J frame .327

[Armen]

A five shot alloy (light) in the new .327 Mag. Like the Ruger, but a 5 shot so the cylinder and frame could be as small as possible. Shrouded hammer so it could be shot S/A if desired.
Of, and of course without the lock and with real forged parts.

 

[RDak]

+1

 

[BlindJustice]

I don't think you'd have much difference in cylinder diameter
6 versus 5 since the centerline of the cylinder is still the same
distance to the center of the bore - unless you shrink
the J-frame to become something else.eh?

They're making a 6 shot .327 Fed Mag with the
L-comp. it would be nice to just have a regular model
with say a 3.5" or 4" Bbl.

R-

 

[H Richard]

I've fired the 327 with factory ammo, and now understand why S&W brought it out with the comp. That is one high intensity round. It developes 45,000 pressure which is much more than the .357. The port does help with muzzel flip.

 

[Armen]

6 vs 5

Hey Blind,
The J's are usually 5 shot. What they might be able to do is reduce the cylinder external diameter and use the space gained to beef up the top strap and area under the cylinder to put up with the extra oomph.
Not a target gun. Just a lifesaver.

 

[paladin4christ]

Is the .327 too powerful for the J-frame?

Hey Blind,
The J's are usually 5 shot. What they might be able to do is reduce the cylinder external diameter and use the space gained to beef up the top strap and area under the cylinder to put up with the extra oomph.

J's are 5 shot w/.38/.357. They're 8 shot w/.22LR and 7 shot w/.22 mag. W/.327 they're 6 shot. But they all have the same distance from the centerline of the cylinder and the centerline of the bore. Even if you reduce the .327 to a 5 shot, you cannot alter that distance w/o essentially making a new frame, one that just doesn't really make business sense -- How many customers would want a 5 shot rather than 6 shot .327 vs the R&D, manufacturing, stocking parts, etc. cost involved w/a new frame for this tiny market segment?

In the quote above you don't talk about reducing the size of the gun as you did in the OP ("a 5 shot so the cylinder and frame could be as small as possible"), but now talk about using the extra space to "beef up" the frame. ???

I haven't heard of anyone having problems the .327 in J-frames. Have you?

If it can handle .357 loads (which have far greater recoil), I doubt whether it will have a problem w/.327 loads.

If you're talking about shaving off some cylinder diameter w/o changing the bore (and chambers) centerline, that is dictated by whether the remaining steel around each chamber can withhold the pressure of combustion. Again, the cost involved w/doing this just on the .327 J frames probably does not make business sense. And, if this is what you meant, there is no advantage in going from 6 shots to 5 shots since the extra metal between the chambers does not help keep the chambers from blowing out radially.

 

[paladin4christ]

I've fired the 327 with factory ammo, and now understand why S&W brought it out with the comp. That is one high intensity round. It developes 45,000 pressure which is much more than the .357. The port does help with muzzel flip.

That is what I figured. Still, the 115 gr Gold Dot self-defense load is supposed to have about 20% less recoil than the 125 gr .357 mag. I had been thinking about a 3" or 4" .357 686+ for CCWing, but, after reading all the great info on and linked re the .327 Fed mag on Wikipedia
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.327_Federal_Magnum), I think the better move is going for the same in .327 (as soon as S&W offers it w/o the infernal lock).

I really like the 115 gr Gold Dot's high sectional density (0.169) and high velocity for good penetration, even w/expansion. The combination of high velocity and good SD makes me think of the .327 mag as the .41 mag's "kid brother." To get that SD w/.38 or .357 you have to go to the 158 gr bullet. To get similar penetration, you'll probably also need similar muzzle velocity. Putting those two together will recoil way too much for me in a 3" or 4" L-frame (esp if I'm single-handed point shooting while scooting).

I wonder how many rnds a .327 mag L-frame could hold? Hmm. ;-)