327 Fed Magnum/32 Long

[GoldieMI]

I bought a LCR in 327 Federal.
Now I need to feed it with my own hand loads instead of factory ammo.
Looking for advise on 327 Federal/32 H&R Mag/32 Long loads since it will fire them all.
I shot all three today and you can definitely tell the power increases.
For paper shooting only- no defensive loads, no hunting loads. I simply intend to shoot paper and cardboard with the LCR

already setup with XL650
just looking for recomendations on bullets, powder, and such

thank you

 

[Walkalong]

WST, N-310, AA #2, Missouri Bullet 98 Gr coated WC. Light recoil, excellent accuracy, lots of fun, can load it in .32 Long, .32 Mag, .327 Fed.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/32-s-w-long-reloading.857966/#post-11267739

 

[twistytorn]

For .327FM Power Pistol and BE86 both work well. Good velocity and accuracy at the top end.

 

[GoldieMI]

AA #2, Missouri Bullet 98 Gr coated WC. Light recoil, excellent accuracy, lots of fun, can load it in .32 Long, .32 Mag, .327 Fed.

Thanks Walkalong. and the link was very helpful. If I would have put S&W Long in my search, I'm sure it would have popped up for me. Much appreciated.

@twistytorn - thanks I have both as well. Love BE86.

 

[Highland Lofts]

I loaded S&W long, 32 H&R magnum and 327 Federal magnum for my 327 magnum revolvers. I just bought a set of 32 Auto dies so I can now load 32 S&W short ammo.

I have a S&W 327 revolver, a 327 Ruger SP101 and stainless ruger Ruger GP100 and I bought a Ruger Single-Seven.
I have been buying up the different types of 32 brass I can find.

 

[TTv2]

I just have to ask why you would buy an LCR to only shoot paper and carboard with? This is a defensive handgun, not a plinker, if you wanted a plinker the Single Seven is equally priced and single actions are generally superior shooters.

If you're shooting .32 Long, I love the 95 grain SWC made by Meister and is sold on MidwayUSA. If this is for .327, go with a jacketed bullet.

 

[Bfh_auto]

I bought a LCR in 327 Federal.
Now I need to feed it with my own hand loads instead of factory ammo.
Looking for advise on 327 Federal/32 H&R Mag/32 Long loads since it will fire them all.
I shot all three today and you can definitely tell the power increases.
For paper shooting only- no defensive loads, no hunting loads. I simply intend to shoot paper and cardboard with the LCR

already setup with XL650
just looking for recomendations on bullets, powder, and such

thank you

How how much difference is there in point of impact between the 3 loads?

 

[RealGun]

I only use 327 Federal Magnum brass. I shoot an SP101 first gen but think the LCR will also handle Brian Pearce's subsonic load of 4.5 gr Power Pistol with 95-100 grain lead (last used Xtreme 100 gr LSWC). I encourage you to track down a copy of Pearce's 327 Fed article in Handloader.

My 32 H&R load for a gun I no longer have is 3.5 AA#5 and that 100 gr bullet. Catch there is that I had to buy a micro adjustable charge bar for my Lee turret to get an accurate charge that small.

 

[GoldieMI]

I just have to ask why you would buy an LCR to only shoot paper and carboard with? This is a defensive handgun, not a plinker, if you wanted a plinker the Single Seven is equally priced and single actions are generally superior shooters.

Used one on a local forum- got it for 350.00 with original and aftermarket hogues.
When my FIL passed away, he left behind a few boxes of 32 S&W Long Remington Target ammo but no revolver. Wanted something that would use it up. So that is how I ended up with the LCR. I will probably get a better plinker eventually but the LCR was fun to go through the first 150 rounds of 32 Long that needed to be unloaded.

 

[GoldieMI]

How how much difference is there in point of impact between the 3 loads?

at 21 feet/7 yards off hand:
The Remington Target 32 98 grain Long shot almost POA/POI for how I shot the LCR, shot 3" low for my buddy
The Aguila 32 Long 97 grain shot approx. 5" higher then the Remington 98gr.
The 32 H&R Mag 85 grain JHP Federals shot almost to the same POA/POI as the Remington 98 grain did.
The 327 Fed Mag 100 grain JSP from AE shot 3" high compared to the Remington 98 grains

 

[SlowFuse]

"Missouri Bullet 98 Gr coated WC", I've been wanting to try these in the H&R and 327.

I do like their Cowboy #6 in both of these calibers, it works in the long as well but I didn't spend a lot of time with variable powders/components on that cartridge. I would say on this #6 bullet and the 98 grain wadcutter mentioned you would need to keep velocities reasonable, not an issue with the H&R or 32 long cartridges. I've used their (Missouri bullet co) #1 32-20 bullet at fairly fast velocities in 327, buts it's rated at a brinell hardness of 18 vs. 12 on the other two versions mentioned. Most would probably suggest going with something jacketed when you get up to upper end velocities of the 327.

What powders do you have on hand? It's likely if you have a few commonly used pistol powders you already have something that will work fairly well.

HP-38/W231 is probably my most used powder between the H&R and 327. H110 was my go-to for full house 327 fm until the powder shortage we had years back. When I couldn't find the H110 I ended up buying a lot of Ramshot Enforcer and am still using it whenever I load these to near max levels.

 

[GoldieMI]

I have BE86, Power Pistol, Tite Group, WST, W231/HP38, Unique, Bullseye, AA5, AA7, AA9, Universal, Lil'Gun, 2400, CFE Pistol, and Sport Pistol for pistols
Thinking of getting the MBC 32 Target bullet to try out first but that was just from looking around online.
Federal Primers
and probably reload the brass I just unloaded for now.

Hornady Dies good for these? I have mostly Hornady and Dillon but asking in case there was a known bad set out there.

 

[RealGun]

I have BE86, Power Pistol, Tite Group, WST, W231/HP38, Unique, Bullseye, AA5, AA7, AA9, Universal, Lil'Gun, 2400, CFE Pistol, and Sport Pistol for pistols
Thinking of getting the MBC 32 Target bullet to try out first but that was just from looking around online.
Federal Primers
and probably reload the brass I just unloaded for now.

Hornady Dies good for these? I have mostly Hornady and Dillon but asking in case there was a known bad set out there.

My RCBS dies for 32 Long are excellent. I use the RCBS Cowboy for 32 H&R but had to go to Lyman's special set for 327 Federal Magnum. I use the cowboy sizer on 327 Federal, so my Lymans are just the expander and seat/crimp. All are Lee turrets, so they use Lee Powder dies. Except for one application of the sliding sleeve crimp, I am not a fan of Hornady die sets, partly because the expander is always a waste when I make other provisions for expanding. That is true all around with most sets being only 3-die, including Lee with a crimp that should be set aside when loading lead bullets. Their expander though is also a powder die and does not necessarily have to expand beyond powder drop activation.

 

[GarrettJ]

Hornady Dies good for these? I have mostly Hornady and Dillon but asking in case there was a known bad set out there.

I generally like Hornady dies. The seater die with the sliding sleeve to help keep bullets straight when seating is nice.

But I do have an issue with my Hornady .32 flair die. The front section expands the mouth of the case for the first 3/8” from the mouth before it starts to flair. But it expands excessively, to the point that I can just push a bullet in by hand, leaving no neck tension.

I sent the die back to Hornady, and their response was that the die had been “built to print”, and that I was inserting the case too far into the die. Except that there is zero flair if I don’t insert that far, causing it to shave bullets when seating.

So I used my Lee .32 ACP expander die initially, and then bought a Lyman M-die, which works just fine.

 

[WestKentucky]

You missed a couple in your original post...
327 fed mag will also chamber and fire safely

32H&R mag
32swl
32sw
32 Colt new police
32 ACP

32 long is low pressure and burns a little on the dirty side. I wouldn’t put a whole bunch of those through a .327fm without stopping to clean the cylinder every 60 or 80 shots. Since you reload, just use the 327 cases for reloads and shoot low pressure loads in them.

 

[Walkalong]

and Sport Pistol

Try some of that with the MB 98 Gr coated WCs.

 

[GarrettJ]

I picked up a Single Six in .32 H&R not long ago, and I've been playing with loads for the past few months. I bought a couple hundred .32 Mag cases from Starline, but I also have one hundred .32 SW-L cases, as that was the only factory ammo I could find locally when I bought the gun. They both seem to shoot equally well, but I don't like messing with my dies once they are set. So I generally just load the Mag cases.

I would be tempted to get a Single Seven to go with my Single Six. But then I'd have another flavor of brass to keep track of. But it's still tempting.

I like the AA powders for small cases like these. They all throw really well in my RCBS Uniflow powder measure. However, it doesn't like to throw really small charges of flake powders accurately, and I find myself having to weigh each charge. This would be powders like Win 231, WST, or WSL. Once I get to around 4 grains, it throws those just great. But for target loads, I get down to around 2 grains depending on case length and bullet weight/style.

The best target loads I've found have been with some Berry's 78 gr. HBWC with AA#2 or Win 231. Unfortunately those were discontinued some time ago and I'm going to have to find a replacement once I run out. I suspect a plain lead or coated bullet would also do well.

Most any weight of XTP seems to shoot decent. I've also been playing with a couple lead bullets from Hunter's Supply, purchased through Midway. I've gone as heavy as 115 gr. LRN, which I believe was intended for the .32-20. Lead works just fine for inexpensive recreational shooting.

Good luck, and have fun working up some loads. I know you said you're just looking for plinking loads, but you're at it, you might as well work up a couple of decent defensive loads. You never know. It's nice to have options.

 

[Walkalong]

The best target loads I've found have been with some Berry's 78 gr. HBWC with AA#2 or Win 231. Unfortunately those were discontinued some time ago and I'm going to have to find a replacement once I run out.

That is exactly the reason I tried the MB coated 98 Gr WC. Here is where I tried them in a Benelli semi auto.

 

[GoldieMI]

I've ordered 500 of the MBC 32 Target (Hi Tek 98 grain Wadcutters) for this project.
Sport Pistol Powder I have on hand already
I have the brass but will most likely have some fresh starline delivered.

I'm thinking RCBS 3 Die set with Roll Crimp (Carbide version)

 

[TTv2]

Used one on a local forum- got it for 350.00 with original and aftermarket hogues.
When my FIL passed away, he left behind a few boxes of 32 S&W Long Remington Target ammo but no revolver. Wanted something that would use it up. So that is how I ended up with the LCR. I will probably get a better plinker eventually but the LCR was fun to go through the first 150 rounds of 32 Long that needed to be unloaded.

This explains it, $350 for one is a good price.

 

[Walkalong]

I'm thinking RCBS 3 Die set with Roll Crimp (Carbide version)

Can't go wrong there.

Start keeping an eye out for an old Smith no one wants, I picked up a 4" Regulation Police in .32 Long reasonable off of GB and it is accurate and fun. Tiny sight, I have to use readers with it.

Might find a Taurus in .32 Mag out there as well. Lot's of fun. .32-20's aren't real popular, they can be had right if you are patient.

 

[TfflHndn]

I generally shoot the .32 H&R mag cases with 90 grain SNS Casting coated bullets and AutoComp powder. The accuracy is stellar and the recoil is minimal at target loads. I also use lighter Brazos (78 grain I think) coated round noses in .32swl cases for really soft-shooting loads. Good for teaching beginners without making them wary about recoil. And I have found nobody that makes them cheaper than Brazos, with any better quality. Just have to be willing to buy 15 pound bags. I have used Red Dot, Green Dot and Bullseye powders with the .32swl loads, all with good results. I'm in the process of developing a .32 load for bullseye target competitions with a GP 100 and the 90 grainer looks like it has promise.

 

[SlowFuse]

With the Federal American Eagle 327 you shot i'm curious if you noticed any splits on the brass after firing?

I bought 4 or 5 boxes of this 100 grain AE and a couple boxes of the 85 grain grain AE softpoint as well just to get the brass. Finding 327 FM brass empties for reloading at that point was difficult. I had a high rate of brass failure/splits on the first firing of this factory ammo. Out of each factory box of 50 there would be 6 or 8 that would split from what I remember. The 100 grain seemed worse on splits but I think most people agreed the 100 gr seemed loaded hotter than the 85. This ammo was from about 7-8 years ago so i'm just curious if it's still an issue.

I'm still loading some of the Federal brass I saved but I don't use the Federal as much as Starline. Some would blow out the side and the case mouth would stay intact, some were typical mouth splits. Some would go another reload or two and do the same thing. Then others have made it more than 4 or 5 reloads with no issue. I thought at first it was a bad chamber on the Taurus M327 I was using but it did the same in the Blackhawk and Patriot.

 

[RealGun]

With the Federal American Eagle 327 you shot i'm curious if you noticed any splits on the brass after firing?

I bought 4 or 5 boxes of this 100 grain AE and a couple boxes of the 85 grain grain AE softpoint as well just to get the brass. Finding 327 FM brass empties for reloading at that point was difficult. I had a high rate of brass failure/splits on the first firing of this factory ammo. Out of each factory box of 50 there would be 6 or 8 that would split from what I remember. The 100 grain seemed worse on splits but I think most people agreed the 100 gr seemed loaded hotter than the 85. This ammo was from about 7-8 years ago so i'm just curious if it's still an issue.

I'm still loading some of the Federal brass I saved but I don't use the Federal as much as Starline. Some would blow out the side and the case mouth would stay intact, some were typical mouth splits. Some would go another reload or two and do the same thing. Then others have made it more than 4 or 5 reloads with no issue. I thought at first it was a bad chamber on the Taurus M327 I was using but it did the same in the Blackhawk and Patriot.

I wonder about your gun's throat sizes as causing overpressure if too tight.

 

[RealGun]

With the Federal American Eagle 327 you shot i'm curious if you noticed any splits on the brass after firing?

I bought 4 or 5 boxes of this 100 grain AE and a couple boxes of the 85 grain grain AE softpoint as well just to get the brass. Finding 327 FM brass empties for reloading at that point was difficult. I had a high rate of brass failure/splits on the first firing of this factory ammo. Out of each factory box of 50 there would be 6 or 8 that would split from what I remember. The 100 grain seemed worse on splits but I think most people agreed the 100 gr seemed loaded hotter than the 85. This ammo was from about 7-8 years ago so i'm just curious if it's still an issue.

I'm still loading some of the Federal brass I saved but I don't use the Federal as much as Starline. Some would blow out the side and the case mouth would stay intact, some were typical mouth splits. Some would go another reload or two and do the same thing. Then others have made it more than 4 or 5 reloads with no issue. I thought at first it was a bad chamber on the Taurus M327 I was using but it did the same in the Blackhawk and Patriot.

What Blackhawk is (or was) available in 327 FM?

p.s. I should have searched first but it appears to have been a gun sold some time ago, no longer available.