327 and it's untapped potential...

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BobWright said:
The .357 Magnum is more readily available, and revolvers chambered for it can also fire the .38 Special. Couple that with a Ruger Blackhawk with 9 mm cylinder and you have one revolver where some type of ammunition can be found anywhere in the world. And the .357 Magnum can be had with much heavier bullets.

In short, in the .357 Magnum is a revolver that can do anything a .32 can do, and better.

An N-Framed .327? Sort of defeats the purpose of the little .32 cartridge.


Bob Wright
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You're bringing up .357, but only mentioning large frame revolvers, not snubs, especially lightweight ones like the LCR. It's the small, light revolvers where .32's (not just .327) excel and yeah, it's the large, heavy revolver where the .32 does not. Ruger recently dropped the .327 GP100 because it wasn't selling because why buy a .327 in a 36oz gun when you can get a .357 instead? Capacity was 7 rds for either, so you didn't get the extra round like you normally would.
 
WestKentucky said:
To the point of ammo being found, nearly all 32 ammo can be safely fired through a 327fm. From shortest to longest, 32acp (semi-rimmed) 32sw, 32swl, 32 H&R mag, 327federal magnum, and that’s without having to swap cylinders or anything. So far I have not had trouble finding a box of something to shoot through mine, although I have not shot mine a whole lot, I do notice what ammo is available when I’m looking for 32swl for my other guns.
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The Ruger double actions don't like .32 ACP. Tried in the SP, firing pin got stuck in a primer and locked up the gun. Okay for plinking I guess, but keep a flat screwdriver available for prying the case off the recoil shield.
 
To my knowledge the .327 FM off the shelf performance standard by which it is judged most frequently is the 100 gr American Eagle offering which comes in just north of 1,500 FPS. That’s the benchmark most often referred to in print articles as I remember it. I’ve personally gotten a reading of 1,592 FPS out of a 4 inch GP100 using this AE ammo.

With my own reloads I’ve matched the AE with a Hornady XTP 100 grainer which broke 1,500 FPS.

Lighter jacketed bullets have been chrono’d in the 1,700/1,800 FPS range but accuracy suffered by most counts.

I’m now running/researching my own data into the heavier (115 gr and up) hard cast lead arena. I’m in the process of seeing what the max is I can get out of powder coated as well as gas checked 120 grain hard cast loads. Hope to have that info for a number of powders and for the Henry rifle in particular in the next 6 weeks or so.

I really believe that those heavier for caliber bullets pushed close to max is where the .327 FM will shine.
 
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^ Yeah, I wish Speer would bring back the 115gr Gold Dot they were making. That or Hornady making a 115 gr XTP.
 
TTv2 said:
^ Yeah, I wish Speer would bring back the 115gr Gold Dot they were making. That or Hornady making a 115 gr XTP.
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I thought hornady made a lighter weight XTP?? Or am I thinking of the one they use in 380 acp???
 
MaxP said:
According to a friend of mine, he saw something online about Swift making a
100 grain A-frame for the .327. That’s about as good as it gets.
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Hmm. That sounds like something to experiment with..
 
Marketwise, pocket snubs are the only thing that has the kind of volume really worth going after, and that's where the .327 was originally aimed, to get 6 rounds in a small pocket snub. The LCR and the SP101 are still there and they sell some.

I would absolutely see a lot more potential for the 327 cartridge if there were more interesting .312" bullets available, but there isn't. I mentioned this in the other recent thread on 327. The bottom line is that no matter what kind of gun you're shooting, there is just way more of everything you can imagine in .308" .356" and .357" (etc.) There isn't a lot that compels me to think I really need a handgun or carbine type cartridge that's in-between those. Factor in that among the jacketed bullets there is basically just ultra light-for-caliber 80 and 100 grain options, and I'm totally turned off.
 
I wouldn't say that 100 grain is "ultra light for caliber" in the .32, that's a pretty standard weight for the caliber, just the .327 is capable of firing heavier bullets given the length of the case and the pressures it's built for.
 
As we know when the 32 H&R Magnum was created it was not brought to its full potential because of the guns it would be shot from. Now the 327 Federal Magnum comes along and it's everything the 32 H&R should have been but a series of events held it back such as lack of ammo and not releasing the components for handloading.

IMO the 327 Magnum in a carbine or lever gun would make a great field gun for culling varmints. A Blackhawk would make a great companion.

I think trying to market the 327 as a SD gun hurt it. (All in my opinion of course.)
 
TTv2 said:
I called Berry's last week to ask them about making bullets specifically for .32 revolvers and was told they did make a wadcutter years ago, but the demand wasn't there.Of course that was back during the recession and after Sandy Hook and the gun apocalypse, so that was not a good period to gauge true demand for a less than common caliber, also there was a period where nobody other than Charter was making a .32 revolver.

I told them the market is much different in 2020 than when it was in almost 10 years ago and the excuse of low demand doesn't make sense to me when Berry's is making bullets for 9x18 Mak and .41 Magnum.
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Great idea, and here's hoping that Berry's (and others like RMR) get into a good line of plated bullets for us.
I'd like to see .309 - 86 and 93 grs., .312 - 71 and 90 gr., in addition to a selection of .314 - 85 to 115 gr. bullets.

The .327 pistol for me would be a 7 1/2" model P Colt and one of the stainless pythons with an 8" barrel.

JT
 
If a 327 out of a rifle was legal for deer in my state I'd be all over a rifle in the cartridge for a short range "brush gun" but alas it is not. Maybe with Federals new hammer down line it will meet the energy requirements. I do love the versatility of 32 cal revolvers. I can start someone arthritic like my mother out on 32 long or shorts if need be and work on up to higher power loads until we find the limit.
 
ArchAngelCD said:
IMO the 327 Magnum in a carbine or lever gun would make a great field gun for culling varmints. A Blackhawk would make a great companion.

I think trying to market the 327 as a SD gun hurt it. (All in my opinion of course.)
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I am generally in agreement with you about this.

To me the 32fm is a modem day replacement for the old 32-20, but with more velocity.

I would use it for self-defense in a pinch though I would generally prefer a larger caliber.

As a field gun for anything from bunnies to large dogs is where it shines. Combine it with a light handy carbine in the same caliber to take advantage of the velocity boost from slower powders in a longer barrel and I would feel pretty well equipped.
 
I love my Taurus M327 and my Henry Big Boy Steel 16" Carbine in .327 Fed Mag.

What the world needs now is for S&W to make a .327 7 shot K frame, 8 shot L frame, and 9 or 10 shot N frame with barrels from 4" to 8 3/8". All with adjustable sights. They would find a good market for these.
 
I do not recommend this, nor do I intend to imply that it’s an idea worth chasing, BUT, jacketed bullets exist in the .312 variety and are heavy, but not overly heavy for caliber. I have considered loading some just to see how it does but I always talk myself out of it. Assuming it would work, a person could easily modify the pointy rifle bullets to be more squared off to better fit a cylinder and then they could potentially be onto something because bullet selection is pretty poor for 32 caliber handguns.
 
Kent Filleman said:
I love my Taurus M327 and my Henry Big Boy Steel 16" Carbine in .327 Fed Mag.

What the world needs now is for S&W to make a .327 7 shot K frame, 8 shot L frame, and 9 or 10 shot N frame with barrels from 4" to 8 3/8". All with adjustable sights. They would find a good market for these.
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No 12 shot X-frame snub?
 
WestKentucky said:
I do not recommend this, nor do I intend to imply that it’s an idea worth chasing, BUT, jacketed bullets exist in the .312 variety and are heavy, but not overly heavy for caliber. I have considered loading some just to see how it does but I always talk myself out of it. Assuming it would work, a person could easily modify the pointy rifle bullets to be more squared off to better fit a cylinder and then they could potentially be onto something because bullet selection is pretty poor for 32 caliber handguns.
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It's true there are some heavier bullets for 7.62x39 and .303 British or 7.7mm Japanese, but the selection there still pales in comparison to .308"

I would rather just see a straight-walled .308" cartridge. I don't even care if it has rims, because I like moon-clips in my revolver. There might be a need for some new .308" handgun bullets, but in my mind, the .30 Carbine cartridge can do everything the .327 FM does in a revolver and then in a rifle, there's just no comparison, especially considering all the .300 BLK bullets that perform at low velocities.

I also think the 32 caliber thing is kind of misleading because it makes it seem like the .327 is somewhere in-between 36 caliber or what a lot of people think of as "38" and 30 caliber. But the .327 FM is only four thousandths of an inch larger diameter than the most common "30 caliber." Now had they made it .325" or .338" it might have been more distinctive, but it wouldn't have solved the dearth of suitable handgun bullets.
 
labnoti said:
It's true there are some heavier bullets for 7.62x39 and .303 British or 7.7mm Japanese, but the selection there still pales in comparison to .308"

I would rather just see a straight-walled .308" cartridge. I don't even care if it has rims, because I like moon-clips in my revolver. There might be a need for some new .308" handgun bullets, but in my mind, the .30 Carbine cartridge can do everything the .327 FM does in a revolver and then in a rifle, there's just no comparison, especially considering all the .300 BLK bullets that perform at low velocities.

I also think the 32 caliber thing is kind of misleading because it makes it seem like the .327 is somewhere in-between 36 caliber or what a lot of people think of as "38" and 30 caliber. But the .327 FM is only four thousandths of an inch larger diameter than the most common "30 caliber." Now had they made it .325" or .338" it might have been more distinctive, but it wouldn't have solved the dearth of suitable handgun bullets.
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By that logic the 308 bore rifle would be more like a .290 in pistol terminology. If I could change history I would force them to pick a means of designating cartridges and make them stick with it.
 
Kent Filleman said:
I love my Taurus M327 and my Henry Big Boy Steel 16" Carbine in .327 Fed Mag.

What the world needs now is for S&W to make a .327 7 shot K frame, 8 shot L frame, and 9 or 10 shot N frame with barrels from 4" to 8 3/8". All with adjustable sights. They would find a good market for these.
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I may just get one of those Henry carbines.
 
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