The end of the .357 Mag....

[gizamo]

Now that Federal has introduced the .327 and it has become a commercial success, with all the gunners lining up to buy them.....

One has to wonder....what with the .41 mag above it - who in their right mind would want such a middle of the road and near obsolete cartridge....anymore?

 

[NFrameFred]

I should finally be able to afford some 27's then . . . .

 

[Alpo]

I believe you be a day late.

 

[gizamo]

In its day....1930's. it was the answer to the overpowered military an law enforcement .38 Special.

It really has outlived its intent...

 

[USAF385]

I think I'll get into collecting obsolete handguns. I'll give you $100 a piece for any of those outdated .357s you might have.

 

[David LaPell]

Really? I fore see a different scenario. Since the .327 seems to only be a specialized gun, I think it will go long before the .357 evers sees its demise. I'll tell you why. One, it's expensive. $20 for a box of twenty rounds. Dollar for dollar the .357 is much more cost effective. You can shoot .38 Specials out of the .357, and while you can shoot the .32 H & R Magnum out of a .327, have you priced those lately? I always love hearing when some Johnny Come Lately round shows up, how it will displace an older round that has been doing the job for a great many years. Since I first started shooting in 1995 I have heard the following rounds that supposedly should have gone the way of Elvis and Disco. The .30-30, .44 Magnum, .41 Magnum (many times), the .357 Magnum (not the first time this way supposedly died), the .45 ACP, the 16 gauge, the .32-20, the .38-40, and the .38 Special that I can recall.
So I won't hold my breath if the .327 Magnum is advertised as a new round to push the old king off the hill. Just another way to advertise the round and try to sell guns. I remember when the .17 HMR was brought out how it was supposed to knock off the .22 Magnum. Well, it's still around too.

 

[Peter J.]

What is a .327? Who the heck needs a new caliber?

 

[scooter123]

To some, them's fightin words. Now, I'm not one to get that stirred up, instead I'll just point out that the 357 Magnum is one of the most versatile calibers in existance. I don't think you'll ever see the 327 used for hunting game such as Deer, out of a 20 inch barrel the 357 will knock them down quickly. In addition it's Defense capabilities are not only well established, they are also well recognized. Finally, a 357 Magnum revolver offers the opportunity to shoot what continues to be the most widely used caliber in the world, the 38 spl..

IMO the only weakness of the 357 Magnum is that it's a handful in term of recoil, flash, and blast, in a light weight firearm. The new 327 Magnum is an attempt to exploit this weakness. However, there is one little issue with the 327, that is the little light bullets. Quite simply, if you find the 357 Magnum a bit too much in your featherweight, use some 38 spl. You'll not only reduce the recoil, you'll also have the option of using a heavier bullet.

 

[Bullseye 2620]

What is a .327? Who the heck needs a new caliber?

I dunno. . .why would anyone shoot one of these?

Bullseye

 

[Rule3]

The main advantage (for me) of the 327 Federal is you can get a nice 6 shot self defense J frame sized gun. The ballistics of the 327 are very impressive. You get a lot of terminal energy without the the flash and recoil of a 357 Mag. I have shot it in the Ruger SP101 and do not see the advantage in that weight of a gun. might as well stick with 5 rounds of 357.

Now pack 6 rounds into a alloy frame J frame and you might have something.

I see no reason for a 41 Mag. There is a like new one up at the shop. It's not going to do anything for me that a 357, 44 special or 44 Mag will not do.

 

[DOEBOY1]

10 MM, 45 GLOCK, 357 MAX, 450 marlin,...They were all going to rock the world at some point, now we have the 327 need i say more. Turn in your 357's before it's too late! to me! I will save you all! because I am here to help. Doeboy

 

[cwo4uscgret]

.327 Magnum Designer Ammo

Created by a gun maker and ammo maker to fill a non-existant niche. Just like .357 Sig - Sig Sauer wanted a designer round.

Me, I'll stick with .22, .22 Magnum, 6.35 mm, .32 S&W and .32 ACP, 9mm, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, 10 mm, .45 ACP, .41 Magnum, .44 Magnum...

 

[gizamo]

Yep....

All great points.... How many have actually gone out and bought, shot, and actually worked with a .327 or .41 mag?

And for the record....

50 rounds of 100 grain American Eagle goes for about $25. Making .327 very reasonable for a magnum cartridge.

As to David's point about caliber.... I have been shooting the ones you listed since 1965. Add the 25-20 and 204 Ruger, .22 Hornet and many more. Also cast and reload for many of these.

.41 is by far my favorite big bore straight wall handgun cartridge. The .327 is second as a smaller bore.

The .357.... Just no longer see a need. YMMV

 

[usm1rifle]

I dunno. . .why would anyone shoot one of these?

Bullseye

That's a nice 327, who made the aluminum heads?

 

[gizamo]

My last .327 was in a 64 vette. Man, that was a ride.....

Maybe we are due for a .283...

 

[Armyphotog]

Why is everybody always trying to reinvent the wheel. Must be some carpet bagger trying to make another fast buck. When I was a cop, a .38 Special would shoot you just as dead as anybody could be, then came the .357 which couldn't shoot you any deader, except maybe go through a car window to do it. This .327 or whatever, seems much todo, about nothing. Not selling any of my tried and true to buy any of this new stuff.

 

[gizamo]

Like I asked... Anyone in the discussion actually owned one?

Got a real problem with Web experts that never even shot the calibers. Repeating Google doesn't command any respect.

IMHO the .327 never should have been introduced as a defensive round. It is varmint or long range target cartridge.

Needs a rifle to go along with the handguns.

 

[Rule3]

Like I asked... Anyone in the discussion actually owned one?


IMHO the .327 never should have been introduced as a defensive round. It is varmint or long range target cartridge.

.

Why is it not a defensive round? Have you shot it in a rifle to deem it a varmint or target round?

Not saying it's the next sliced bread but if they do not try new things we would still be running around with rocks and clubs.

 

[gizamo]

Why is it not a defensive round? Have you shot it in a rifle to deem it a varmint or target round?

Not saying it's the next sliced bread but if they do not try new things we would still be running around with rocks and clubs.

OCD1....

Major marketing mistake. Never compare one cartridges as being as nearly as good as the next major caliber. The .327 is not a .357. The differences in ballistics are obvious.

Dang the marketing Gurus for this one....

Steve

 

[kennyb]

The main advantage (for me) of the 327 Federal is you can get a nice 6 shot self defense J frame sized gun. The ballistics of the 327 are very impressive. You get a lot of terminal energy without the the flash and recoil of a 357 Mag. I have shot it in the Ruger SP101 and do not see the advantage in that weight of a gun. might as well stick with 5 rounds of 357.

Now pack 6 rounds into a alloy frame J frame and you might have something.

I see no reason for a 41 Mag. There is a like new one up at the shop. It's not going to do anything for me that a 357, 44 special or 44 Mag will not do.

using your line of reasoning...why not just buy the 500 mag..it will do anything the 44 mag,41mag,357 will do

 

[Smith357]

change scares me

The .327 mag may last a little longer than some of the other obsolete cartridges that were supposed to be the greatest things since sliced bread, but I would not bet on it. Cartridges like the 218 Bee, 224 Weatherby Magnum, .284 Winchester, and all the new fangled WSSMs were all touted and the next best and have all gone the way of the Dodo. Because one can use other .32 caliber ammo in gun chambered for .327 mag it may hang on for a while before it dies a slow painful death. As for one extra round in a J frame argument, if you can't hit the target in five, will one more really help?

 

[Rule3]

OCD1....

Major marketing mistake. Never compare one cartridges as being as nearly as good as the next major caliber. The .327 is not a .357. The differences in ballistics are obvious.

Dang the marketing Gurus for this one....

Steve

I majored in Marketing. No of course it is not a 357 and yes they did compare it to 357 ballistics but that still does not mean it is not a effective SD round. What basis to you have (as you mentioned) that states it is not good for that purpose? As I mentioned I have shot it from a Ruger and no I did not do any ballistic testing on it but it is a screaming round and I have no doubt that it would expand fully. I plan on buying one as soon as SW actually produces the new M 632 Pro #178046. They make the same gun in a 5 shot 357. I called the other day and they are waiting for the sights. I have enough 357's/38's and would love to have that extra 6th shot. I believe it to be a tad better than a 380 Auto.

 

[Injunbro]

You must be bored Giz. The end of the .357? There are plenty of us still shooting the .45 Colt, .45-70, .44 Special, etc. & the .357 will be around for a very long time because it's pretty versatile. No one is making a .327 rifle for the same reason there aren't a lot of .357 rifles - very little call for one. If everyone who wanted a new .327 rifle bought it today the market would be dead tomorrow - not worth tooling up for. You could always convert a good lever gun from .357.
Have I shot a .327? Yes, once (Ruger SP101), it belonged to a friend who was trying to get me to take it off his hands. It was accurate but I don't see that it did anything my .357 doesn't do a lot better.
Please don't take this as bashing your guns or taste, we all have our druthers.

 

[DeathGrip]

Variety is the spice of life.

I haven't had the pleasure and I wouldn't refuse a chance to.

I'll shoot anything I can get my hands on.

Bang=Good.Hit what your aiming for=++++++.

 

[wallager3904]

Let's see, the .40 S&W spelled doom for the .45 acp, right? the .32 H&R mag doomed the .38 spec, why is it that because there is a new cartridge, there is an assumption that it will utterly replace a much loved, and well established one? Anyone who is ashamed of those old .357's please send them to me before your friends find out you own one, and I will be silent as a grave, you will need never need fear exposure. I won't tell a soul that you didn't have only the newest, cutting edge thing on the market. As Jack O'Conner used to say, "stuff and nonsense"

 

[northslope]

The main advantage (for me) of the 327 Federal is you can get a nice 6 shot self defense J frame sized gun. The ballistics of the 327 are very impressive. You get a lot of terminal energy without the the flash and recoil of a 357 Mag. I have shot it in the Ruger SP101 and do not see the advantage in that weight of a gun. might as well stick with 5 rounds of 357.

Now pack 6 rounds into a alloy frame J frame and you might have something.

I certainly agree an alloy-frame J would be fun, however I am seriously thinking about snagging one of the 8-shot .327 Blackhawks from Ruger. That's a pretty neat package...great plinking gun I'd imagine.

I see no reason for a 41 Mag. There is a like new one up at the shop. It's not going to do anything for me that a 357, 44 special or 44 Mag will not do.

I'm a .357 and .44 man myself, and I used to feel the same way until I actually bought a nickel 57 a couple years ago and hauled it out in the desert and shot it some.

.41 Magnum offers some hard-hitting and fast-flying power with significantly less recoil than a .44 from a 6-inch N-frame. I was very surprised by it...and it split rocks just as good as the .44 magnum I had with me at the time....

The only reason I don't own more .41's is the cost of ammo -- I can shoot .44 and .357 cheaper, so I do. (Plus I really admire and enjoy collecting M27's, so there you go...)

--Neill

 

[JcMack]

I had a Smith 432 I sold not long ago because I haven't seen .32 HR ammo for sale for 2 years. (please don't link me to available ammo) and I don't reload. I bought a SP101 in .327 when they first came out. There were case splitting problems with the SP101 when they were introduced. I traded it off. A J frame 1 7/8" in .327 would interest me, but only without a lock and priced like a 442/642. Taurus makes one but it's a...Taurus.

 

[gizamo]

I bought one of those early.SP 101's in the SN range that had the bad cylinder. Poor extraction issues. Returned it to my dealer. Just bought a new one last month. Very pleased with this one. I get great accuracy out of it's 3" barrel. Makes a nice CCW gun.

 

[LHS]

I'll keep my .357 mag and my .38 Special pistols. I doubt they ever go away, even if the .327 catches on in a very large way.

Too many guns in the world that shoot this caliber and as long as there is a demand, there will be a company that will supply them.

 

[badguybuster]

I have a ton of 357/38 ammo and shoot a lot of it. I have always been satisfied with all my guns chambered in those calibers. With the "new" ones, I like to hold back and see if they stick around before jumping on any band wagons.