Tell me about/sell me on the .327 Federal Magnum

[jpruitt]

I’ve seen this caliber around, but with it being smaller than a .38 I’ve never given it much thought. I’m now thinking it might be worth looking at.

I’ve got a carry gun, what I’m looking for now is a dog-walking gun, something to slip in my pocket when I take the mutts out (my G26 is too big for my liking for that). I live in a pretty safe neighborhood, my main concern is some coyotes that have moved into the park behind the neighborhood who might decide my Chihuahuas look tasty. I was looking at some .380s, but I’m thinking a little .327 snubbie might be a good gun for that (and possibly a back-up gun or hot weather/light clothing gun should I feel so inclined).

So I’ve heard it’s a better version of the old .32 H&R? How does it stakc up to a .38 sp? Can I get a really light weight pocket revolver for it (in the 15 oz or less range)? How much is ammo, and how available is it? Does anyone make speedloaders for it (I saw HKS had some for the .32 H&R, are they compatible)? How does it shoot, and how’s the recoil?

And what is it “good” for? How effective a manstopper, or a varmint/coyote stopper, is it?

Also, I'm not looking to spend a fortune, preferably in the $200s-$300s.

What has your experience been with this caliber?

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

Me too. I hope this doesn't get drug off into calibers and actions not mentioned by the OP.

I've always been a bit of a fan of .32 H&R mostly based on nostalgia as the accepted standard "kit gun" of my youth and wondered about the mag as well.

So, what say the experienced?... Where's the tipping issues over .38/.357 in deciding for a .327 mag?

Currently for my "dog walker" I carry a 5 shot stainless Taurus .38 - what's a .327 gonna do for me in relation to that and can a fella get shot rounds in .327?

 

[firesky101]

Cdnn had some .327 taurus snubbies for $199. Not sure if they still have any. Personally I like the round, I have it in a blackhawk.

 

[2zulu1]

I like the 327mag and prefer it to carrying the 38 Special. Gel numbers provided by Speer show the 327/115gr Gold Dot expanding wider and penetrating deeper than a number of other service calibers including the 38 Special.

Out of a Taurus snubbie the 115gr Gold Dot gives a snappy, but very controlled recoil and there are six rounds instead of the traditional five rounds seen in J-frames. HKS makes speedloaders (32 H&R) for 327, Federal offers brass and Lee the dies. I assume RCBS and Redding also offer dies, but at the time when I ordered reloading components, the Lee dies were in stock. Since I live in a very rural area, ammunition and components are catalog ordered for my shooting needs so I'm unable to comment on gun store availability.

Regarding coyotes, they are very unpredictable in their behavior toward dogs, regardless of the dog's size. Several months ago I was out in the early morning sun working my large German Shepherd when I noticed a flock of about a thousand sandhill cranes lifting off from a nearby field about two miles away. While watching the cranes, a coyote came into view, right to left, at an estimated 80 yards away. With the GS sitting by my side and a drawn Colt 1911/38 Super at my other side, the coyote changed direction and advanced upon us. I shot the coyote in the shoulder at distance of 95 yards with my mountain lion load, 125gr/XTP/1491fps.

The 327/115gr Gold Dot would have been just as effective at that distance with a comparable barrel length revolver and probably more accurate. Coyotes can and do attack dogs on a leash and the 327 is more than adequate at dispatching 'yotes at distance IMHO.

IIRC, 115gr Gold Dots chronogrphed in the mid-high 1300s through the snub Taurus, I haven't tried 25 yard groups, but it'll pop soda cans at 10 yards.

 

[antiquus]

I bought a 632 with a 3" barrel. The problem with a small high speed round is you need a little barrel length to get the power up, and 2" barrels didn't interest me after I looked at the Ballistics By The Inch data.

So with a 3" barrel it's not the pocket carry 2" snubbies are, but it's over 400ft/lbs delivered to the target. Deep pockets are needed. And I can tell you it's as much power as I would ever want to shoot out of a J frame. Between it and a .357, there's not that much difference at these barrel lengths, and you get one more round in the gun.

 

[Swing]

A big selling point is a sixth round round in a snub that normally would only have five. I like the .32 H&R Mag round and the .327 Mag round looks all the better. Still, can't justify the switch personally.

That said, I can't imagine you'd go wrong with a revolver in .327 Mag. You can also run .32 S&W, .32 S&W Long, and .32 H&R Mag without any trouble. Gotta like the versatility.

 

[Stainz]

If you can find a Taurus or Charter Arms on closeout, grab it - otherwise, your $300 limit is unrealistic. They both dropped their .327 Federal offerings last year, leaving just Ruger and S&W as current makers of .327 Federal revolvers. Ammo, like reloading supplies, ie, small rifle primers, brass, and bullets, is difficult and pricey to find. The best 'plinkers' are the Federal 'American Eagle' 100gr and softer recoiling 85gr JSP, running $27-$30+/50. The hot CC ammo - Speer 115gr Gold Dots - run $20-$22+/20. That ammo makes over 1300fps from a snubbie - that's a 115gr GDJHP - close to what real .357 Magnum make - as is the recoil! The S&W 3" 632's have comps - only my 2 1/8" 632 Pro, below, has no comp. It cost me $700 w s/t when it finally was released last September - plus $43 + s/t + s/h for the 60 Pro style grips. That's well out of your 'dog walking protection' moola range. Then add the ammo. Yeah, a .38 makes more sense!



Now, if you must have a .32, lower your sights to a .32 H&RM chambered revolver, and you can find an NEF #73 in your LGS's used case. It - and some ammo - might run you $200. Yeah, clunky - but fine for some .32 H&RM ammo - and any .32 S&WL ammo. That 632 Pro - with any .327 Fed Magnum ammo - is pretty flashy and loud. With .32 S&WL's, however, they are both quite polite.



Yeah, a .38 looks better...

Stainz

 

[jpruitt]

If you can find a Taurus or Charter Arms on closeout, grab it - otherwise, your $300 limit is unrealistic. They both dropped their .327 Federal offerings last year, leaving just Ruger and S&W as current makers of .327 Federal revolvers. Ammo, like reloading supplies, ie, small rifle primers, brass, and bullets, is difficult and pricey to find.

That was my next question, is the .327 Fed going to be around for a while. Looks like that might be doubtful. Still, if you can shoot other .32 ammo through 'em it might not be a waste.

I saw Bud's had some pretty cheap Tauruses. I had never seen cdnn before, those are some good prices (on just about everything, not just the .327s).

 

[antiquus]

Yea I thought that myself, then looked at the .32 H&R still being made decades after the disappointing sales of the guns petered out. I quit worrying, Federal is in it for the long haul.

BTW Buffalo Bore makes some great .32 H&R ammo, works good in the .327 and don't ever put any in an H&R gun.

 

[Salmoneye]

I have no idea why I want a .327 mag...

I just do...

 

[smokey30725]

I just bought one from cdnn and can't wait to try it out. I already have a nagant revolver that shoots 32 long and it made sense to have another revolver I could share ammo with. I got lucky at my lgs yesterday and scored five boxes of Federal Hydra Shock in 327 and three boxes of the same in 32 H&R mag for a total of $130. Now I have carry ammo for a lifetime.

 

[Clark]

Some old straight wall cartridges get made a little longer and get registered at a higher pressure.
They made a mistake with the 32 H&R mag, in that it failed to take advantage of how high the pressure could be and still not get stuck cases. To exploit that margin, the case had to be lengthened and the pressure upped a second time to the 327 Fed Mag.
Revolvers with a 6 at once extractor can get stuck cases at ~ 40,000 psi, depending on the thickness [stiffness] of the steel chamber wall:

.337" diameter 32 S&W long [.920" 15kpsi] -> 32 H&R mag [1.075" 21kcup] -> 327 Fed Mag [1.200" 45 kpsi]
.379" diameter 38 special [1.155" 17kpsi] -> 357 mag [ 1.290" 35kpsi]
.457" diameter 44 special [1.160" 15.5kpsi] -> 44 mag [1.285" 36kpsi]
.480" diameter 45 Colt [1.285" 14kpsi] -> 454 Casull [1.383" 65kpsi]

I have got 1413 fps over the chrono with the 32 S&W Long revolver made in 1907.
I was probably loading hotter than 15kpsi.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

My normal practice is to buy/scrounge/midnight requisition enough brass to last me when I get a new caliber -- so the longevity of the cartridge as a factory offering wouldn't concern me.

However, the .327, like the .357 is a high pressure cartrigge -- ear protection is definitely indicated when shooting it, and that takes it out of the "field gun" category for me.

 

[bluetopper]

I've always thought gun makers are missing out on a selling point of the 327 in not making it in a 6" revolver with adjustable sights for a target/hunting sidearm.

 

[firesky101]

I think they make the blackhawk in a 5.5 inch.

 

[Eb1]

I carry a .32 H&R 2" Taurus 731, and it will go 1080 fps from a 2" barrel at 12' using Georgia Arms 100 grain XTPs.

I have put down large deer with it. I have shot snakes, coyotes, and other living things with it, and they all went down, and didn't get up. It is very accurate also.

So what I am saying is this, I can't see the .327 being any worse than my .32 H&R Mag.

 

[Trad Archer]

jpruitt,

You will love that cartridge. I have a Ruger SP101, GP100, and a Taurus(wife's gun) in the 327. Very fun to shoot. Very accurate. 85 grain self defense from Federal is the way to go. Recoil is very managable and the Hydroshock bullets Federal has mushroom rather nicely. I killed a coyote with the 101 and a Federal Hydroshock and that 'yote went down immediatly and it had a baseball sized hole in it.

 

[Nanook]

I like the cartridge a lot. I'd love to see a lever gun in .327 Federal Magnum. I'd buy that in a second.

I currently have a GP-100 in .327, and an SP-101 in .32 H & R Mag. Very versatile revolvers.

One note though, I find the GP-100 in .327 to be extremely loud. As in double protection loud, and that was outside. Maybe my hearing is sensitive, but it seemed louder than a .357 for some reason.

It is another caliber you're better off handloading for, at least until ammo becomes more available. Starline doesn't make .327 brass yet, but I've heard they are considering it.

 

[Walkalong]

However, the .327, like the .357 is a high pressure cartrigge -- ear protection is definitely indicated when shooting it, and that takes it out of the "field gun" category for me.

One note though, I find the GP-100 in .327 to be extremely loud. As in double protection loud, and that was outside.

Based on my experience with .32 Mag and hot .32-20, the "crack" must be viscous, ammo in handguns. Not for me. I would hate to let one loose inside with no hearing protection.

 

[Eb1]

I've done it, Walkalong, out of my 2" .32 H&R Mag. It isn't that bad. I wouldn't do it daily.

 

[YJake]

I've lost hearing from a subsonic .38 load in a room before, no thanks!

All I can remember about shooting a J-frame .32 Fed. is the loud report and muzzle flash. In a 3"+ barreled gun maybe, but not 1 7/8".

If I want noise and an ungodly muzzle flash I have a NAA in .22WMR for that...

-Jake

 

[Walkalong]

I've done it, Walkalong,

So, can you hear me EB1!

In all seriousness, wait until you are older and have damage from shooting with no ear protection early in life when we did not know better, and then working around loud machinery for years. Not only do you lose hearing, but loud sharp noises hurt worse.

With ear plugs and earmuffs together I would try it.

 

[dubya450]

I'd love to have a 327 mag and will if S&W ever makes one in their scandium alloy J-frame with exposed hammer. I guess basically a S&W M&P360 chambered in .327 mag instead of .357 mag I'd be ecstatic if they made one anytime soon.

 

[MMCSRET]

If you can't come up with a reason to buy, own, possess, use a revolver chambered in 327 Federal Magnum you can always fall back on the same line of thought that I used, to have, buy, possess, fondle, admire the new 327 line up. It boiled down to the simple fact that I didn't own one, that was all the reasoning needed. Now I own THREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[nonseven]

I've chronographed the Speer 115g load at 1400fps out of my 3" SP101. I think that speaks for itself.