.327 magnum problems

[subsonic]

A friend of mine ran out and bought an SP101 .327 Magnum when they were first released.

It shoots .32 H&R with no issues, but has trouble with all .327 factory ammo.

I told him to send it back to Ruger, but he wants to see if we can figure it out without sending it back.

When fired with .327s, the brass is hard to extract. You have to beat on the ejector rod (never good for them) and the cases are swelled out at the bases like a very high pressure condition. Usually 1 of the cylinders will kick the shell back out of the chamber slightly and trap it there, causing the gun to lock up when the cylinder rotates and the rim hits the recoil sheild. The only fix is to bump the cylinder open and drive out the offending shell. Happens almost every trip around the cylinder and always locks up the same chamber.

Again, no problems with H&R mags, only .327s.

Sounds like excessive pressure to me. How bout the rest of you?

I know they dropped the SAAMI pressure for this round recently.

[Guesser]

I'd call Ruger.
I have two 327 revolvers, neither is a Ruger and they are not the same brand; Have never experienced anything like you are describing and I've put a couple hundred rounds of factory and about a thousand rounds of hand loads thru them.
Call Ruger.

[btroj]

How well is he cleaning the cylinder after shooting the 32 HR? It could be as simple as a ring of fouling at the end of the shorter case. His creates a tight spot for the longer case.
Isis just like shooting 38s in a 357 then firing 357s. Sticky extraction is a common problem until the ring of junk left where the shorter case ends is removed.

[Shooter6br]

Test case on my Ruger Blackhawk 327 Fed was so expanded I thought it must have been a "proof' round. I beleived Federal backed off the pressure on new ammo to less than 40,000( case was in the box with a red marked primer) as Subsonic stated

[Von Dingo]

You might want to read this thread on the Rugerforum.com http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=46447 . If you don't trust links, it is a sticky in the Ruger Revolvers forum. There were some problems with the early revolvers.

[bearcove]

Sounds like the chamber might be oversize or over pressure.

[subsonic]

It's headed back to ruger. Thanks for the info and links! Hope they have a cylinder in stock so he doesnt have a long wait.

[wallenba]

Sounds like the cylinders may have a rough uneven surface inside. The brass flowing into the defects and locking it in place.

[Guesser]

Sounds like the same thing that happened with the early production run of Super Red hawks in 454; the material used in the cylinder was elastic and expanded and contracted, gripping the fired case. I had a friend with one that did it and was sent back and mounted with a new cylinder of different formulation and heat treatment. There was an article in Handloader Magazine in '03/'04 time period. The 454 is a little higher pressure than the 327 but only a few thousand PSI and the 327 is higher pressure than any other chamberings done in the SP101. Just musing!!!