The cylinder of my 16-4 was just returned from Hamilton Bowen where the chambers were lengthened to 327 Federal. I intend to work up some magnum loads with 100gr XTP bullets once the weather is warmer and I can use my chronograph.
In the mean time, can anyone recommend mild to medium loads using the following components"
Starline 327 Federal brass
W231 or Unique powder
Rainier 100gr JHP bullets.

Hodgdon lists 4.8 to 5.4 gr of W231 with XTP bullets. Any comments?

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Dick

Most data for the .327 is for full power loads as you probably already know.

I have tried 4.2 grains of Unique with a 100 grain Missouri cast bullet.

That is a nice load to shoot and fairly accurate.

Best bet for mild loads is to check .32 HR magnum and .32 SWL data.

You can safely use that data in the .327 Federal.

With plated you should be able to go up to 5 grains of Unique. I guarantee that you will be in the medium range at that point.

BLM

I used 4.0 gr Unique with the Missouri Bullets 100 gr. in my Ruger Single Seven to fire form new brass prior to trimming. Shot well. Mild. Going to try some other loads with jacketed bullets next.

I bought a set of RCBS carbide dies to load my new 327 Federal and am having all sorts of trouble with the expander. I'm actually going to call them tomorrow. This expander is different than any I have previously experienced. It has a section that expands the case for about 1/3 of the way down then it has a step section to use with jacketed bullets. Past that, it has the typical flared part for use with cast bullets. This is described in the die instructions. I'm using Rainier plated bullets so I adjusted go to the step area. You can't believe the force it requires to remove the case from the expander die. I actually ripped the rim from one case. It's caused by the section that goes down in the case to expand it. The diameter of this section is way too large. No more loading until I talk to RCBS. I have 45 years of handloading experience and used to compete in benchrest.

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Dick

The exact same thing happened to me using the RCBS die.

This stem appears to be designed for wadcutter loads expanding the neck deeper than it needs to be for the .327. Since the .327 case is thicker as well this leads to the cases getting stuck on the stem.

I started using the stem out of my .32WSP die to bell the .327 cases.

I lost a few cases to the other stem and it even made some cases out of round.



BLM

I now only use the expander die on .32 SWL cases. RCBS needs to supply a smaller diameter stem for the .327.

New Starline brass does this to me every time....

I dip just the casemouth in a little case lube every couple rounds, makes it MUCH easier. Once I fire them the problem seems to disappear.

You have to lightly lubricate the inside of new brass when doing the expansion step, otherwise it will gall to the expander ball! But then you already discovered that. This applies to ALL brass, regardless of manufacture or caliber, handgun or rifle! Heavy brass, like .32 H&R Magnum, and .327 Federal, are particularly bad for galling as they place more pressure on the expander.

I have loaded 10's of thousands of rounds and many thousands of new brass in my 45 years and have never inside lubed a straight walled pistol case. Of course, bottlenecked cases have to be lubed in the inside.

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Dick

What is happening is brass is being deposited on the stem. That is galling of the brass case.

This can be seen in the photo and it will build up quickly. So galling it is without damaging the stem

I tried to inside lubricate the cases but that did not help at all.

The stem is .312" diameter which is proper for loading bullets such as the Hornady 90 grain SWC at .314" or the Missouri at .313".

I would prefer that it was .311" to hold .312" jacketed bullets and to allow more case neck tension on .32SWL cases.

As far as lubricating inside pistol case necks I have never done that without issues for over 30 plus years. Rifles cartridge case necks are brushed with motor mica.

We have a situation here where case thickness and stem diameter are not a good match when going from .32 SWL a thin case, to .327 Federal a much thicker wall brass.

And that is my $.02

BLM

...I bought the Lee three die set and added the Carbide Factory Crimp Die...zero problems loading first batch of .327s I ran last week.

That said I did notice it took a little more effort removing the case from the expander die. But as the Lee has a floating expander I didn't think this was unusual. This was using my friend's single stage press as my Dillon conversion had not arrived yet.

I have never had to lube the inside of a straight walled pistol case. That is going to make a mess when using a progressive press like Dillon....

The starting load I used was a 213 Lyman gas checked bullet for the .32-20 that my friend had. Used 10.0 grain of Accurate #9 which should run in the 1200s. They shot very well out of the 6.5" Freedom Arms 97 I just bought.

Thinking about having an old Model 53 .22 Jet rechanbered and rebored to .327 as I just never shoot Jet any more. The extra .22 LR cylinder would be rechambed....

Bob

I will bet if you polish the expander to a high finish your trouble will go away. It looks like galling due to poor finish on the RCBS expander. A little powdered graphite in a "dip dish" would also help after polishing the expander.

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Lost in Penn's Woods

I talked to RCBS today and they are aware of the problem. They are sending me two different expanders to try. One is for the 32 ACP and the other is a 0.309 expander. We will see.


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Dick

Hmmm, Buckled Straight Wall Brass?

A different perspective - Possible problem is that the expander stem is adjusted to far into the neck of the brass! The rounded tip of stem should only be adjusted to insert about 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch into the case mouth for expansion!

No PUNs intended! Good Luck!

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Have Fun, Shoot Safe!
John

That doesn't give any mouth flair to allow seating a bullet. This would collapse the case when seating a bullet.


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Dick

As for the expansion problem, I was (and am) experiencing the same problem while using the Lyman "Through-the-Expander-Die" powder drop. It was reduced somewhat by dusting the case mouth of about every 2nd or 3rd shell I do. I was using virgin Starline brass at the time. I guess the problem is more widespread than I thought.

As for the original OP question, I tend to load my 327s to the low- to midrange level of full, if that makes sense. I'm not trying to push the envelope, but when I load 327 brass, I expect it to be rather warm. That's the advantage of being able to use different lengths of brass in that same chamber for different power levels. I shoot everything from cat sneeze 32 S&W L loads through 32 H&R semi-magnums to the full strength hunting or defense loads available in the 327. Of course the same die set works for all.

Froggie

Yeah, that's not a method I would use. We're not stuffing lead in 45s here.

The thread seems to have gone off in the weeds at post #4. I will offer that I load 327 using a die set by Lyman made specifically for this caliber and stamped "327 Fed Mag". They run like butter.

I haven't had my 16-4 reamed out yet, and have developed my favorite load with 32 H&R mag and the 100 gr XTP. 1224 fps, and fantastic accuracy.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

H Richard, I've had similar results out of my Ruger with 32 H&R.

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B2/8th Cavalry, RVN 67-68

Back on topic as far as the seating stem goes.

I contacted RCBS and they are sending a shorter bell die stem.

I'll report on how it works after I give it a try.

H Richard. That is a fine firearm and some very good shooting.

BLM

I encountered a lot of bullet offerings that were more for 32-20 than 327 Fed Mag (lead velocities and diameters and hardness choices). You might want to avoid getting too small on the desired expander plug. Probably what RCBS is planning is to offer an expander adaptor for 32 H&R and 327 Federal Magnum that is smaller in diameter, intended for jacketed bullets. My lead bullets are .314, and JHP are typically .312. The .314s are running smoothly on the Lyman die set specifically stamped "327 Federal Magnum". They shoot well too BTW.

When I have had problems with cases sticking on an expander with machining marks on it, I successfully used fine emery cloth strips to work the plug surface.

I use 5.0 gr of 231 with a 100 gr xtp or a lead 90gr bullet made from Lee tumble lube molds.

I have also use 4.5 gr of 231 for lead 90 gr bullets. You won't get much milder than that.

I have also used 6.4 gr of Longshot with XTP 100 gr, it's a hotter load but well within the 32 H&R mag range.

Good shooting

Although I'm new here, I have to ask you a question.
Do you think "reaming it out" will make it shoot better?

Reaming the chambers to a longer depth will make them capable of chambering the 327 Fed Mag round in addition to the 32 H&R for which it was originally made.

Froggie

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Dick

I don't think I used the term "reamed." The chambers were lengthened to convert the cylinder from 32 H&R Magnum to 327 Federal. It might be more or less accurate. If a chamber is misaligned it will be less accurate. However, by minimizing the cylinder to barrel jump, it could be more accurate. Most likely, I won't be able to tell the difference. But it will be more powerful.


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Dick

Today I received the two expander stems mentioned in my post #12. They both seem to work equally well in expanded cases with little effort. The .309 expander is listed on the shipping list as .309 CBY (Cowboy). The 32 ACP and my original expander are of the newest type with an expansion band prior to the tapered. This is why I buy R CBS, they seem to have a solution to a problem and they don't charge for the replacement part.

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Dick