"I'm baaaack", says the .327 Federal.

[Hokkmike]

Nothing could make me happier. This (see below) from guns.com. First saw this in a full page magazine ad posted by the counter at Grice's gun shop!

Sturm, Ruger & Co. is bringing back a model of revolver that was deeply missed by a small but dedicated group of shooters, the SP101 .327 Federal Magnum. But that’s not all as the new double-action SP101 .327 Mag has been improved and updated with features that fit the hard-hitting micro-mag.

A relatively new magnum cartridge, .327 Magnum, has a cult-like following and for good reasons. The high-pressure round can speed smaller bullets in excess of 1,500 feet-per-second, going toe-to-toe with .357 Magnum in the energy department with significantly less recoil. Even with the lighter projectiles .327 Magnum can be loaded well in excess of 700 foot-pounds of energy, making it a true magnum round.

And the new Ruger SP101 is going to make a lot of .327 Magnum fans happy. Unlike the old model the new SP101 has a longer 4.2-inch barrel, based on the .357 Magnum kit gun. Likewise the new SP101 .327 Magnum has an adjustable rear sight and a bright green fiber-optic front sight.

With the added inch of barrel the new SP101 .327 Magnum will perform in-line with full-size .327 Magnum revolvers and not trade off high muzzle velocities in exchange for a compact package. The SP101 frame is much smaller and lighter than the full-size Ruger GP100.

The smaller-diameter cartridge means that the SP101 is big enough for six shots, one more than in .357 Magnum in a package that weighs considerably less than a GP100, too. With the longer barrel the SP101 .327 Mag still only weighs 29 ounces, making it a very flexible handgun.

In this configuration the SP101 .327 Mag can easily be considered a kit gun, a concept Ruger’s been bringing back in spades. Kit guns are light revolvers to toss in your day bag, hydration pack, or if you’re a traditionalist, your tackle box.

At less than 30 ounces it could be carried concealed pretty easily and with six rounds gives you one more shot than the average snubbie, although with its target sights and spurred hammer it may snag on the draw without an adequate holster. Since the new .327 is following in the footsteps of the established 4-inch SP101, which is also offered in .22 Long Rifle, it shouldn’t be too hard to find accessories for this updated model.

Like many of Ruger’s steel-framed revolvers the SP101 .327 Magmun has a brushed stainless finish and soft rubber grips with hardwood inserts. Apart from the barrel it’s a regular SP101 and aftermarket grips and spare parts are plentiful.

With the return of the SP101 in .327 Magnum, Ruger is showing a renewed interest in this powerful yet niche cartridge. Ruger recently launched the Single Seven, a seven-shot single-action .327 Magnum revolver. The Single-Seven offers more barrel length options while the SP101 is a bit more flexible, especially if needed for self-defense.

The MSRP is the same as the other 4-inch SP101 revolvers and is expected to have a street price at around $600 and possibly less.

Now, there is much less fear of the ammo drying up and I couldn't be happier. I have one of the 3' SP-101's in .327.

 

[Panzerschwein]

Very nice guns!

I do say, if they re-release the 3" model, I'll get it. These one seems like a great woods gun but I've already got a revolver for that.

There are some range reports on this gun out now, most are good though some have remarked of a heavy trigger pull.

 

[Plan2Live]

I can't remember the last time I saw .327 Federal ammo on the shelf.

 

[weblance]

I can't remember the last time I saw .327 Federal ammo on the shelf.

I just bought a Taurus M327 Federal Magnum. I stopped in one of the larger GunShops near me, and they had 327 Hydra-Shok, and 327 Gold Dot. They also had Federal 32 H&R Magnum, and Dynamax 32 H&R Mags.

Today, I ordered a 7.5" Single Seven. The Single Seven, and M327 should cover anything I need a 327 Federal Mag for. Im thinking the Single Seven should make a great, long range(100 yards) varmint grabber.

 

[Panzerschwein]

A single seven is on my short list.

Would make a great all purpose revolver, and especially good in the woods or game fields.

 

[gazpacho]

Ruger, please make me a Single Seven, fixed sight 4" birdshead revolver! Please please please please!

 

[tightgroup tiger]

Hokkmike,
When I read your post and saw Grice's Gun shop I did a double take. I used to shop there years ago when it was much smaller than it is now. I grew up in Knox, Pa. years ago and went to Grice's several times.

I have the 3 1/16" Sp101 in .327FM and love the thing. It is one of my top five revolvers that I will never part with.

I haven't seen the new one yet but, due time, due time. I am a patience man.

If it talks to me when I hold it I'll have to have it. But it will take a back seat to my current model 58 Smith fetish.

 

[NapalmMan67]

And here's hoping they do a run of GP100s chambered in that again too.


.

 

[Zendude]

I am happy to see another 32 caliber revolver back in production. Based on my experience with my Charter 32 H&R mag and my 38 Sp Jframe, i am convinced that more people would use lightweight snubbies if there were more available in the lighter recoiling 32 calibers as opposed to 38 special.

 

[Panzerschwein]

I always thought a 5 shooter snub nose in .32 H&R magnum with a very skinny cylinder would be a superb carry piece!

This new Ruger looks a great kit gun, but it's a bit to large for my needs.

 

[GooseGestapo]

I have a 5.5" S-7. It's IS a100 yd Varmint grabber. I put 5 of 7 90gr Lee TLSWC in to 1hole from .32swl over 2.0 Bullseye @25yds.
I've only got 20 empty . 327 brass, so that's a summer project.
Botched a trigger job and waiting on new hammer and transfer bar......

But I do have an excellent snake load!
The 5 does I had in the backyard this afternoon classify as "varmints" come deer season...!

 

[C0untZer0]

Has anyone taken deer with the 327?

 

[beag_nut]

So, after examining reload data for the .357 mag and the .327, the only "advantage" for the .327 is an extra round in the cylinder. No, thanks, here.

 

[SlowFuse]

It's not for everyone.

But, as a handloader I enjoy the flexibility of these revolvers. Being able to shoot 4 calibers keeps me interested. I hope it makes a comeback, I'm pretty invested in the cartridge!

 

[Ed Ames]

Good for Ruger.

I was actively interested in the 327 when it first came out. I had a stack of 32 h&r, s&w long, etc and no gun to go with it so it seemed a natural to me. I regularly visited gun shops, and regularly looked at the sp101s they had behind glass, and I never once saw a 327 model. I still haven't. I know they show up used on gunbroker for more than new 357 models, but I have never seen one in a store.

I have a hard time thinking it is a flop if they never even tried hard enough to sell them that an interested consumer could have a chance to buy.

 

[gun_with_a_view]

with its target sights and spurred hammer it may snag on the draw without an adequate holster

Blame it on the holster? Get real.

The OP's source is spinning some bs here talking about what a great concealed carry gun is the new SP101 327 MAG. It used to be.

Ruger needs to produce the three-inch barrel, get rid of those crappy target sights for duty sights and get rid of that hammer spur.

The original issue 327 MAG with the three-inch barrel had an excellent power-to-weight ratio, approaching that of the 115 grain 9MM +P+ BPLE Illinois State Police Load. That's good enough for personal protection.

If you're going bear hunting, get the four-incher and some Buffalo Bore 130 grain hardcast wad cutters and go for it.

By the way, the extra inch of barrel adds 206 fps according to ballistics by the inch.com.

 

[funnelcake]

Picked up a 5773. Versatility and target revolver potential is worth investigating.

Though FFS...do ALL of them come with crooked stamps along the presentation side? I've got a lot of Colt revolvers from 1905-1993...and none is as crudely finished.

 

[Hokkmike]

I have the 3" barreled SP-101. Very happy with it. I can shoot quite a variety of lesser calibers out of it.

 

[Stainz]

Ruger may just draw me back with a 4.2" SP-101 in .327 Fed Mag - we'll see, After two years of promises, S&W finally released their 2 1/8" hammerless 632 Pro 9/11 - and I got mine within days:



It followed their 3" comped and exposed hammer variants to the marketplace, yet would be the first one dropped - and that would be after barely a year! It's trigger is at least as good as my 3" 60 Pro, which I have never fired a Magnum round from. I have shot an AirLite Ti 340PD with hot CorBons in .357M - miserable - the worst recoil in a handgun imaginable (There is hardly enough grip to hold!). The heavier SS 632 does manage recoil better - but 115gr Gold Dots in .327 Fed Mag do produce some recoil - about on the level of 158gr +P LHPSWC's in a 642. Their flash and boom - actually, an earsplitting crack - with the hot loads - is as memorable as .357M's from a snubby.

The S&W was joined a couple of years back by a crude 3" NEF R73, a 5-shot .32 H&RM revolver with the aesthetic appeal of something made in a HS shop class. I needed something else to shoot my stock of .32 S&WL homebrews in. I had gone the .32 H&RM route in earler years, having had both a BHG and a SP-101 in the chamber. Both were horrid examples of poor QC, and both had oversized cylinder bores - at the chamber ID limit - the brass would swell and couldn't be reloaded more than twice. I would sell them, my .32 H&RM brass & loaded ammo, and even the dies, along with the two Rugers, to one very happy chap. Odd how my one-time bucket list items became someone else's bucket list answers! Another negative thing about the earlier .32 H&RM 4" SP-101 was the cheesy windage-only 'adjustable' rear sight. That and the poor QC was apparently changed on a friend's new model SP-101, a 4.2" .22 LR, which we compared with my then recent 3" 63 - and I was impressed. There may just finally be another Ruger in my life - thanks to the OP for his post. I certainly won't hold my breath until S&W re-enters the .327 Fed Mag market.

Stainz

PS About ammo...., my 632 Pro will chamber, fire, and extract: .327 Fed Mag, .32 H&RM. .32 S&WL, .32 S&W, and .32 ACP - pretty universal. Additionally, the new .327 Fed Mag ammo and brass was available until the last year or so - keep checking the 'usual' sources.

 

[RealGun]

Good for Ruger.

I was actively interested in the 327 when it first came out. I had a stack of 32 h&r, s&w long, etc and no gun to go with it so it seemed a natural to me. I regularly visited gun shops, and regularly looked at the sp101s they had behind glass, and I never once saw a 327 model. I still haven't. I know they show up used on gunbroker for more than new 357 models, but I have never seen one in a store.

I have a hard time thinking it is a flop if they never even tried hard enough to sell them that an interested consumer could have a chance to buy.

Yeah, it's probably not going to be LGS stock, but there are plenty at online auction, like many more rare products that are easy to source using the internet. Our need to fondle and inspect before buying is not served well though. Both my 327 Federal Magnum, new gun purchases were major disappointments, especially while others were reporting much better fortune than mine. I worked it out, but I would just once like to have a Ruger that is fine right from the box.

 

[Zendude]

I would like to see Ruger produce this caliber in their LCR lineup.

 

[CraigC]

I can't remember the last time I saw .327 Federal ammo on the shelf.

Something seemingly oft-repeated by those who are never looking for it in the first place.

 

[Tallball]

I have one of the new 4.2" SP101's in 327. The trigger and finish aren't outstanding and it shoots a little low. I like it pretty well. The 327 is a little snappier than I expected.

My Charter Arms 32 H&R snubby is a decent little gun. The light weight and trigger make it feel kind of "cheap" to me, but it works just fine.

I also have an NEF (same company as H&R, basically) 32 H&R snubby. It works well and, ironically, has the best trigger of the three. It is also the only one which will fire 32acp consistently.

Our local Academy always seems to have 327 ammo available.

 

[Ed Ames]

Yeah, it's probably not going to be LGS stock, but there are plenty at online auction, like many more rare products that are easy to source using the internet. Our need to fondle and inspect before buying is not served well though. Both my 327 Federal Magnum, new gun purchases were major disappointments, especially while others were reporting much better fortune than mine. I worked it out, but I would just once like to have a Ruger that is fine right from the box.

I'm the first to admit I don't understand what LGSs stock and don't stock. I don't have an intuitive feel for what won't sell either. I was talking to a LGS employee earlier today who told me that the guns that had stuck in their inventory the longest, at over 4 years and counting, were Springfield XDs in .40. I wouldn't have guessed that.

But, that said... I have watched gun sales long enough to have spotted a pattern. A husband and wife will come into a store, or a woman with some kids in tow, and she will try holding different guns to find one she is comfortable with. Many stores nowadays don't really have revolvers but if/when they do, a surprisingly common result is that she picks out an air weight, taurus 85, or similar .38 (or maybe 357) revolver.

The idea of a 327 sp101, as I understand it, was to compete head on with those guns, offering a story that addresses a specific concern of that demographic. It wasn't meant to depend on the hard core gun enthusiasts the way a 22 TCM or large bore revolver does. If they had meant to hit the hard-core market they probably would have necked down a. 357ma case as the basis for their wildcat 327.

If Ruger doesn't get 327 chambered revolvers into cabinets at LGSs, next to Taurus and S&W, then they simply aren't going to sell them, and can barely be said to be offering them for sale.

 

[RealGun]

I have one of the new 4.2" SP101's in 327. The trigger and finish aren't outstanding and it shoots a little low.

So you adjust the sights, right?