CraigC said:
Thanks for proving my point, .357 fans instantly get defensive at even the implication that the .327 'may' steal its thunder. Gimme a break.
There is no gap between the .22Mag and .357???
Last I checked, the .357 doesn't fit in the Single Six, while one in .32H&R is easily converted to .327 with the addition of only a new cylinder. This is the platform is should've been introduced in.
Defensive? No. I don't identify with an inanimate object. As someone else pointed out- I can load down a 38 caliber to whatever I want and upload it to max if I choose. The "gap" you mention is neatly filled with 38 Special.
Sure the 38 cals won't fit a Single Six. But they fit a Blackhawk just fine. And Federal knows the truth- if they introduce a new caliber as a boutique offering for owners of single-action guns- a caliber that IS NOT a Cowboy Action caliber- they have no chance of acceptance on a large scale. Their only hope of getting momentum going for it was to market it as a CCW/Self Defense caliber FIRST and get the buzz started that way, get 327 Federal on the tongues of all the gun-magazine writers as the "New, Hot CCW offering: 327 Federal Magnum!!!1!one!!"
Let's face it, as a revolver retro-update hotrod cartridge there's only so many potential sales without the blooming CCW market. Trying to market a brand-new caliber towards "Guys who might want to rechamber their Ruger Single-Sixes" would be a marketing plan fraught with FAIL. Those of us who like to tinker with oddball cartridges are not a large and profitable market. If they could get police interest like what happened with 40 S&W they might have a chance but cops are not going back to revolvers, that ship has sailed.
And in all fairness, the 327 Federal really isn't much different from the 30 M1 Carbine.
And then we're right up against the 9mm vs 45 problem- what's better, a .357" hole or a .312" hole?
To get the smaller one to match the output of the bigger one you have to run it at the max. To get the bigger one to make 'enough' power puts it comfortably in its midrange performance. It's just like cars- do you want the turbocharged 4-cylinder or the big V-6?
People like to talk about "The bruising recoil and muzzle flash of a 357 Magnum" but really, properly loaded defensive ammo is designed to work at a certain velocity and doesn't need to be loaded up to bear-stopping, thumpenboomer levels. A moderate .357 load will get the job done and leave lots of room for going higher. 327 Federal will need to run fast to keep up.
Look, I'm not trying to be an Internet bunghole here. But there comes a time when gun industry types can say "This cartridge duplicates Popular Cartridge X's power" and we can say "Why bother? I already have Cartridge X and there's not enough benefit to make it worth changing over."