.327 Magnum Opinions

[OverHill]

I bought a slightly used Taurus .327 Magnum a few years ago because I liked the design point of the cartridge and the price was right on the pistol. The .327 Magnum impressed me as an effective cartridge suited for smaller and concealable pistols, and it also looked like a great choice for a carbine.

Over time Taurus and a few others stopped manufacturing pistols in .327 Magnum because of low sales volumes. Even though Ruger still supported the cartridge I began to believe it probably came too late to be an overall success.

Recently things seem to be improving, Ruger has more models for sale now; I’ve read Ruger’s custom shop and other gunsmiths are busy building long barreled versions to take advantage of the cartridge, and now I see Henry Repeating Arms has started shipping two versions of their Big Boy Steel product: a 20” rifle and a 16.5: carbine. Maybe the .327 Magnum will still catch on.

[Niner Delta]

Very interesting, I didn't even know there was a .327 Magnum.

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[DuncaninFrance]

Me neither although not surprising with the restrictions on this side of the pond

[M14man]

On a parallal and similar note those ultra fast and light pistols are fun to shoot!
I have a Ruger Blackhawk chambered in 30 Cal carbine. A similar cartridge of sorts. Ammo aquisition is relatively easy!.That Ruger handgun is really not made for concealment. Looks like a western cowboy revolver and sports a 7 1/2 bbl. Fun and loud!!!

[OverHill]

M14man,

I like .30 carbine revolvers as well especially with the commercial primers, powder options, and bullets available these days.

Do you shoot surplus ammo? The reason I ask is because I remember a friend of mine who owned one just like yours 30-years ago experiencing frequent misfires the experts of the day blamed on military primers and head spacing difficulties in the revolver cylinder with surplus military cartridges. From what I’ve read these types of issues have been resolved with newer commercial ammo or proper reloads.

Jim

[M14man]

I had for quite some time used surplus GI with no problems. I have had that pistol 30 years. I use reloads more now since I cherish my GI stash. I have had issues with head spacing where the firing pin did not strike the primer hard enough because I trimmed a bit too much off the case. I also have had difficulty with extraction of the cartridges if I load hot. I have learned the error of my ways and do not use hot loads in the gun and I avoid using any cases that may be too short. I use them up in the M1 carbine rifles that I have. I load a grain or two light and have my boxes marked for "Good for pistol" although at the range having an occasional short case or sticky one does not really cause an issue.