.327 Mag?

[photobear]

Just a quick question. I'm getting a Ruger SP101, but I'm not sure yet whether to get the 5-shot .38/.357mag or the 6-shot .327mag. I love the idea of having the extra round, but I'm not sure about the .327mag's power. Is it more powerful than a .38spl? More powerful than a .38spl +P? What's the recoil compaired to a .357mag?

Thanks!

[gcrank1]

I find the 327 interesting, but.......
you will be able to afford to shoot it in 38/357 more and find the level of performace you want easier due to the various loadings available.

[canon6]

I have had two of them   they are addictive. Ruger Sp101  3  in and a Charter Arms 4 in.
As to power      it depends how you measure it. using a 115gr in the 327 you can get close to 357 energy.It recoils much less YMMV   but is noisy. Components are difficult to locate. 
The SP101 in 357 is a very versatile hand gun  I have one in 3inch and love it  hth    Doug

[Dee]

357 mag is all I have. I have owned all the calibers except 41 mag. I carried all of the calibers as a Police Officer over a 20 year period. I am now, at 60 years old right back where I started. 357 magnum. STILL number one in the one shot stop in L.E. data bases.

[Pike60]

I have the 3 inch sp in 357 while a friend has the sp in 327. I shoot mine alot more often than he does do to the ability to find ammo. I personally also like the 357  better.

[LouisianaMan]

Photobear,
Although I agree with other posters about the ammo availability issues, your original questions were about power & recoil, especially related to .38+P and .357 loads.

Let me assure you, when you pull the trigger on an SP-101 in .327 Mag, you will know that you have unleashed a magnum round! You feel the torque, see the flash, and hear the wicked blast of a magnum. Ignoring ballistic tables for a moment & basing my comments on purely subjective firer's impressions, I'd say that I agree with the assertion that the .327 is between .38+P and .357 Mag in power levels. Felt recoil is less than a .357, and my perception is that flash and blast are also similar, but somewhat less than .357.

Personally, I would feel confident using any of the three for SD, although they generate effectiveness in different ways: caliber, expansion, permanent cavity, temp cavity, etc. Again, questions of ammo availability aside, your decision is whether you personally feel OK with a small caliber--high velocity solution to SD/HD or not. If you're OK with that, the .327 is a peach.

Final note: if the school of thought is correct that most "stops" with pistol ammo are psychological in nature rather than physical, then that could account for some of the .357's legendary effectiveness. . .kind of a projectile-firing flash-bang when you touch her off, and the BG definitely will be aware he's being shot at! The .327 Mag shares these qualities in great degree. If you shoot one, you will not be disappointed in its power level. (But I hope you're into reloading if you choose .327 over .38/.357.)

[Frank V]

Photobear, I have never owned a .327, I think it has great potential as a trail gun. I have shot thousands or rounds through a .357 & .38 Special. I don't buy the advertising that it's just a little less powerful than the .357. All you have to do to dispell that myth is read several loading manuals. It does just about equal the 9mm though & with proper loads the 9mm is a viable defense cartridge. Availability of ammo/reloading components is a concern to me. Although we can buy in volume when located. I would choose the .357 over the .327, the availability of cheaper, ACCURATE, less noisy, .38 Specials, I think is the point tipping the vote in favor of the .357, that & the fact it just doesn't come really close to the power of the .357, .38 Special +P yes, .357, no. Having said that I kind of like the .327, but as a trail/small game gun, not a primary defense gun.
Frank

[McDerry]

6 one way half a dozen the other.  Test barrel length for the data can squew the information.  Hodgdon will list loads for a 100 grain bullet for the .327 at 1525 for a max load out of a 5" barrel.  The .357 is listed as a 125 grain bullet at 1966 out of a 10" barrel.   Apples to Oranges.

Shorten up that .357 barrel and it will start moving back into the .327's territory.  The same thing applies to the .327 with a longer barrel.  Balistics by the inch listed the  .357 at 3" of barrel as moving a (Cor-Bon) 110 gr bullet at 1109 during there testing.   For the .327 at 3" of barrel with a (Speer Gold Dot) 115 grain bullet at 1316.   On the short barreled (3") Ruger sp101 the .327 has the advantage in a more Apples to Apples comparison. 

On the longer barrels the .327 still likes to keep up but the bigger bored .357 takes advantage of the more efficient bore diameter, especially with the heavy weight bullets.   Theres no competition between a .327 with a 115 gr versus the .357 with a 150 gr.


In the end for a small carry gun, ammo availability/commonality is the issue. 

[SHOOTALL]

I like the sp-101 , shot it in both 357 and 327 mag. both 3 inch bbl guns . Sometimes i carry them . I like the rugers because they have enough weight to make shooting the 357 mag. almost comfortable . If you are going to carry 38 sopl. in your gun then you could get the 327 and be better off . If you want to tote 357mags in your gun then you will never be happy with the 327 FM. The 327 I believe will match or exceed a 38 spl. in usefulness and can be loaded with less powerful rounds . The 327 will not come close to the 357m. I say this after shooting both .
The air weight S&W in 327 FM would be a great carry gun if you had been toting one in 38 spl.

[Old Griz]

Right now finding .327 ammo in my neck of the woods is almost impossible. Mail order only if it's available. Being able to shoot anything from .38 WC to hot .357 loads makes it a no brainer to me. (Yes, it's true. I have no brain.)

[Mohawk]

I am still holding out for the .328 mag (:        +1 for Dee. Just another fad meant to sell guns. But that is what I would do if I owned a gun/ammo company and I needed quick cash I guess. Then pay a gunwriter to make it the latest and greatest. No doubt the .327 is a good round but I don't see its niche outside of anything the .357/.38 can provide. Plus if I was hunkered down at the local ghetto mart exchanging rounds with a robber there just may be another armed person that can loan me some ammo, which is far more likely to be .38/.357 than .327.

[SHOOTALL]

You might be right about loan ammo but better to carry enough than depend on luck. But in most cases its over in a few rounds . If you are not taking well aimed shots better to be behind cover waiting for them to expose themselves than to spray and pray giving your position away and risking hitting someone not in the fight.

[photobear]

I went with the .357 mag. Thanks for your opinions!

[Spencer, Carey]

Can anyone tell me why Ruger opted to put this round in the BlackHawk frame instead of the Single Six? Pressures maybe? Personally I would rather sacrifice a round and accept a five round cylinder with thicker walls if that would solve the problem and retain the dimensions of the Single Six than to gain capacity in the larger BlackHawk version. Anybody got anything on this?

[gcrank1]

Ours is not to reason why
Ours is but to go and buy......
or
If we build it, they will come
We'll see (maybe just get one now before they are discontinued and become 'collectors items')

[Spencer, Carey]

Point well taken. May have to try and talk her into letting me have "just one more..."...again! The "collectors item" idea may be usefull for that! Thanx!!

[SHOOTALL]

Can anyone tell me why Ruger opted to put this round in the BlackHawk frame instead of the Single Six? Pressures maybe? Personally I would rather sacrifice a round and accept a five round cylinder with thicker walls if that would solve the problem and retain the dimensions of the Single Six than to gain capacity in the larger BlackHawk version. Anybody got anything on this?

I read that it was cyl length . After there failure with the 357 super mag or maxmia maybe they didn't want to chance it.