327 Federal Magnum

[cwlongshot]

Im ordering a Lipseys special Ruger Single seven Bisley in 327 mag this week.

I have been reading and asking questions. Looking for any experiences and advice.

I have had two Single Six in 32 H&R and this 327 aint that!! I liked it but didnt feel it had the steam for PP worked real well on Bunnies and Snow shoes.

I have confirmed my 32H&R mag dies will work fine on the 327. I also have a few Molds for my 32/20’s so these should be fine.

So you have one? Whats your use and feelings about it?

CW

[Guesser]

The 2 most apparent draw backs of the S7 are: Indexing of the cylinder must be done by hand, it does not index to exact loading position and the loading gate channel is very narrow, barely wide enough to allow passage of the case head in and out and accomplished only by judiciously indexing by hand and holding the cylinder precisely in place or turning it around again.
And the cylinder is shorter than any other 327 revolver, even shorter than the other Rugers in 327.
All that said, put a set of checkered Hogue Pau Ferro grips on it and you are good to go, I really like my 5.5". And yes, 32-20 castings work well. I use 311316 in mine and it is good with A#9 powder.

[contender1]

I own one,, and have for a few years. I also have a few 32 Mags.

As noted above,, due to the size of the frame, the 7 holes, and all,, alignment for loading & unloading is a bit more precise than others. It takes a little getting used to. BUT IT'S NOT A DEAL BREAKER!!!!!!!! I got comfortable with mine pretty quickly.

For a small to medium game fun gun,, it's the ticket.
And the fact you can easily use 32 mag & other lesser powered ammo w/o issues makes it very versatile. I cast a couple of different slugs from my Miha molds for mine. I use a GC bullet,, a bit heavier,,, (135 grn,) for the more serious medium game,, or for faster speeds when I desire them.
I also have one of the Blackhawks in 327,, and it's a pussycat to shoot,, even with the hottest loads you'd want.

All the above is "after the fact" so to speak. I was a slow starter with the 32 cals. I got one as a gift (32 mag) way back in the 80's,, and even a companion shooter. (The first one was a rarer variation for my collection.) Yet,, I never got into shooting it much until many years later. Boy,, did I figure out how much fun I was missing. So, when the 327 came along,, I jumped like a dog hit with a cattle prod. NEVER have regretted it,, EXCEPT for the time I wasted NOT playing with one.

[Green Frog]

What kind of killer rabbits are you hunting? The 327 should kill them and fricassee them with a single shot!

As guesser mentioned, any of the bigger 32-20 designs should work fine... if they are large enough diameter. Also, I’m using a non-canister surplus version of Accurate #9 with good success. A #7 is also a good choice. If your cylinder is long enough to take it, you might look at the NOE 313008, their version of the old Ideal bullet. Only their version runs about 125 gr. In case two of those monster jacks attack you at once.

Froggie

[megasupermagnum]

I've got to spend a bit of time with the 5.5" stainless version, not sure if it was a special or not. My advice is to not get it. It is the one and only gun chambered in 327 federal to avoid. Some early models had a problem where the gate opening was too small to load them. This should be a non-issue by now. The one I shot is tight, but loaded fine. There is one crippling problem with the single seven, and that is that it is simply too small for the 327 federal. This is entirely opinion based, but it will only fit a bullet with a .290" long nose. A 100 grain XTP crimped in the canelure is pushing the envelope for size. To top off the tight frame window, the gun I had weighed 38 ounces on my scale. It's a heffer, not a small handy gun like many want it to be. For comparison a 4 5/8" 357 mag Blackhawk weighs 44 ounces on that scale.

My advice, if you want a single action in 327 federal, buy the Blackhawk. They still come up frequently online on sites like gun broker for $750-$800. They are an all around better gun than the single seven.

[rintinglen]

I have 3; 2 Single sevens and an Sp101. I like the accuracy, the versatility, and the power. My favorite is the 7 1/2inch version, but all are neat guns. I had considerable difficulty with mine at first, in fact the 7 1/2 inch made a trip back to the factory, while I had to sand the loading gate deeper to get the 5.5" gun to feed 327 ammo. They are not speed loader friendly, but they are very, very accurate. I have found best accuracy occurs with H-110 and A 357-477 midget clone that was made by LBT. But other boolits work well. However, neither the 311008 nor the RCBS 32-98 SWC will let you load them in the crimp groove without protruding from the cylinder of the Single Seven. The 311-316, the MP 314-100 HP, the afore mentioned LBT 100 grainer, and the RCBS WC all work well.

Ps. The black hawks are too heavy for the cartridge. I had one which my brother bought from me, but it weighed something like 48 ounces and did not shoot nor balance as well as the Single Sevens do. YMMV, but I haven't seen a Blackhawk 327 for sale at less than $900 lately.

[Green Frog]

rintinglen, I'm a little surprised to hear about your negative experiences with the Blackhawk. While it is admittedly bigger and heavier than the Single Seven, I find that it balances well and points naturally for me... and I'm not really even a single action kind of guy! It's big enough to have a full length cylinder so it will readily chamber the longest cartridges I've tried in it. If your brother still has your old one, you might want to go back and give it another chance... except then you'd probably want to get one again!

By the way, which of the bullets in your picture is the LBT design that does so well for you? I'm assuming it is the first one on the left with the shortest nose(??) The 125 grain NOE (copy of an Ideal 3118, but longer and heavier) is my best heavy bullet so far. The biggest drawback is its long nose that makes it too long for the Single Seven and fills up every bit of the available length of my custom cut K-frame S&W cylinder; in fact, if I knew then what I know now I would probably have bought one of Hamilton Bowen's custom made cylinders for their extra length then shortened the amount of barrel tenon extending through.

Froggie

[cwlongshot]

Thank you guys!

MSM, I do value your opinion here. I have read and seen the load/unload issues. Reminiscent of 1974 When the “new model came out & the cyl didn’t line up anymore. But slightly more so cause these loading gates where designed for small RF cartridge s. I don’t see it as a deal breaker, if a SS gun one could likely polish or open things up a touch...

The fact that the cyl wasn’t lengthened more is troublesome... I was looking at a couple of my Single Sixes and a 327 cartridge thinking that Ruger probably shortens the barrel extension and lengthens the cyl... Yes/No?

I’ll hopefully order next week.

CW

[Wheelguns 1961]

The mp-molds mjolnir mold is perfect for the single sevens. These loaded measure 1.497” and just fit in the cylinder. With my alloy, the solid weighs 127gns. I also have the mp sledgehammer lfn that I use in my gp100. The mjolnir is a good bullet with a large meplat, and they shoot accurately in both of my S7’s.

[cwlongshot]

Ill have to check measurements on what I have.

Anyone know max OAL for the S7?

CW

[Wheelguns 1961]

I keep mine below 1.500”

[megasupermagnum]

1.500" was just barely below flush in the one I had. Maybe .005" below. 1.490" is the absolute longest I would feel comfortable using.

[rintinglen]

I should have been more precise in my labeling. The LBT is the third from the left, in the picture above. If you hold one up alongside a 358-477, you can easily see the design similarity. The folks up above who said that the max COAL is 1.50" are dead on. In my two examples, a 1.53 inch long cartridge protrudes out of the cylinder. I have an 115 NOE that resembles a shrunken 358-429 that can not be used if crimped in the crimp groove for that reason. I plan on loading some in 32 H&R brass, but I haven't got around to it. The longest nosed boolit in the picture that remains in the cylinder is the MP 314-100 HP, just to the left of the LBT, which, IIRC is the 315-100. These both have shot very well for me. The 311-316 (far left) and the 311-419 (not shown) also have shown promise, but I am too lazy to bother with gas checks if I don't need them.

It had been quite a while since I had shot an honest 1 inch 25 yard group, but I forgave my Single Sevens all the aggravation I had initially been given when I had them out last fall and managed to shoot two 1" groups out of 10, with none of the others larger than 2 1/4' and the average about 1 5/8". That was with the LBT boolit and 12.2 grains of 296/H110. I can not shoot any better than that, and usually can't do as well.



The extra 10 ounces of the Black hawk is a deal breaker for me, especially given that it shoots no better for me. If I am going to carry a heavier gun, I want a bigger caliber, like my 44 flat top that weighs less loaded than the Blackhawk 327 starts at. Different strokes for different folks. Now I just saw that Lipseys has an aluminum frame Single Seven that runs 32 ounces. I think I'm in want.

[wdr2]

I installed a modified free spin pawl from Power Custom in my 7.5in Single Seven and now its very easy to load and unload. I am using the 115gr Miha HP in my Single Seven 7.5in with OAL of 1.480in in Starline brass at 1425fps using 296. Just crimp over the bullet ogive. Hard on squirrels and very accurate.

[RJM52]

CW.. I am using the Accurate 31-120S and have shot the load in Chet's S-S 7.5" gun... Next time down I'll give you the mold to try if you want...







Bob

[RJM52]

Good articles on the .327...

https://gunblast.com/Freedom-Harton327.htm

https://gunblast.com/Ruger-Single7.htm

[onelight]

Cwlongshot I'm glad you started this thread I'm learning a lot about boolits for my single seven.

[Thundarstick]

My arms in 327FM, Henry carbine, Taurus stubby, SP101 3 inch, SP101 4.5 inch, GP100 6 inch, GP100 4.5 inch, The big ol Black Hawk 8 shooter, 3 Single 7s 5,7.5, and the Bisley, last but not least, my EDC, a S&W 627. I have probably gotten the bbl lengths off a little, and could have left one out, but I like the 327! The only disadvantage? It's loud!

[megasupermagnum]

My arms in 327FM, Henry carbine, Taurus stubby, SP101 3 inch, SP101 4.5 inch, GP100 6 inch, GP100 4.5 inch, The big ol Black Hawk 8 shooter, 3 Single 7s 5,7.5, and the Bisley, last but not least, my EDC, a S&W 627. I have probably gotten the bbl lengths off a little, and could have left one out, but I like the 327! The only disadvantage? It's loud!

I assume you mean the S&W 632, the ported 3" barrel? I'm sure that barks pretty good. My EDC is a Ruger SP101, originally a 4.2" barrel with adjustable sights, now a 3" with fully adjustable sights. The 3" barrel is about the most perfect belt concealed carry gun as you can get.

The best thing for Ruger to do now (besides offer a 3" SP101 with fully adjustable sights), is drop the single seven, and bring back the Blackhawk, but in the blued with aluminum grip frames. The aluminum grip frame blackhawks weigh about what the stainless single sevens do.

[onelight]

My single seven seems to shoot just fine with long bullets crimped over the front shoulder if the bullet is to long to use the crimp groove you just need to work up the load for the shorter OAL.
Not as pretty but shoot just fine.