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

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I bought one of the Taurus from CDNN for $199. With shipping & transfer at my FFL I have about $250 in it, total.
It's a Taurus. Cylinders need polishing, there's tool marks in them. Trigger isn't bad. The finish is odd. Supposedly blued, but it isn't polished at all and feels like parkerizing- sort of rough. Rub it with a rag and it gets fluff stuck on the gun.

Shoots as good as I expected a snub to shoot.

The 327 is always going to be a limited interest cartridge like 10mm. For what it is, it just isn't what it is advertised. I plan on shooting 32 S&W Longs in mine and that's why I bought it- to contrast to a Colt New Police 32 over 100 yrs old, and a 50-year old H&R 732. 32 S&W Long is fun and cheap and I can shoot it all day long with my own cast boolits.

Full bore 327s are stout, flashy-boomy and snappy. Sure you get six instead of five in a J-frame size gun. But I could carry a Colt Dick's Special and get six.

Federal let this cartridge stall by not releasing components quickly. It's a handloader's cartridge. Brass is hard to find and expensive. Even Starline does not make it- that's a Death knell.
 
Hi,
I am new to the forum. FYI, I've been doing research on the .327 from short barrels since I picked up a Taurus M327 recently. I've noticed a great deal of conflicting data concerning the 2-inch performance of the round. I do not have a chrono or I'd run tests myself.

For one extreme example of conflicting reports, the BBTI report lists the 85 gr Federal round as dropping from about 1330 fps in 3-inch config to about 975 fps in 2-inch config. That's a 350 fps drop in 1 inch. Meanwhile, reports here ( http://www.taurusarmed.net/forums/taurus-revolvers/62815-32-calibers.html ) and here ( http://www.gunsholstersandgear.com/tag/327-federal-magnum/ ) suggest that real revolvers with approx 2-inch barrels generate around 1200+ fps with that round.

The difference in these reports is massive. Perhaps the BBTI report has scared a lot of people away from the 2-inch config unnecessarily. For my part, the drop from 1380 fps in the SP101 3.06-inch gun to 1225 fps in the 2.125 and 2.2-inch guns seems much more reasonable than 350 fps drop suggested by BBTI. I appreciate the BBTI work, but their report on the short-barreled performance of the .327 may be misleading.
 
I am getting 1070 fps average from my .32 H&R Magnum out of a 2" Taurus 731UL using 100 grain Georgia Arms XTPs at 12' from the muzzle. If that helps any.
 
Buffalo bore sells some impressive loads for the .32 H&R and the .327.
You can shoot .327, .32 H&R, .32 S&W Long, and .32 S&W from the .327 revolver.
BB's 130 grain(!!!) .327 load does 1291 fps from a 3" barreled SP101.
Their 100 grain HP does 1315 fps from the same gun.

The best reasons to get one are because they don't make .32-20 DA revolvers anymore, and they don't make revolvers in 7.62x25 Tokarev.

I'm a fan of small bores, mid bores, and big bores. The first centerfire handgun I ever shot was my grandfather's Colt Police Positive Special .32-20. I was hooked.

My Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook has a .32 S&W Long load that does 1100 fps with a lead hollowpoint bullet.

A hard cast double ended wadcutter, loaded hot, would be a sweet .327 load.
 
Even a 32 sw long wc seated long (I mean first grease groove), with ***** powder, A very fast one, would give a good choice. LHBWC are a very good choice for both a target load and and SD one. Just find your way.
 
Thanks EB1. This is enormously helpful, and just the type of data I've been looking for.
 
My 632 Pro responded well to some light Wolff springs. It subsequently dispatched 100 AE 100gr JSP & 20 115gr Speer Gold Dots in .327 Fed Magnum, 80+ homebrew .32 S&WL 96gr LRNFP with mixed Win & Fed SP primers, 42 ancient Remington 88gr LRN .32 S&W, and ~30 mixed .32 ACPs, including 60gr Win Silvertips. It will also dispatch .32 H&RM. No ftfs on the first trigger pull save one old .32 S&W, which fired on the second pull. The 632 Pro is DAO, so no SA firing. Pretty universal - five different calibers!

Some cautions: The .327 Fed Magnum ammo I shot is hot - makes 1,300-1,400 fps from the 2 1/8" non-comp barrel. Care should be excercised in ejecting spent .32 ACP cases. Their vestigial rim is small and can easily be skimmed over by the ejector star.

Stainz
 
If you can hit a running coyote with any pistol my hat is off to you. I shoot a lot of skeet and sporting clay. If I empty my 9mm carbine into a pack of coyotes I am very lucky to kill 3. You will do just as well with a Jimenez 22. All your going to do is scare the coyotes. If you know the coyotes are present you will kill far more with a Marlin 60 that you likely already own. I don't have any experience with a .327 fed but I have a lot of experience with coyotes.
 
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IMHO, the round should've been marketed as a sporting cartridge and chambered in such guns as the Single Six and S&W K-frame. This is where it really shines and gives us heavy .32-20 ballistics with a stouter case and fits in a smaller package. Not to mention carbide dies. Not snubbies for self defense.

Yes, believe it or not, some folks actually shoot handguns beyond 7yds at the indoor range. Some, remarkably, actually hunt with them and that includes small game and varmints.
 
IMHO, the round should've been marketed as a sporting cartridge and chambered in such guns as the Single Six and S&W K-frame. This is where it really shines and gives us heavy .32-20 ballistics with a stouter case and fits in a smaller package. Not to mention carbide dies. Not snubbies for self defense.
Click to expand...
Yes, but how many gun companies can even spell "market research?"
 
Keep in mind that Charter Arms and Taurus both dropped their .327 Federal Magnum offerings a year ago, leaving just Ruger and S&W making them now. It took twenty plus years for the .32 H&RM to fizzle... but it's still 'around'. I did note that Starline has the brass listed for 8/12 - seems they used to make it, but it was gone for a bit. They say it uses small pistol or small Magnum pistol primers - what happened to it's using the small rifle primer? Confusing.

Stainz
 
I been looking for one because the are nice and small but very shootable.
If I can find an H&R in 32 mag I am going to buy it because they and the 327 mag are great calibers and you can shoot 32 long or shorts in them.
 
CraigC said:
If the .327 used a small rifle primer, that's news to me.
Click to expand...
I do not reload it myself, but I just check my books and did a quick serch on the internet and every .327 mag load I have seen calls for small PISTOL primers. I don't think the small rifle primer statement was correct
 
"Special Note Regarding Primers: Due to the high operating pressures, factory ammo for the 327 Federal uses small rifle primers to prevent Primer flowback. These handloads were developed using Federal #205 small rifle primers. However, small rifle magnum primers are neither required or recommended."

Quoted from the Speer DataFile on reloading the 327 Federal Magnum with Speer 115 gr GDHP.:)
 
Starline just introduced the brass in the past couple weeks. It immediately sold out. Those of us that like this round have been waiting for YEARS for a steady supply of cases. Hopefully Starline will keep it in regular production.
 
To keep on track with the OP's question..... 6 shots instead of 5, can shoot 5 different cartridges in the .32 family, more energy than .38's produce, and in the neighborhood of .357 mag. power with less recoil and less muzzle flash....thats why I bought a Ruger Sp101 in .327.
 
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