The .327 Federal Magnum is a cartridge introduced by
Federal Premium Ammunition
Federal Premium Ammunition is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Czechoslovak Group, located in Anoka, Minnesota. With a workforce of nearly 1,500, Federal manufactures shotshell, centerfire, and Rimfire ammunition, rimfire ammunition and componen ...
and also sold by
Sturm, Ruger & Co
Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc., better known by the shortened name Ruger, is an American firearm manufacturing company based in Southport, Connecticut, with production facilities also in Newport, New Hampshire; Mayodan, North Carolina; and ...
. It is intended to provide the power of a
.357 Magnum in six-shot, compact
revolver
A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...
s, whose
cylinder
A cylinder () has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base.
A cylinder may also be defined as an infinite ...
s would otherwise only hold five rounds. The .327 has also been used in full-sized revolvers with a capacity of seven rounds or more. The .327 Federal Mag is an example of a "
super magnum
A super magnum is a longer and/or more powerful version of a "Magnum cartridge, magnum" Cartridge (firearms), cartridge. Although the term "super magnum" typically refers to a Handgun, handgun cartridge, created by lengthening an existing straigh ...
", because it is a magnum of a magnum, the
.32 H&R Magnum.
Development
Introduced by the
Federal Cartridge company, now known as Federal Premium Ammunition, the .327 Federal Magnum was an attempt to improve on the
.32 H&R Magnum introduced in 1984. Like the .32 H&R, the .327 Federal is a lengthened version of the original
.32 S&W cartridge, which dates back to 1878. In 1896, the
.32 S&W Long was introduced, which generated slightly higher velocities. The introduction of the .32 H&R increased pressures from to 21,000
CUP
A cup is an open-top vessel (container) used to hold liquids for drinking, typically with a flattened hemispherical shape, and often with a capacity of about . Cups may be made of pottery (including porcelain), glass, metal, wood, stone, pol ...
, giving velocities of approximately .
Based on the .32 H&R Magnum, with a longer case, a strengthened web at the base of the case, thicker case walls, and different heat-treatment and metallurgy, the .327 Federal can be loaded to much higher pressure levels () than its predecessor (21,000 CUP).
[Pearce, Lane, "Reloading the .327 Federal Magnum", ''Shooting Times'' Magazine, 4 January 2011] The .327's actual bullet diameter is , and it achieves muzzle velocities up to with bullets, and up to with bullets, when fired from the (78 mm)-barreled
Ruger SP101
The Ruger SP101 is a series of double-action revolvers produced by the American company Sturm, Ruger & Co. The SP101 is a small frame and all-steel-construction carry revolver, with a five-shot ( .38 Special, .357 Magnum, and 9×19mm Parabel ...
revolver.
While perceived
recoil
Recoil (often called knockback, kickback or simply kick) is the rearward thrust generated when a gun is being discharged. In technical terms, the recoil is a result of conservation of momentum, for according to Newton's third law the force requ ...
exceeds that of the .32 H&R, revolvers in .327 Federal are much easier to control than equivalent models chambered in .357 Magnum. Comparing the two calibers, Chuck Hawks says, "There is no doubt that, for most shooters, the .357 Magnum produces uncomfortable recoil and muzzle blast."
The .327's recoil energy is for an jacketed hollowpoint (JHP) load, for the JHP, and for the softpoint (SP). For comparison, the figures are for an .32 H&R Magnum load and for a .357 Magnum load.
[
]
Firearms chambered for the .327 Federal Magnum
Revolvers in .327 Federal Magnum were initially offered by Charter Arms
Charter Arms Co. is an American manufacturer of revolvers. Since its founding in 1964, Charter Arms has produced revolvers chambered in the following calibers: .22 Long Rifle, .22 Winchester Magnum, .32 Long, .32 H&R Magnum, .327 Federal Ma ...
, Taurus
Taurus is Latin for 'bull' and may refer to:
* Taurus (astrology), the astrological sign
** Vṛṣabha, in vedic astrology
* Taurus (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac
* Taurus (mythology), one of two Greek mythological ch ...
, Ruger, and Freedom Arms
Freedom Arms is a Freedom, Idaho and Wyoming, Freedom, Wyoming–based gun manufacturer , firearm manufacturing company, known for producing powerful single-action revolvers. The company was founded in 1978 by Wayne Baker and Dick Casull to pr ...
, with Ruger's SP101 originally selected as the development platform for the new cartridge. Freedom Arms
Freedom Arms is a Freedom, Idaho and Wyoming, Freedom, Wyoming–based gun manufacturer , firearm manufacturing company, known for producing powerful single-action revolvers. The company was founded in 1978 by Wayne Baker and Dick Casull to pr ...
made a single-action design, as did U.S. Fire Arms with its eight-shot Sparrowhawk. Ruger offered the double-action six-shot SP101 and seven-shot GP100, and the full-sized single-action eight-shot Blackhawk
Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to:
Animals
* Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus''
* Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii''
* Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus urubitinga''
* Mangrove black hawk, ''Buteogallus (anthracinus) s ...
chambered in the caliber. A version of the Ruger SP101 with a barrel was released in January 2008.
In late 2014, Ruger introduced the smaller-framed Ruger Single-Seven, a seven-shot single-action revolver based on the Single-Six. In March 2015, Ruger re-introduced the SP101 in .327 Federal Magnum, featuring fully adjustable sights and a longer, barrel. In September 2015, Ruger also introduced the LCR, a double-action only, six-shot revolver with a polymer subframe, as well as the later LCRx.
In early 2017, Henry Repeating Arms
Henry Repeating Arms is a firearms manufacturing company. As of 2019, Henry Repeating Arms ranked in the top five of U.S. long gun manufacturers, and eighth overall in total firearms production, manufacturing over 300,000 firearms annually.
H ...
announced production of four new lever-action
The toggle-link action used in the iconic Winchester Model 1873 rifle, one of the most famous lever-action firearms
Picture showing a Volcanic Pistol
A lever action is a type of action for repeating firearms that uses a manually operated cocki ...
long guns (a rifle and a carbine, each available with its receiver manufactured from either steel or hardened brass), with shipping scheduled to begin in March. Hawks suggests that lever-action carbines in .327 Magnum will make "excellent, fun-to-shoot centerfire rifles for hunting javelina
Peccaries (also javelinas or skunk pigs) are pig-like ungulates of the family Tayassuidae (New World pigs). They are found throughout Central and South America, Trinidad in the Caribbean, and in the southwestern area of North America. Peccari ...
, jackrabbit
Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The genu ...
, and coyote
The coyote (''Canis latrans''), also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, or brush wolf, is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the Wolf, gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the c ...
." He also notes that revolvers with six-to-eight-inch barrels and adjustable sights "would be excellent hunting handguns for varmints and small predators, as well as offering flat-shooting protection from two-legged predators in the field."
In early 2022, Taurus released the Taurus 327 small frame revolver.
Similar cartridges
The .327 Federal Magnum provides performance similar to the high-velocity rifle
A rifle is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a gun barrel, barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus o ...
loadings of the old .32-20 Winchester, though these velocities are achieved in a much shorter revolver barrel, thanks to a much higher pressure ceiling for the .327 Federal Magnum.
Another similar cartridge is the .30 Carbine, which has been offered in Ruger's single-action
A trigger is a mechanism that actuates the function of a ranged weapon such as a firearm, airgun, crossbow, or speargun. The word may also be used to describe a switch that initiates the operation of other non-shooting devices such as a t ...
Blackhawk revolver line since 1968. However, the .327 Federal Magnum has a higher maximum pressure () than the .30 Carbine ().
Gunsmiths working with Ruger and Freedom Arms have offered custom conversions of single-action .32 H&R Single Six and Freedom Arms revolvers to .327 Federal Magnum. Test results from the long barreled guns showed even higher velocities than the .30 Carbine, along with excellent accuracy.
See also
* .30 Super Carry
*8 mm caliber
This is a list of firearm cartridges which have bullets in the caliber range.
*''Length'' refers to the empty cartridge case
Case or CASE may refer to:
Instances
* Instantiation (disambiguation), a realization of a concept, theme, or design ...
*List of handgun cartridges
This is a list of handgun Cartridge (weaponry), cartridges, approximately in order of increasing caliber.
Table of handgun cartridges
Other cartridges used in handguns
Although not originally designed for handguns, several rifle and shotgun ...
*Super magnum
A super magnum is a longer and/or more powerful version of a "Magnum cartridge, magnum" Cartridge (firearms), cartridge. Although the term "super magnum" typically refers to a Handgun, handgun cartridge, created by lengthening an existing straigh ...
*Table of handgun and rifle cartridges
This is a table of selected pistol/submachine gun and rifle/machine gun cartridges by common name. Data values are the highest found for the cartridge, and might not occur in the same load (e.g. the highest muzzle energy might not be in the same ...
References
External links
''Ruger Blackhawk .327 Federal 5.5" 8-shot Revolver''
{{DEFAULTSORT:327 Federal Magnum
.327 Federal Magnum firearms
Sturm, Ruger & Co.
Pistol and rifle cartridges
Magnum pistol cartridges