Originally Posted by Coyote_Hunter
Bought a Ruger SP101 .327 Fed for wife to use for home defense some years ago. Part of the rationale was that while .327 Fed loads might be too much for her, downloaded .327 Fed Mag or factory .32 H&R Mag or .32 S&W Long loads could be used instead.

Turns out even the "reduced recoil" the .327 Fed Mag loads were still too much for my wife. Didn't have dies ($99 !!!) for the .327 Federal Mag so I bought some .32 H&R Mag loads instead. Curious about the difference in performance and recoil, I fired one of each into a bucket with about 8" of sand in it.

The difference in recoil (85g @1020fps vs 1400fps per factory specs) was pretty significant, as expected. Purchased the .327 Federal dies along with 85g and 100g XTP bullets. Am guessing I'll end up with a defensive load my wife is comfortable with using the 100g at around 1000-1100fps.

Here's what the two bullets fired into sand looked like:

.32 H&R on left, .327 Fed Mag on right
[Linked Image]


I have an SP101 in .32 H&R and the recoil is quite light - enough so that my wife can shoot it comfortably even with her arthritis... That's a neat little round - and IMHO can be quite effective as a self-defense or home defensive firearm.. The only .327Fed gun I have is a Freedom Arms M97.. The added weight of the FA model helps defray the added recoil of the 327Fed and, in that platform, is really easy to control..

Ex- USN (SS) '66-'69
Pro-Constitution.
LET'S GO BRANDON!!!