Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

I am going to regret posting this, lest some of you snatch up the deals I have found....

My experience right now is limited the muzzle flash and recoil versus a .357 Magnum in a SP101. I know both are lower in the .327 Federal Magnum. What I can only read about is the performance of the caliber. From everything online, it appears to be pretty solid, with good penetration and with the Speer and Federal rounds offering good expansion. However, as with all Internet information, anything you read is often countered by the zealots saying it is horrible|wonderful.

Opinions? [Of the firearms sort - we have lots of threads on opinions about politics. ]

My opinion is that I'll be way more interested in this caliber if I could get a decent levergun in it (and maybe some K-frames from S&W).

I would love to have a Blackhawk in this caliber with a separate cylinder for 32-20. Too bad Ruger won't make it. I had the Blackhawk convertible in .32 Mag/32-20, and I wish I still had it. The .327 will shoot any of the .32 based cartridges from .32 short on up. I'm currently downsizing the handgun collection to help pay for a house. Next summer, I'm planning on looking for the Ruger Blackhawk in this caliber.

Jim

Diomed - I've read the same thing about getting this caliber in a lever gun. Sounds fun!

What's wrong with the tried 'n' true .38 Spl? Relatively low recoil, does the job (I'm assuming self-defense here), plentiful, and relatively inexpensive.

CowboyT wrote:What's wrong with the tried 'n' true .38 Spl? Relatively low recoil, does the job (I'm assuming self-defense here), plentiful, and relatively inexpensive.

Nothing - that Airweight was a .38 Special. Just a really, really good deal.

Oh, I can't edit, but it does remind me that we need to chat about at the very least a Pass The Brass meetup. I would love some lower load .38 Special - shooting one handed with the Airweight is brutal after a box of ammo.

CowboyT wrote:What's wrong with the tried 'n' true .38 Spl? Relatively low recoil, does the job (I'm assuming self-defense here), plentiful, and relatively inexpensive.

Can you get six rounds of .38 in a J frame?

I have had 2 handguns in the 327 Mag the sp101 and sp100 for over 2 years. I have no issues with either and enjoy shooting them both. The only issue is finding ammo. I used the sp101 as my carry gun for almost a year.

Diomed wrote:

CowboyT wrote:What's wrong with the tried 'n' true .38 Spl? Relatively low recoil, does the job (I'm assuming self-defense here), plentiful, and relatively inexpensive.

Can you get six rounds of .38 in a J frame?

Nope. You get 5. And with proper shot placement (we all do practice with our carry pieces, right?), that oughta do it.

Mindflayer wrote:Oh, I can't edit, but it does remind me that we need to chat about at the very least a Pass The Brass meetup. I would love some lower load .38 Special - shooting one handed with the Airweight is brutal after a box of ammo.

Gotcha covered. We oughta talk.

CowboyT wrote:Nope. You get 5. And with proper shot placement (we all do practice with our carry pieces, right?), that oughta do it.

In a defensive situation, statistically, you'll miss. Meaning more is better.

Diomed wrote:

CowboyT wrote:Nope. You get 5. And with proper shot placement (we all do practice with our carry pieces, right?), that oughta do it.

In a defensive situation, statistically, you'll miss. Meaning more is better.

+1

The commonly quoted ratio is 30% of shots are good hits. 70% are misses or poor hits (i.e. nicks or trivial wounds). The average number of shots fired for one assailant to stop the attack is approximately the total capacity of a revolver. The average number of shots for multiple assailants is much more. I don't recall the numbers exactly, but you get the gist.

That's assuming one doesn't practice and therefore can't shoot. In that case, get a compact semi-auto. You can get 10+ rounds in some of those.

"It ain't the arrow, it's the Indian."

CowboyT wrote:That's assuming one doesn't practice and therefore can't shoot. In that case, get a compact semi-auto. You can get 10+ rounds in some of those.

"It ain't the arrow, it's the Indian."

EDIT: Upon further reflection, this might've come off a little harsh. Let's see if I can try that again with a little more thought.

The main thing is practice, practice, practice, no matter which firearm one chooses to buy. Firing quickly with an LCR, I know that I can nail an 8.5x11 paper at self-defense ranges all five times, and I teach myself to aim for the center of the chest, like the cops have told me to do. I can do this because I typically go practice several times every week. Firing two rounds of factory .38 Spl +P HP's is likely to do the job on an assailant. If there's another two or three assailants, then typically they're going to run like the wind after the first shot is fired. If four or five guys are taking you on, then you've got bigger problems anyway, which I seriously doubt an extra round of .327 Federal Magnum will solve.

Unfortunately, too many people who carry do not practice with their carry firearm. This is bad news. If one cannot hit one's target, then why is one carrying the gun at all? Proper marksmanship matters. "A hit with a .22 is better than a miss with a .45."

You know what I loved at the gun show today? Dealers telling women to buy the Airweight .38 Special as their first handgun. I know I am still a newbie but even I know that an Airweight is not going to be fun to shoot for most people. Hell, most of my experienced shooter friends wonder how I can stand shooting 50 rounds of regular ammo, let alone +P in the Airweight. How can you expect most women to happily practice with that as their first gun?

In a stress situation you will miss. Training can reduce the number of misses but no one'll ever be Hollywood hero perfect. Banking on going 5/5 in a self-defense situation is not wise.

In my case, I have decided that a J frame is adequate for my needs. For anyone non-uniformed outside of a war zone, an armed confrontation is a very low probability event. A J frame is enough for that. If one wishes to prepare for a multiple assailant situation, which is an even lower-probability event, then certainly a higher capacity sidearm is better (a longarm is even better). Everyone has to decide for themselves what level of risk they are willing to assume/prepare for.

Diomed wrote:In a stress situation you will miss. Training can reduce the number of misses but no one'll ever be Hollywood hero perfect. Banking on going 5/5 in a self-defense situation is not wise.

In my case, I have decided that a J frame is adequate for my needs. For anyone non-uniformed outside of a war zone, an armed confrontation is a very low probability event. A J frame is enough for that. If one wishes to prepare for a multiple assailant situation, which is an even lower-probability event, then certainly a higher capacity sidearm is better (a longarm is even better). Everyone has to decide for themselves what level of risk they are willing to assume/prepare for.

+1

CowboyT wrote:That's assuming one doesn't practice and therefore can't shoot. In that case, get a compact semi-auto. You can get 10+ rounds in some of those.

"It ain't the arrow, it's the Indian."

Dagnabit...I knew somebody would sooner or later get around to batting Indians around...

zephyp wrote:

CowboyT wrote:That's assuming one doesn't practice and therefore can't shoot. In that case, get a compact semi-auto. You can get 10+ rounds in some of those.

"It ain't the arrow, it's the Indian."

Dagnabit...I knew somebody would sooner or later get around to batting Indians around...

Thats not very tolerant of you. Does this make CowboyT a racist or a bigot or both? I don't know the Democrat rules for this sort of thing.