.327 Federal Club thread

[Deja vu]

I wonder how many rounds one of those 8shot 357 magnum cylinders hold if the pistol was converted to 327? Probably like 10

a 10 shot revolver that is not a rim-fire would be pretty cool!

[Cosmodragoon]

Can I PLEASE have a 6" barrel stainless steel 7 shot S&W 686 chambered in .327?

Given the fabulous 686+, I'd imagine they could give you 8 shots of .327 in that platform. Does anyone know a reason they couldn't? That said, could they squeeze 9 on an N-frame?

*sigh* This thread continues to make me angry because all of these great ideas will probably never be explored. The .327 is just plain wonderful and the failure in marketing and support that sank it sank some powerful potential. I suppose I can keep hoping that the execs read our threads. In the meantime, there are things we can do. First, buy factory ammo! I know it costs more than reloading but it's the best way to show suppliers that demand exists. Then, when a company does offer a new gun in .327, buy it! When something sells like hotcakes, manufacturers pay attention. Of course, take your .327 out and shoot it with friends. The more fans it has, the better.

[Joshua 2415]

I agree with the above, absolutely.

One of the main reasons I regularly check this thread is that I hope someone will announce that S&W is making a 9 shot 327 magnum revolver in 3" or 4" for concealed carry. it just seems like an obvious thing to do.

Maybe they're thinking the round doesn't have a market. But to the extent that's so, I think it's because they aren't making the guns to support it. And they aren't promoting/advertising the most obvious benefits: Higher capacity and more power than 38 specials, with less recoil than 357 mag. Should sell like hotcakes, if they would promote it.

[BillCA]

Not to mention the ability to chamber and use 4 different cartridges.
To paraphrase an old Alka-Seltzer commercial, pop-pop, boom-boom oh what a joy it is.

[McCarthy]

I just sent an email to S&W investor relations.. lets see how far I can get up the chain. I'll point them to this thread. 1,153 posts and 108,025 views should speak for itself.

Meanwhile a list of reasons why S&W should bring back the 327 Fed in SS this time would be helpful for me for any further communication with them.

[Cosmodragoon]

I just sent an email to S&W investor relations.. lets see how far I can get up the chain. I'll point them to this thread. 1,153 posts and 108,025 views should speak for itself.

Meanwhile a list of reasons why S&W should bring back the 327 Fed in SS this time would be helpful for me for any further communication with them.

Forgive me being thick but what is "SS"? If you mean "stainless steel", then I'd agree. Just in case they do look, I remember them offering one model, the 632. I think they released it in stainless steel but it must have been a limited run. I can only find it incidentally in articles like this one.



I actually liked the look of it and putting 6 on a J-Frame is a major selling point. (I still think the 432PD in .32 H&R Magnum was a nearly perfect pocket gun.) The main reason I didn't buy a 632 is because they ported it. I know ported guns are cool and I've come to appreciate the stabilization in guns like the XVR. However, there are tradeoffs. Porting increases noise, flash, and mess; all things that are already turned up with the .327 federal magnum. Here, it made the decision easy for me. It was another sale lost to Ruger, who released it in the arguably prettier and more weight-stabilized SP101.

A point I've advanced here and elsewhere is that the marketing and support failed to realize this round's potential. It doesn't just give you an extra shot in a smaller frame. It gives you what the SP101 review above rightly called "high velocity and controllability". It also lends itself nicely to longer barrels and the fact that no rifle/carbine has been offered still grinds my gears. This would have been awesome in 4" 7-shot combination, preferably on a K-frame, or in potentially higher-capacity 5-6" offerings on a larger frame.

If we are just musing here, I suppose I could wish for one without that accursed lock. Why Smith and Wesson keeps blemishing their otherwise beautiful guns with that abomination is beyond me, but there are whole threads on that topic. Even with it, I'd still be inclined to pony up the premium if S&W offered what I was looking for in .327.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

The SS gun was on sale at Cabela's for awhile. I have one and put fiber optics on it. It's a great revolver. The J frame fits my small paws well.

The 432 is also a great pocket revolver. Got that also - they were quite cheap when SW stopped making them and dumped them on the market. Should have bought a few.

[BillCA]

Glenn, I agree with you that the 432PD is a nifty little package. I still have mine and it's very handy for things like answering the door or pocket carry when working in the yard. Bring out a 3-inch stainless .327 Centennial and I'd be all over that too.

S&W really needs to get with it. Carry guns with 3-inch barrels are highly favored by the public as well as collectors. Either J or K frame .327's should start with a 3-inch launch tube. A 3-inch stainless version of the Model 13/65 for a K-frame .327 would be perfect for concealed carry.

A 3rd change for the Model 16, as I see it would return with a K-Frame in 4 or 6 inch barrels with the "Magnum" partial underlug and 7 shots. It'd look like the beautiful Model 66 in profile. No need for the heavier 686 style barrel either.

[Cosmodragoon]

...a K-Frame in 4 or 6 inch barrels with the "Magnum" partial underlug and 7 shots. It'd look like the beautiful Model 66 in profile.

For reference, here is the Model 66. If this was a 7-shot .327 Federal Magnum, I'd buy it.

No need for the heavier 686 style barrel either.

It might not really "need" it but I do like the weight distribution. What about keeping the sloped underlug? Imagine this rather attractive 3" Model 60 as a 6-shooter in .327.



... or for something a little larger, something like this 5" 686 Plus Pro as a 7 or 8-shooter in .327. This here would be my dream gun.



If anyone from Smith and Wesson actually is reading this, ask yourself. Would it really be so hard to do a limited run of something like this? Do you really think it wouldn't sell? Do it without the internal lock and you'll be a hero. I know I'm only one guy but you've got my word. I'll buy two of them. I never thought I'd see myself writing this but please help me buy over a thousand dollars in product from you.

[Sevens]

I like the enthusiasm but I believe it is extremely naive to believe that discussion in this thread could or would possibly have any effect... any at all, at what Smith & Wesson might ever choose to build and market.

It seems to me that if S&W were to read -ANY- online gun forum (any forum of any size, anywhere on the 'net) and actually react to the end user's whims -- the first thing they would do would be to start producing half their entire line (or more) without the internal lock.

If you could dig up a thousand online gun enthusiasts that like a .327 Federal... than I could probably find ten thousand online gun cranks that would love to ser S&W bury the internal in the annals of history.

A better group to direct your .327 fever toward? Lew Horton or Lipsey's or one of those outfitters with the clout and bankroll to get S&W to make cool, oddball stuff.

[Cosmodragoon]

Sevens, naive or not, it didn't cost me anything to make my consumer interest known here. It also doesn't cost me anything to kick them an email once in a while. More of us should!

It does cost money to keep buying .327 ammo or whatever new guns are offered. It does cost money to introduce more people to this fantastic little round. Isn't the whole point that it's money well spent? We are enthusiasts. We love this little zinger. We want more to enjoy and more to explore.

[Sevens]

Oh, I'm with ya on that. I was in on the ground level of this monster thread and I've stuck with it and participated the whole way through. I can be a dreamer, too. I just don't think that a handful of passionate enthusiasts in this one thread is the kind of market that perhaps the world's most historic gun maker is gathering around the big conference room table and talking about.

"Did you guys see the .327 Federal thread TODAY?!"

[Hammer It]

Hello
I hate to be the bearer of bad new's here but I feel as though you Guy's are beating a dead horse here as far as having S&W come out with a revolver chambered in the Federal .327 Magnum. They did so a while back but they were all in the smaller J-frame sized revolver and they never did announce it in a K-Frame sized target revolver, of which makes no sense to me as they all ready have the Molds for the Model 16-4 revolver which was chambered in .32 H&R Magnum and all that would have to do, was to lengthen the cylinder throats to make it a Federal .327 Magnum revolver. I happen to have a K-Framed Model 16-4 that I had Hamilton Bowen lengthen the cylinder throats in as I got sick and tired of waiting for S&W to Come out with one of which I doubt that they ever will as they have Now even dropped the J-Frame Platform revolver all together....Hammer It

[Real Gun]

The future of this caliber is not with Smith & Wesson. Get over it. Even if they did produce a gun, who would buy it knowing they would be mocked or at least disrespected for buying the lock system, not to mention today's lower level of S&W quality?

As an owner of a Ruger SP101 in 327 Federal Magnum, I would say that a reintroduction via Lipsey's of the 327 in the newer 4" platform would be likely. That gun and caliber are naturals.

To those ranting about cylinder capacity and oversized frame platforms, they need to leave their semi-auto, spray-and-pray mentalities at the door IMO.

[Joshua 2415]

"To those ranting about cylinder capacity and oversized frame platforms, they need to leave their semi-auto, spray-and-pray mentalities at the door IMO."

We're not ranting, we're discussing. And asking for 7 or 8 rounds in a self-defense revolver is hardly a spray-and-pray mentality. 15 or 20 rounds, maybe. But not 7 or 8.

I have several of both semi-auto and revolver platforms. I carry them both. But the main reason my semi-autos get carried more often than the revolvers is the increased capacity. When I do carry revolver, it's usually one of my two 8-round S&W 357 magnums.

A key advantage of the 327 magnum is the smaller diameter, which lends itself to higher capacity. A 7 or 8 round DA revolver in 327 magnum would set that product apart from the crowd, and make it very popular, in my opinion.

[Real Gun]

A "7 or 8 round DA revolver in 327 magnum" would be too much gun for the caliber, all in the name of that spray-and-pray mentality. Then we'd be complaining about how heavy the gun was and how we never carry it anymore...another dead model that we thought would be such a great idea, leaving the gun manufacturer feeling burned one more time. The 327 has to be established as a mainstream gun first before getting carried away with boutique ideas.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

That would be a Scandium 6 shot J frame with the sights they had on the snubbie SS 632.

Would Sc be enough? I dunno?

Put on a CT grip, like on my 642 at that would be so nice.

Push it for folks who are recoil sensitive as you can find HP and defensive loads from 32 SW Long to 327s.

[McCarthy]

I think 2 models would be nice and apocopate at this time:


1) 3" Stainless Steel 7 shot in a light and still slim frame.

2) 6" Stainless Steel 8 shot in a hunting frame with adjustable /changeable sights.

I'd buy both for $1k each.

[BillCA]

One of the most sought after defensive revolvers in recent times was the 3-inch barreled Model 13 (FBI model) and the equivalent Model 65 (including the Ladysmith version). A fixed-sight, 3-inch M&P .357 Magnum with six shots.


A similar model in .327 Federal Magnum could have the advantage of a 7th shot and a round butt grip, all straight off the K-Frame jigs. It'd weigh in around 31-32 oz - less than a standard 4-inch K-Frame. I don't think porting would be necessary (or even desirable). If based on the 3-inch Model 66, it could be a very attractive and effective package.

[Joshua 2415]

^ ^ ^ Perfect !!!

Exactly what I'm hoping for!

[Real Gun]

The 3" model 60 is the gun, but in a J-Magnum frame. I use the same holster for SP101 and 60 Pro, so since the SP101 3" seems like a natural to me, I would say if S&W is a factor in the future game, it should begin with the 60 Pro. The SP101 in 327 Federal Magnum is a six shooter, and that is all that is needed, one round more than it carries in other calibers. If the 60 Pro were done in the caliber, it too would yield 6 rounds without creating a thin cylinder wall.

It is important that the gun be smallish, because if it doesn't get carried regularly because of larger size, it will languish in the back of the safe like all the others. That works against the caliber gaining a foothold.

[BillCA]

With due respect Real Gun I think you're arguing from the fallacy of a statistical class of one - a.k.a. "It's my favorite, so it must be best". There are a considerable number of people who do carry a K-Frame as their primary gun who would be potential customers.

For example, I know two people with large hands who dislike the J-Frame because it's a two-finger grip for them. I know one woman who hates J-frame sized guns including the SP-101 due to recoil. But she wanted my Model 15 so badly I spent three weeks helping her find one and she shoots it well.

Hammer It - I'm not as pessimistic about S&W's future offerings. Yes, they likely still have the Model 16-4 jigs and CNC programs. Modification would be relatively simple. But perhaps Sevens' suggestion that we ask a distributor like Lipsey's, Talo or Lew Horton for a special run is the right approach. And to that end, how long would your Model 16's barrel be if it was shortened just a skosh past the ejector rod locking bolt crosspin in the barrel? I don't have an example (or even a 686) to measure.

[FrankenMauser]

For example, I know two people with large hands who dislike the J-Frame because it's a two-finger grip for them. I know one woman who hates J-frame sized guns including the SP-101 due to recoil. But she wanted my Model 15 so badly I spent three weeks helping her find one and she shoots it well.

I have average hands, and my J-frame is still just a 2-finger grip for me. The little finger might be "on" the grip, but it's right at the edge and doesn't do anything useful.

That being said... I still like the size.

...And I've been really trying to get ahold of an I-frame. -Even smaller!
(Or a Colt Police Positive [but they have a large grip].)


If S&W offered a lock-free J-frame AirWeight or Ladysmith with a 3.5-4" barrel, in .327 Federal, the only question would be, "Who do I give my money to?"

[McCarthy]

The Vice President at S&W investor relations replied to my first email, I answered her questions and never heard back. No reaction to my reminder email either. If one of my employees would ignore a customer request or an existing commination I'd fire her/him on the spot.

I have a Ruger GP100 .327 coming in. Found one NIB / never fired for a good price. I think I'll write Ruger next. And I think I'll skip that S&W 686 Talo .357 for good. Ignorant customer service doesn't pay off.

[Real Gun]

With due respect Real Gun I think you're arguing from the fallacy of a statistical class of one - a.k.a. "It's my favorite, so it must be best".

"With all due respect" usually means someone is about to state something that is clearly disrespectful. You could simply say you disagree, hopefully including why, since after all, you are not the arbiter of valid opinions.