327 & 357 Magnums question?

[MCorps0311]

Truth is I never heard of a 327 Magnum till I read a thread on another forum a few weeks ago. My question, is a 327 Magnum more powerful than a 357 Magnum? I have seen a 357 magnum in gun stores with price tags saying it's a 357 Magnum,i've never seen a 327 or I just never paid any attention to them. If you don't know,you don't know,that's me.

 

[shaggist]

Any of the reloading ballistics charts will give you the answers that you want about the power of a particular cartridge. You can find them with any of the search engines available on the internet. What would be your guess as to the power of a cartridge with a 85 grain to 115 grain bullet versus one with a 110 grain to 158 grain bullet? Research, which takes a little effort, will always get the answer to your questions. Try it.
BBTI - Ballistics by the Inch :: .357 Mag Results

http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/megraphs/327mag.html/url

 

[M29since14]

Certainly not more powerful than a .357 but nothing to sneeze at. I wish S&W would make it in some model of revolver I would actually like to have - like a K-frame Combat Magnum or even a 16-4.

 

[Rule3]

No they are not even close despite what they claim about the 327 Federal Magnum being close to 357 mag energy.

That said the 327 Fed is a potent little round. It is actually a 32 caliber. It is a small and fast round which is how it generates energy, I like it. It does not beat up your hand like a 357 does. It can drive a 115 gr XTP around 1200 fps out of this 2" snub. Ammo show is actually the 85 grain Hydra Shok

 

[peyton]

It is truly sad that S&W no longer makes the 632.

 

[Hapworth]

Any of the reloading ballistics charts will give you the answers that you want about the power of a particular cartridge. You can find them with any of the search engines available on the internet...Research, which takes a little effort, will always get the answer to your questions. Try it...

OP did -- he reached out to the forum's knowledge base.

 

[DWalt]

There are actually four .32 cartridges differing only in length and power - .32 S&W (the earliest), .32 S&W Long, .32 H&R Magnum, and the .327 Federal Magnum. All can be fired in any .327 Magnum revolver.

 

[BB57]

The .327 Federal Magnum doesn't have quite the energy of a .357 Magnum, but it only has about 1/2 to 3/4 the felt recoil of a typical 125 gr .357 Magnum self defense load.

It also offers much better penetration than a 38 Special in a short barrel revolver, and it offers one more round in an otherwise five shot revolver.

Sadly, the .32 has never fared well in the US over the last 50 or so years as we seem to be allergic, or at least very caliber phobic to anything smaller than .355" in diameter.

I recall the same very positive press over the .32 H&R Magnum when it was introduced and it also largely fizzled in the marketplace, as seems to be the case with the .327 Federal Magnum. that's too bad as the option to shoot .32 S&W, .32 S&W Long, .32 H&R Mag or .327 Federal mag to suit your needs at the moment is a very handy feature.

 

[DWalt]

I have always felt that the .32-20 might make a comeback, but it never has, aside from among some CAS shooters. I think the .32-20 could be loaded to equal the .327 Mag in newer gun designs.