be safely fired in 44 magnum and if the new handload 41 special can be fired in 41 magnum revolvers and they can because I've done it and do it to this day ...then of course the shorter 32's can be fired in the longer 327 Federal .
Technically there should be a slight loss of accuracy ...but in truth at handgun distances ...you and I will never see it .
Don't listen to your buddy ...he's all full of hot air and hooey .

Clean all your handguns after each shooting session and you will have no problemo's !
I've been doing this for 50 years and no damage to any of my revolvers .
Gary
 
About the only .32’s that are an annoyance in a .327 Federal revolver are the .32 ACP rounds. They load up nicely and usually shoot with no issue, but the extraction and ejection is often a hellish experience. They don’t have a proper rim so it’s typical that the ejector misses them BUT then they end up sitting under the ejector... which doesn’t slip past them again on the way down. You end up with brass UNDER the ejector and no easy way to get em out until you find a dowel or range rod to poke ‘em out while pressing the ejector rod, the whole thing is obnoxious.

But not unsafe. Unless a horde of bad guys are stomping your guts out and you have no way to shoot ‘em.
 
Thanks for the info Guys!
in my heart i believe that it should be no problem. sometimes his science baffles me, BUT,given he is my friend I do want to choose my battles carefully, I know sometimes I can be Hard headed, but of course I am always right... haha ...
I do like to keep my options open, and that works out well, as i currently have a Winchester 92 in 32 smith& wesson Long especially when out in the woods. when I may chance on Ptarmigan or Rabbit.

LittlebikeRider : sorry to hear about your experience with the henry, my buddy has the Bigboy steel and he really is digging that, I am going to take a look at it next week and see if it is something i can live with or without. i do like the tube loading style, the side load in cold weather can be a real pain in the fingers.
 
It's fine, from a safety standpoint.
.32 S&W Long and .32 H&R are safe in a .327 Federal chamber.
.32 S&W and .32 Auto can, theoretically, also be fired, but performance can be exceptionally terrible, since the bullets have no support when fired. The bullets have to "jump" to the throat.

The only consistent issue is that firing shorter cartridges will create a carbon ring in the chamber (and wax ring with lubed cast bullets), which makes going back to the longer cartridges difficult, until the chambers are cleaned.


I really like .327 Federal and, at one point, owned 5 revolvers chambered for the cartridge.
But I shoot very little of the namesake, any more. 90% of my shooting in the remaining revolvers is with .32 H&R and .32 S&W Long.
 
like with a .357, save/keep a few magnum casings to insert in the chambers after shooting shorter rounds. it helps scrape the carbon ring out, but really. a tornado brush and a power drill do just as well.
 
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