Henry Rifle Forums

if anyone has any experience with both a 327 Mag and 38 Spl, I'd appreciate hearing impressions contrasting firing them in a light weight revolver like a S&W J-Frame

That's me. Two totally different animals. The 327 in a light weight J frame class revolver, using the Federal AE 100 grains loads, is one nasty little animal. Used to shoot in a Ruger SP101 which is even heavier than a J frame. Don't take the hype about max 327 lots as having significantly less recoil than a 357 too seriously. If you find a 357 to be nasty in a small revolver, you'll find the 327 with max loads to be the same. There are some 327 85 grain self-defense loads, however, which are more reasonable to shoot, but we're still talking another class of recoil over a 38.

Right now I shoot the 327 in a custom Contender barrel. Neat cartridge. Can hold POA all the way out to 50 yards or more, no hold over needed.

One of the plusses of the 327 is that you can also shoot the much more mild 32 H&Rs and the even milder 32 S&W Long or standard 32 S&W. These are actually milder than a 38 Special.

North Country Gal wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 05, 2019 9:03 pm

One of the plusses of the 327 is that you can also shoot the much more mild 32 H&Rs and the even milder 32 S&W Long or standard 32 S&W. These are actually milder than a 38 Special.

your assessment is highly valued and much appreciated .... my wife has a J-frame 38 that she really likes but arthritis in her hands makes firing it with factory extremely painful .... I'm playing with coming up with a light load and will most probably end up going that route .... the ability to fire 32's in a 327 seemed to be worth considering

My colt 32 S&W long is a joy to shoot. It makes inexperienced shooters feel confident. For a 90+ year old gun, it does very well. My only complaint is the sound. What a sharp crack!

The 327 gives you lots of options.

my hope is we can work things out so she will be happy with her J-frame .... its nice to have a 327 as a possible plan B

Charter Arms has just started making a seven shot 32 H&R Magnum with a three inch full lug barrel . Of course it will also shoot 32 S&W Longs and .32 A.C.P.

My wife has the same issue and has found that the S&W Shield .380 EZ is much easier for her to handle with the wrist issues.
The recoil is manageable and the slid is easy to operate. My wifejust needs to watch the "limp wrist" way of shooting.....definitely make the EZ fail to eject. Gotta hold it firm........
Good Luck!

Good point on the limp wristing problem. My husband was shooting our new S&W Model 41 22 LR semi auto pistol for the first time when we got it and was getting some failures to feed on every magazine. This, after I had run through four mags without a single hiccup. Watching him, I finally observed that he was not holding the gun with a firm, straight wrist. Once I showed him the proper hold, no more failures. Keep this in mind if you are setting up a beginner with a semi auto. Even important on a 22 LR semi auto.

I have identical J-frames in .357mag and .327fed/mag.
They are both Taurus. The .357 is a 5-shot, while the .327 is a 6-shot.
Both wear 2" barrels, but the .357 is an Ultra-lite titanium model, while the .327 is a steel model.

I did notice a difference in recoil, but no where near the 20% reduction touted by Federal.
The .327 is easier to handle and shoot, and carries one more round.
The biggest advantage to the .327 over the .357 is two-fold. The first being the ability to chamber and fire at least 3 different calibers from the same gun.
The second being the extra round over the .357.

One note. Perceived recoil can be hard to quantify. What feels much less or more to some, may not be perceived as the same for another shooter.
I was taken by surprise by the .327fed/mag. The report is EXTREMELY loud!
I think the .327 is even louder than the .357, at least from a 2" barrel.

I also have an SP101 with a 4.2" barrel in ,327fed/mag, and it is much more pleasant to shoot than the 2" barrel.
Even more fun yet is the Henry Big Boy in .327fed/mag...!

thanks for relating your personal experiences with these two .... my hope is we can work on both the ammo and J-frame to come up with something she is comfortable with