.327 Federal Magnum

[Isher2000]

Am I the only one sad to see this round drying up?

From my perspective it was unique in that it let you shoot stuff just barely over .22 LR level with .32 S&W, step up a little to .32 S&W Long, move to a more than marginally effective defensive round wit .32 H&R Magnum for the recoil sensitive and then step up to hot short barrel 9mm performance with the heavier loaded .327 Fed. rounds. If you never tried the top end Speer 115 gr. loads or the heavy Keith semi-wadcutter loads from Buffalo Bore out of a J frame S&W trust me they will make you a believer in this as an effective defense set up.

The wide range of terminal ballistics and recoil available by all the loads a .327 chambered gun will handle made this a great gun to train new shooters moving them up as their ability to handle recoil increased.

 

[22hipower]

No, you're not the only one sad to see few firearms offered in 327 Federal Magnum. However, when S&W offered guns so chambered there were few takers and slow sales (I bought a 632-1 at Cabelas about three years ago on sale; nobody wanted it). Bought another from a guy at a gun show six years ago for even less because "his wife didn't like" it; had a box of ammo included with that one. Can't blame the manufacturers for not wanting to build things that folks won't buy. The upside to there not being many around is that everybody seems to want one now....and prices have risen considerably, for the 32 H&R mags too. I seldom load to 327 mag levels as the 32 H&R mag seems just perfect for the 32 caliber. If somebody made a rifle in 327 I'd buy it, or 32 H&R mag for that matter. Enjoy the ones we've got I guess.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

 

[M E Morrison]

No, you're not the only one sad to see few firearms offered in 327 Federal Magnum. However, when S&W offered guns so chambered there were few takers and slow sales (I bought a 632-1 at Cabelas about three years ago on sale; nobody wanted it). Bought another from a guy at a gun show six years ago for even less because "his wife didn't like" it; had a box of ammo included with that one. Can't blame the manufacturers for not wanting to build things that folks won't buy. The upside to there not being many around is that everybody seems to want one now....and prices have risen considerably, for the 32 H&R mags too. I seldom load to 327 mag levels as the 32 H&R mag seems just perfect for the 32 caliber. If somebody made a rifle in 327 I'd buy it, or 32 H&R mag for that matter. Enjoy the ones we've got I guess.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

IIRC, Henry is making a .327 carbine.

 

[Isher2000]

Amen

With a little luck it may hang on like the .41 magnum for quite some time.

The box of ammo that came with your 2nd pistol is a good example of the problem. Real .327 ammo kicks more than most folks like with the grips S&W supplied as standard on their J frames. The Ruger guns were better equipped.

I found that switching to Pachmayer Compacs let me handle full loads more easily. I'm still looking for decent wood grips that distribute the recoil better since I'd like to be able to carry the 632 power-port that I have.


Any suggestions there would be appreciated. I'm sure the minority that run hot .357 loads through their J frames have the same issues.

Nice to meet a fellow .327 fan.

 

[Isher2000]

Thanks, I'll have to look at that Henry carbine. It would make a nice woods walking combo.

 

[nutsforsmiths]

I have a 632-1 Carry Comp, the 3" barreled one, and I just love it. It is a hot round, but like has been mentioned, it can shoot any of the other 32 revolver rounds too, which is nice. Mine is a stainless version, not the usual black finish one sees. I bought it new. I had a chance to buy a black finished one a few years back that was new, but passed. Kind of wish I hadn't.

I would have loved to see this round in a K frame size pistol, but with very slow sales, I don't see that happening any time soon.

I do have a feeling that this round will turn out to have a following like the 41 Mag does. I love the 31 Mag round too. I reload for that one. I have a Dillon press and would like then to make dies for 327, but currently they do not. I know RCBS does, and I think Hornady, but I haven't looked into those yet.

I do hope the 327 does make some sort of comeback. It is truly a great 32 round.

 

[Cal44]

Just shot some of the American Eagle 100gr 327 mag practice ammo today with my LCR 327.

It's hot, but the recoil is less than most 357 mag rounds out of an LCR 357.

 

[Isher2000]

P.S. - I checked out the Henry Big Boy Steel carbine mentioned above today. It is supposed to release soon and by gosh they're planning a .41 mag. version too as well as the usual .357 mag, .44 mag and .45 Colt versions. A great day for the odd man out magnum fans. Thanks again for bringing this too my attention.

 

[Isher2000]

Our friends at Ruger still have GP-100 and Blackhawks listed in .327 for those looking for something closer to a K frame. I wish Smith would just revive the Model 16 or add a 616 and chamber it in .327. It could still handle the three lower powered .32 cartridges.

 

[SkunkApe]

I always thought the way to go was to offer a smaller diameter .327 revolver, rather than a more ammo .327 revolver, as compared to the .38 Special.

I don't think anyone did.

 

[SkunkApe]

I'm not the only one:

http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-wesson-wish-list/108311-i-frame-5-shot-snub-327-magnum.html

 

[tjpopkin]

I love the .327 Federal round....
Handholds are easy to make, exceptionally accurate, and can be mitigated to a level below Hot and above .32 H&R....1100fps. The 115gr. 32-20 lead bullet is great and makes nice clean paper holes....it will hit a rodent really hard....way above 332-20 levels.
I have the 632 guns in .327, but my favorite is the 16-4, rechambered by Bowens with a superb trigger job. Like shooting a smaller version of the RM. It is more accurate than the Ruger Single-Seven, even though the latter is a nice gun.

 

[cooperduper]

Perhaps because the 38 Colt, 38 Special, 357 Magnum progression already existed; filling the same purposes and with many more choices of guns to choose from...

But maybe 32 S&W is easier to find than 38 Colt.

 

[Isher2000]

I always thought the way to go was to offer a smaller diameter .327 revolver, rather than a more ammo .327 revolver, as compared to the .38 Special.

I don't think anyone did.

Now that would really kick like a mule with the effective carry loads.

 

[Isher2000]

I have been bitten by the 32cal bug , as I have bought a model 16-4 recently. I was thinking buying another 32cal maybe one that can fire the 327FED ammo , of the revolvers that I can find for sale the Ruger sp101 interests me the most....anyone here have any thoughts.....comments on this revolver?

They are nice but much more heavily built than say a S&W J frame. At one time they offered it in .32 H&R mag with a 4 in. barrel and adjustable sites. As one of our friends mentioned above with the S&W 16 a competent gunsmith can lengthen the .32 H&R chamber to .327 Fed. dimensions safely. A friend of mine did this and is quite pleased with the result. There are more .32 H&R SP-101s floating around out there than .327 Fed. though they do supposedly catalog it and also offer .327 Fed. in their lightweight LCR revolver.

 

[CATI1835]

I have been bitten by the 32cal bug , as I have bought a model 16-4 recently. I was thinking buying another 32cal maybe one that can fire the 327FED ammo , of the revolvers that I can find for sale the Ruger sp101 interests me the most....anyone here have any thoughts.....comments on this revolver?

Like this one? Its not going anywhere. That is final and should tell you how I feel about it.

 

[ckcrranch]

I will say the old S&W 332 in 32 H&R mag is a great gun, fun to shoot and perfect for me for CC.

 

[Isher2000]

Just try to think of the .327 Fed. as the .32 H&R mag. you'd want if you suddenly found yourself having a really bad day.

Seriously I have done some really informal ballistics comparisons between the H & R and the .327 and the terminal impact of the .327 even with then same bullet weights is a noticeable improvement.

Having said that the .32 H&R is certainly a fine cartridge and when it comes to a near miss from a gun that kicks you so much that you flinch and a nice center of mass hit from a gun you handle well and have confidence in the hit wins every time.

We all have our own recoil thresholds. God bless those guys that shoot 4" S&W .500 magnums for fun, I'm not one of them.

I'm certainly finding that I don't handle recoil as well as I used to now that I've north of 60. My .44 mag. got traded for a .44 special and I tend to look to a .45 auto rim with a hard cast 255gr. Keith wadcutter out of a 51/2" N frame as the most bump that I can handle these days.

I do struggle with the hot .327s out of a J frame and tend not to shot a whole box at once but I want that extra bit of stopping power without jumping up to a .357 J frame which would kick even more.

To each his own.