Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns What happened to the 327 ??

I was looking for a Ruger 101 in 327 and found out they're VERY difficult to find.We have a Cabelas in town and they have none in any of their stores..Gun broker has them occasionally but close to $900 now..Did this cartridge not take off or what.I'm not a huge handgun guy but this seemed like a versatile and competent round to me..Any thoughts??

It offered absolutely nothing substantially different enough to generate the interest necessary. Just as that which would happen if someone tried to come up with a factory chambering in a caliber like .375 and extol its uses as falling in between the .357 and the .41 Mag. It would die on the vine, though it would be closer to what the shooting public wants.

I thought it was a cool round.

Apparently, I was among very few.

I fooled around and traded into one fairly early after they were introduced. It was an SP101. Very interesting to shoot. Very flat shooter. It was loud, but muzzle flip and or recoil was nearly non existent.

Mrs. Tide liked it especially, but something came along that caused me to trade it. I do remember that ammunition and components weren't exactly easy to come by.

Never heard of it pal...

One thing, the Obama inspired buying craze came along and the factories started focusing tightly on the hottest sellers.

The only reason I never purchased a 327 was that the only one I ever found with a 4 inch barrel was a Charter.

Maybe, if we ever get a real conservative back in the Whitehouse, (yeah, I know, but I can dream) the buying craze will slow down.

Then the factories will have to start catering to some of the niche markets again. I am waiting for a four inch K frame in 327.

Bought an SP101 for my wife, who is recoil sensitive. Shoots great.

I like the idea of her being able to shoot .32 S&W Long or .32 H&R Mag should the need arise but I reload and have plenty of factory ammo which will provide a lifetime supply of brass.

I would rather see new pistols chambered in the .30 Luger or Mauser cartridge. Same ballistics as the .327 but in an auto pistol.

Same ballistics as the .327 Fed? Not quite so.

For the .30 Luger, a 93g bullet at 1200-1220fps (Fiocchi and Winchester respectively) is about the best you will do. By contrast Federal and Speer both offer .327 Federal ammo with 100g doing 1500fps. Federal also offers a reduced recoil load of 85g doing 1400fps and Speer offers a 115g load at 1380fps. Buffalo Bore offers 100g @ 1450fps and 130g hardcast at 1300fps .

Energy wise the .30 Luger comes in at 297fpe to 307fpe with the Fiocchi and Winchester loads. While that is better than Federal's .32 H&R Mag defensive load of 85g @ 1120fps (237fpe), it is well below Buffalo Bore's 100g @ 1300fps (375fpe).

Enter the .327 Federal. 100g @ 1500fps is 500fpe, 115g @ 1380fps is 486fpe and 130g @ 1300fps is 488fpe. Given the most energetic loads for each, the .327 Federal offers an additional 280fps (23%) and 197fpe (63%) than the .30 Luger.

Same ballistics? No. Perhaps you were thinking of the .30 caliber Tokarev? Not that it would matter to people like my wife, who can't operate the slide on most semi-autos.

The buying craze has slowed down. Dealers and distributors are overstocked.

UPhiker...I think your are right, was in a local gun store a few days ago and the owner has his off types, other than AR's of military semi-autos upstairs in a small room. Noticed that the rack was filled with mostly AR-15's, I bet many of those people who panic bought last year are now unloading their AR's.

When the 327 first came out I read the articles, but had doubts as the smaller and larger established cartridges that this new one was supposed to replace were too similar to invest into a whole new gun and re-loader facility.

I just really liked the fact of any 32 caliber ammo would shoot out of it,and low recoil and light weight seemed kind of attractive to me but apparently I was in the minority..May put a WTB in the classified to see if any are floating around at a reasonable price..

Well I know of several people that would buy one if they could find one. They weren't marketed very well right from the start, much like the 480. I have one in an 8 shot Blackhawk & with the 135 gr cast HP I'm using its a lot of fun to shoot, very little recoil, fast, flat & knocks the whiskers off of jackrabbits. Whats not to like....except the price.

Dick

The attraction to me is the low recoil. My Orthopedic Surgeon has been trying to get me in for wrist, base of the thumb surgery for several years to offset arthritis issues. But I am trying to delay the surgery as long as I can stand to go without it.

I could shoot a light weight 327 with several types of ammo all day long and enjoy the heck out of it, or I could hand it off to the young grand kids. But potent 327 magnums are always available for carry when the use might become serious.

"Currently, there are no major gun manufacturers producing .327 revolvers. Charter Arms, Taurus and Freedom Arms offered revolvers chambered in .327 Federal Magnum until 2012. Freedom Arms made a single action as did U.S. Fire Arms with the 8-shot Sparrowhawk. Ruger offered their SP101, GP100, and Blackhawk revolvers chambered in .327 FM, but all three models were discontinued in the 327 FM caliber by the end of 2013. Smith & Wesson's Model 632 has also been discontinued."

- Wikipedia

I saw one Sparrowhawk...wish I had bought it....

FA still chambers their 97 in .32-20/.32H&R/.327 Magnum. Friend with a big collection of .32s has one with all three cylinders and a 4.25" barrel.

Ruger..as usual..refused to put the round in the gun most appropriate for it...the Single-Six. Just like they refused to put the .480 in a Super Blackhawk.

Bob

I've got a 4" Ruger SP101 in 32 H&R that I picked up, but haven't shot. I like the idea of it being a 6 shot instead of 5. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it. Hey I like calibers that start with a 4.

Is the cylinder long enough on that SP101 to rechamber to 327?

Just Curious, as I am not in the position to make any more purchases for a while.

Measure your cylinder and Google "327 Mag" and get the OAL dimension. A five minute exercise.

Freedom Arms has 'em..

www.freedomarms.com

That's where I got mine.. True - they ain't cheap, but they're outstanding guns..



The reasons the SP101s are goin' so high is that it was a rather limited production run, IIRC.. That, and the rather scant availability of ammo at the time.. However, the last time I was in Scheels in Eau Claire I noted several boxes of .327 Federal ammo on the shelf..

Brass is available now from Freedom Arms.