Reloading .327 Fed Mag

[Chuck 100 yd]

Ok, I ordered RCBS carbide dies , shell holder and 2 bags OF .327 Starline brass.
Sent an email to Rim Rock Bullets with a few questions on their product and will wait to hear back from them before I place an order. The Penn bullet looked good but their web site is not as user friendly as Rim Rock. Rim Rock I was able to set up an account easily and ordering from them is straight forward. I did not see a phone number for Penn bullets as I would call them if they listed one.

When I bought my RCBS .32 fed. Carbide die set I found that the expander plug was too tight for cast bullets and would cause damage to soft bullets. The supplied expander plug was fine for jacketed bullets but too tight for my cast bullets sized to .314" . A call to RCBS fetched an oversized expander plug of the proper size and at zero cost. I would suggest you give them a call also.

 

[Montana Cowboy]

I had read the reviews on Midway and one of the reviews said the same thing about the expander plug not being the correct size for lead bullets . I will have to get the correct size for lead bullets.
The other day I went to resize some .308 brass with RCBS dies that I recently purchased and " thought " I had already adjusted them. I broke the decaping pin and managed to lightly bend the rod too not sure how I bent the rod because I didn't feel like I applied much force. Anyway I called RCBS and wanted to buy a new rod and pin, the guy on the phone said there would be no charge and that they would send them out pronto. Tried to tell them it was my fault and have no problem paying for them, they wouldn't take payment. You can't get better customer service than that. The rod and a five pack of decaping pins arrived today.

 

[Montana Cowboy]

Have any of you folks used the Poly coated bullets? Do you like them? Problems ?

 

[JR5]

You folks have gotten my attention with using heavier 32-20 bullets in a .327 loading. Such a heavy bullet does not show up in my loading data resources. What powders do best? True Blue? Red Dot? Unique? How many grains for a starting load? Small Rifle primer? O.A.L.? I have both the GP-100 and the Single Seven.

 

[shootinfule]

I have a 4-5/8' Single seven. One of my favorite loads is 115 gr 32-20 (.313") Laser Cast from Oregon Trail with 4.4 gr Unique. My data lists 4.0 -5.0 gr Unique with small pistol primers. I have not experienced any leading. I use a lot of Oregon Trail bullets and order directly from them at 800-811-0548 or Oregontrailbullet.com. Shipping is included in their price list. I have found that it is rare to have holidays in the lube grooves, several other cast bullet companies seem to have trouble keeping the lube in the grooves.

 

[Montana Cowboy]

JRS I just purchased the 50th Edition Lyman Reloading manual and they list the 115 gr. lead bullet using 9 different powders. The manual also covers the other .32 caliber cartridges.

 

[JR5]

Thanx for the ideas fellas. I am a novice and my next questions will really proof it. When extrapolating loads from a 115 gr. bullet to a 120 grain bullet by what size increments do you adjust in powder ? Is it safe to assume 1 grain to 1.2 grains?

 

[wdr2]

I use a Redding expander die for both 32H&R and 327 Mag. The plug is 0.310in diameter and my own cast bullets are sized 0.313in. Seems just about perfect.

 

[32magfan]

JR5,

You might want to look at the Reloading pages of M.D.Smith on internet. He has several loads for 327 and H&R. Hodgdon puts out an Annual magazine-style manual each year also with their powders. It has 115 gr. Lead loads in it also.

As far as extrapolating, hard to say because it depends so much on other variables. The bullet weight difference between 115 and 130 is 15 grains or 10%. Reduce powder at least 10% (unless it is H110 or Win 296) and work up slow in most cases will be ok. Best thing to do is find some solid data from bullet or powder company. Best to be careful or your new nickname may be "shrapnel" or "Lefty". :wink:

32Magfan

 

[JR5]

Lol! Point well taken 32Magfan.

 

[Montana Cowboy]

I bought the 115 gr. Poly coated bullets from Penn Bullets. Never used them so I'm looking forward to trying them.

My RCBS dies and brass will be here today. Still need to get a thousand small pistol primers

 

[JStacy]

I shoot the federal 100 sp, hot ammo, or reload the RCBS 95 SWC with 8.5/2400 in a 32 mag case and get 1200 or so. That is an old Skeeter Skelton load that was too hot for the SSM but it works well in my 327. I size the bullets .312 and they work fine. I have a Lee 113FNGC bullet that is meant for the .308 sized shooters. Casted from wheel weights it drops out of this mold at .312 and I just lube them and put a GC on them in a .312 sizer and they shoot quite well with a heavy charge of 296 under them. I do not remember the exact amount but I use the same amount that Hodgdons recommends t=for the 115 jacketed bullet.
I will admit the 8.5/2400/95 csw is my favorite load. I have a GP100 327 and have a SP101 327 waiting to be picked up. Lighter gun should be interesting.

 

[Montana Cowboy]

Evening all
Looks like the .327 mag uses small rifle primers so I'm set to go. Loaded 50 rounds of 100 Gr. Hornady XTP'S with 7.5 Gr. of Accurate No. 5 which gave 1314 FPS average for 12 shots on my chronograph. Accuracy was very good at 25 yds 2.135 for 12 shots. I like the .327 FM.

Placed an order at Midway and bought 200 rounds of .327 Federal mag. This will give me extra brass and I can compare my reloads with the factory ammo.

The expander plug is way too long. I don't know why RCBS felt it was necessary to make it so long. While expanding the case mouth the expander plug goes deep into the case which is not necessary. There is so much friction that it tore the rim off of four cases on the up stroke. I had to place the expander plug in a vice and using a brass rod on the locking nut beat the plug off of the case. The RCBS expander is the new Stepped version. It has a small step that the mouth of the case is supposed to slip over and provide just a minimum amount of belling to accept the new bullet. Contacted RCBS and they sent a polished expander but same results.

Contacted RCBS again but they could not help me. Had I not recently retired I would have had access to a lathe and could have shortened the expander plug and re-contoured it. I was in luck after contacting a well known brass supplier who offered to do this for me which was very nice of them and of course gained a loyal customer. I intentionally did not list their name since I felt that they may not have wanted me to. In no way am I disappointed with RCBS they have always given excellent customer service the few times I needed it and I know everyone here who has ever dealt with RCBS would say the same.

My powdered coated bullets are supposed to arrive tomorrow and I'm looking forward to shooting them. MC

 

[Montana Cowboy]

Received the powder coated bullets from Penn. The powder coating is missing in places on the bullet driving bands. I wouldn't think that this would happen from shipping. From what I have read the powder coating is very strong and should not chip from shipping one would think. Is this normal or am I wrong on this?

 

[JStacy]

MC I had same problem with long expansion stem so I changed mine out to 32ACP stem and problem fixed. Try that.
BTW I still have a 327 case stuck on my long expansion stem where it ripped the rim off when I tried to pull case off stem. I have found the rims of the Federal cases to be thinner than starline cases , just an observation.
Thanks for the load I will try it. Any other loads you want to share would be gladly accepted!!

 

[Montana Cowboy]

Hi JStacy
Haven't received my expander plug back yet. hope it will be next week. If you take your case that is stuck on your expander plug and place the rim in a vice then use a brass drift to hit the lock nut on the expander it will come off. May help to soak it in some Kroi oil first or place it in the freezer over night may help make it easier to get it off.

As soon as I get the expander back I will load up some of the Penn bullets. Penn answered my concern about the powder coat and said it should be no problem, will see, I hope it isn't. From what I've read the powder coating is pretty tough stuff but if it is that tuff I would think it shouldn't have come off by handling during shipping. MC

 

[hawk_driver]

Today I bought a Single Seven, 5 1/2". Shop I got it from also had a very nice Single Six 32 H&R. After mulling it over, I went with the 327. I figured I could shoot H&R's in it, but not in reverse. Another shop had a pile of Federal 327 with 100 grain soft points. Bought 2 boxes to make brass out of. Cant wait to go shoot this thing this week. I have wanted a 327 for awhile, and finally cured the itch. Guess I better order up some dies and some Starline brass and get to loading.

 

[Montana Cowboy]

Howdy Hawkdriver

Congrats on your new purchase. Yes you can shoot the .32 H&R MAG IN THE .327. I don't know why I waited so long to get one myself. The recoil from the .327 mag is very mild. You can't go wrong with Starline brass. I bought 4 boxes of Federal .327 and two hundred pieces of Starline brass. Next time I head to the range it will be interesting to see what the velocity of the Federal ammo is.

Before you order dies just a caution that the RCBS dies have a longer than necessary expander plug which you may already be aware of from reading this post. You may want to check out Redding and Lyman to see if their is any difference in expander plug length. RCBS sent me a shorter expander plug after contacting them. As always you can expect excellent customer service from RCBS. MC

 

[rangerbob]

I load my 327's on a set of Lee dies, no problems at all. I load 13 gr. of AA9 with the 100 gr. XTP. It's from the Hornady handbook if memory serves. Still waiting on the Henry levergun in 327. Bob!!

 

[djw54]

Still waiting on the Henry levergun in 327. Bob!!

This.