After trying out .327 Fed. For a few years...

I'm going to make it my primary revolver caliber.

I'm under 1k rounds of .38 and .357 combined so it was time to decide between buying more or continue phasing in .327.

The only downsides I found to .327 vs .38/.357:

- .357 is more powerful so against large animals and for hunting it's the way to go.
- Practice ammo is cheaper (debatable!)

That's really it. Everything else is a win for .327/.32 Mag., .32 Long, .32 acp. (I think everyone here knows a .327 gun can fire all of these)

The wife (and I) can shoot the .327 LCR as long as we like with .32 acp and .32 Long. Even the .357 LCR w/.38's wears her down around 75 rds or so.

For defense there are .32 magnum and medium-powered .327 loads available. And of course full factory and hotter loads, too.

The big payoff for a .327 chambered revolver is low recoil, low-report ammo and an extra round (or two) in the cylinder.

Holsters, loading strips, speed loaders are all available.

The ammo is also lighter so moving it around is easier on the ol'back. (Most practice ammo is 73-100 grs)

So anyone looking to get into revolvers for defense I reccomend .327 over .38 / .357.

I'm going to get a second .327 LCR myself.

A few notes about using .32 acp.

In my LCR some brands (Geco) have too thin a rim. This results in 50% failures to ignite.

Fiocchi works 100%.

In an H&R .32 magnum all the .32 acp worked fine.

.32 acp causes "fliers". About every 5-7 bullets will be up to a foot off target at 25 yds. Keep .32 acp practice to 10-15 yds and you can keep hits in the A zone.

.32 acp won't eject using the extractor star in some guns. It doesn't from my LCR, but ejects perfectly from the H&R pistol I tried.

So, when firing .32 acp from the LCR I keep the ranges short and just use the tip of a bolt-flag to easily punch out the casings that don't come out with gravity or tap on the cylinder.

Casings do fall out with a tap of the cylinder until the cylinder starts getting dirty.

These are caveats of .32 acp in a .32 mag/.327 revolver. But it's worth saving $4 per 50 rounds if you shoot alot. (Vs. .32 Long and more vs. The other calibers the gun can fire)

My uncle is a gann of the 32s. I don't know if he had any 327 revolvers though. He's killed some big pigs that's he's trapped on his ranch with the 32s.

I wish this round would've taken off more. I suppose the .380 craze probably limited it. It's the perfect round for fitting six in a j-frame size gun and the ballistics seem like a pretty decent improvement over 32 H&R.

One can also use hot .32 mags or mild-.327 mag loads keeping recoil, noise, and wear on the mild side as defense loads with good ballistics.

The big draw in a snub is 6 shots instead of 5 and very, very low recoil practice. (.32 S&W "Long", which I think is also called "Colt New Police" to add confusion 😁 )

I wish Smith maid an Airweight in 327 with a 6 shot cylinder. I like the caliber but hated reloading for it. I had a Single 7. I think it has a lot of potential.

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Originally Posted by Alaskapopo

I wish Smith maid an Airweight in 327 with a 6 shot cylinder. I like the caliber but hated reloading for it. I had a Single 7. I think it has a lot of potential.

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I dont reload yet but I'm curious what the issue was. Just smaller cases?

Tiny cases and its easy to not seat the bullet perfectly and ruin the case as you seat the bullet.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Alaskapopo

Tiny cases and its easy to not seat the bullet perfectly and ruin the case as you seat the bullet.

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Thanks.

Finally chronographed the .327 Federal 85 gr Hydrashok jhp "low recoil" load.

Pretty crisp report and a little blast, but low recoil. Think 110 gr +p+ .38 special. But maybe less recoil than that.

Averaged 1152 fps from my LCR snub.

Probably the load I'd carry if I get one of these for myself.

Also learned PPU .32 acp fires fine. Cci blazer has misfires. Just like with auto .32's, stick with 7.65mm not us-spec .32 acp.

Put 150 rds through the gun the other day, mostly .32 long. Shoot all the .32 long you like through these LCR snubs. Your hand will not be beaten and your trigger finger will not get tired.

Way less recoil than .38 wadcutters from a LW snub. And 6 shots.