Ruger Announces New Model Blackhawk and GP100 In .327 Fed

[azrugershooter]

Well maybe now that Ruger sees that they can build a blackhawk and a GP100 with something other than six shot cylinder they might go back the other direction and build something with a 5 shot??????

 

[gak]

Sebtool, very good sum up of what a lot of us are thinking, IMO. Such mixed feelings: excited...but not. Really wonder about the platforms. My 5.5" *mid-frame, blued New Vaquero* .357 is no lightweight, so...

 

[Bucks Owin]

Well maybe now that Ruger sees that they can build a blackhawk and a GP100 with something other than six shot cylinder they might go back the other direction and build something with a 5 shot??????

Well, I guess we'll just have to keep on hoping.. As to the new guns?.....ho hum. :roll: I'll keep saving for a Freedom Arms M-83! FWIW, Dennis

 

[ebg3]

It is not as loud as a .357 magnum, but it is loud. Even a .22 LR will hurt your ears, and do permanent damage.

When the .327 was introduced back in 2007, I did some tests, comparing the noise to a .357 magnum, and posted this in the review:

"With all of the negative comments early on from folks who have never fired the cartridge, there was a few things that I particularly wanted to test; those being muzzle blast, recoil, and penetration. I compared the muzzle blast of the .327 Federal Magnum to the .357 Magnum fired from guns with equal length barrels. I used for this test two Ruger SP101 revolvers, identical except for the cartridge. Holding the decibel meter beside the shooter's head, the readings seem close, with the .327 registering 120db and the .357 reading 124db. However, decibel readings are logarithmic instead of linear, and 124db is noticeably louder than a reading of 120db. The .327 Federal Magnum does indeed have less muzzle blast than does the .357 Magnum, at least using factory loads with the same bullets weights. "

Now, the heavier bullet loads are not as loud as the factory AE 100 grain, but still loud enough the ear protection is a good idea.

Jeff

Nice info, thanks Jeff. Sounds like it will not be too bad/loud with heavy cast bullets. And as long as a 120gr cast bullet is, this will be a flat shooting setup. Should be able to zero at 100yds...ought to make a great varmint piece.
EG

 

[wetidlerjr]

i like the g100. the blackhawk ... mehhh. 48 ounces is excessive for a .32

Would you settle for 46.8 ounces?

No, that won't do. ! Most here would rather "pi$$ and moan". :roll:

 

[CraigC]

I won't even comment on the 2 giant 32 cal. pop guns that is is nearly impossible to find ammo for! Good thing Bill Ruger didn't live to see what has happened to his company!

Boo frickety hoo! So with two new guns in the chambering and Ruger's obvious commitment to make it work, you don't think the ammo and component manufacturers will ramp up production on this cartridge?

Most here would rather "pi$$ and moan". :roll:

Ain't that the truth!!! The bitching and moaning and negativity every time something new and/or different comes out is almost a professional sport. God it gets old.

 

[azrugershooter]

I won't even comment on the 2 giant 32 cal. pop guns that is is nearly impossible to find ammo for! Good thing Bill Ruger didn't live to see what has happened to his company!

Boo frickety hoo! So with two new guns in the chambering and Ruger's obvious commitment to make it work, you don't think the ammo and component manufacturers will ramp up production on this cartridge?

Most here would rather "pi$$ and moan". :roll:

Ain't that the truth!!! The bitching and moaning and negativity every time something new and/or different comes out is almost a professional sport. God it gets old.

looking to start another pissing match? WHy don't you cut and paste the ruger catalog aka "techincal data"

 

[MBane666]

If I can add a couple of comments on Jeff's posts...I wasn't an early adopter of the .327 like Jeff was. It wasn't until I had the chance to spend a day at GUNSITE last year shooting a wide selection of personal protection loads side-by-side in a .327 and a .357 SP-101 snub. The recoil was appreciably less on the .327s, even the hot ones. I do not subscribe to the myth of "stopping power" in a personal protection handgun. Rather, I am of the school of "many holes, quickly punched." For the recoil shy — and after decades as an instructor there are many many people who fall into that category — anything I can do to facilitate their punching those holes is a good thing.

I have done off-hand shooting with the .327 Blackhawk with a number of .32 H&R loads and my dwindling collection of 85-grain .327 Federal Hydro-Shocks, and have found it to be extremely accurate...as accurate as my CAS competition guns, custom Blackhawks from Cylinder & Slide and about as good as the breed gets.

For my upcoming handgun hunting series — and Jeff, we'll talk more about that at SHOT — I'm planning 2 hunts with the Blackhawk, coyotes and spring turkeys. I usually carry one of my dozen or so Blackhawks when I'm in the woods, which since I live in rural Colorado is a lot, and I'm thinking this ,327 might become the new packing pistol...I'm usually worried about feral dogs, big cats and people.

Weight-wise, Blackhawks weigh what they weigh...I suspect that since I'm constitutionally incapable of leaving well enough alone, the .327 will probably end up with an XR3 gripframe, Bowen sights and a 4 5/8-inch barrel, which'll shave off a little weight, but that's just me...

And while I didn't have a decibel meter, I shot the .327 alongside my short-barrel .30 Carbine Blackhawk...gives one a different appreciation of LOUD...

Michael B

 

[mustang99]

Sebtool: Too many things to respond to in your thread.... You sound as if the 327 SP is discontinued, its not. SPs in 327 are shipped out every week, if you can't find one, that means its selling -- and quickly.

 

[JWhitmore44]

Think I will stick with my 32 mag Single Six. If I carry a full size Blackhawk it will be in 44 or 45.

Nice write up Jeff. One thing I would be curious about is, which would you pick when heading out to the field with the 327 mag, the new Blackhawk or the SAS 327 mag based on the Single Six?

The GP100 might not be bad although I'm a single action type of guy

 

[Doxadude]

Not really something I'm interested in, But I can see the appeal others might have. Now if ruger can do an eight-shot blackhawk.... why not a 5 shot in .480....their very own proprietary cartridge?????? hhhmmmm....

 

[bisleyfan41]

Ain't that the truth!!! The bitching and moaning and negativity every time something new and/or different comes out is almost a professional sport. God it gets old.

Sorry if my post was a little less than positive, but after I first read about this new "mystery gun", and that Mike Bane immediately wrote Ruger a check for his, and Jeff Quinn said he liked it, I guess I let a little too much wishful thinking build up inside. I kind of felt like a kid who expected a nice, little 22 rifle for Christmas only to open up a 99 cent cap gun.

For the record, this is the first time I've pooh-poohed any recent Ruger introduction openly even when I felt it was worthless. In fact, I felt quite the opposite about the FT 41s when they arrived and expressed my pleasure and gratitude for them. This current intro hit a little closer to home than most of the others for me since it involved a SA revolver, I guess.

As far as I know this is still a place where one can openly and freely voice their opinions, good or bad, about products that are available for us to purchase and was not aware that my opinion had to be in line with yours to avoid being accused of "bitching and moaning".

 

[SBH4628]

Bisleyfan41....You still have the freedom of choice...Ever notice how many folks on this forum still don't like the NM Blackhawk...Seems like a 37 year battle :shock: But I like them all

 

[Jeff Quinn]

I like the eight-shot Blackhawk .327 more than I thought I would, and I like it better than a custom Single-Six. The cylinder length really makes it for me. I like to use those long bullets, and unless a Single-Six gets a slightly longer frame, it is limited.

For those of you who have no desire for these new handguns, fear not! More new introductions are on the way, and soon. There will be another announced at SHOT. You might not like it either, but I guarantee you that it will also be a hot seller. I believe that the next handgun to be announced is the one that Michael was referring to buying immediately.

Whatever you would like to see Ruger produce, let them know. If you send a note to the CEO on Ruger's website, he will read it. Us writers can suggest ideas all day long to gun manufacturers, but they are much more interested in what the shooting public wants to buy. They don't care what Jeff Quinn likes. They know that if it has a trigger, makes loud noises, and is accurate, I am going to like it. The gun makers, and especially the folks at Ruger, want to know what YOU want to buy. Make your wishes known. There is more to come.

 

[gak]

Craig C, I hope I'm not one of those "negatives." I do see ANY new product in .327 (and .44 Special or any mid frame SA for that matter) a positive corporate and industry move. I guess my "concern" is with this new product is the risk manufacturer focus being potentially taken off further (?) or new develpopment of the smaller frames, that another poster eloquently described as "proportional" platforms, so many of us have been clamoring for. For instance, I love the SP101 .327 and if Ruger has truly addressed its gestational issues, I hope to have one some day soon. Perfect DA platform for this exciting round. Ditto, a mid-frame FT and/or New Vaquero still "has" to (ha) be just around the corner too! And make it a convertible too--though I don't presently shoot .32-20, I can see its devotees mouths watering (the earlier large frame limited-run Vaquero and BH in same notwithstanding).

Also, maybe with the new BH and GP, CCI will finally (!) see (have?) enough market for some .32 (H&R sized) snakeshot.

Meanwhile, I can see one of these new BHs being pretty slick receiving a Bowen (etc) shortening (to 4+), scalloping job and aluminum XR3 gripframe and ejector housing transplants. Ah, more $.

Since Ruger seems to have taken the "leadership" on .327 platform development, boy wouldn't it be neat if they gave us a trim 92 style lever as companero? But talk about new tooling! So, a (trim) Marlin 94, Rossi or Chiappa will certainly do--and is more likely.

 

[Boxhead]

i like the g100. the blackhawk ... mehhh. 48 ounces is excessive for a .32

Would you settle for 46.8 ounces?

I suppose we can Bisley'ize it and get to over 50, heh?

 

[rugerlovah]

i just want the single six in .32 h&r magnum w/ adjustable sights to come back ... maybe w/ the xr3 gripframe this time. or a 5 shot .38 special single six. of course, i suppose the .32 single six has already been a marketing failure. thus ... Ruger shouldnt listen to me!

 

[poncaguy]

Good, nobody seems to like the 327 , maybe I can get one now!

 

[Skalkaho Slim]

Like Stoots said in another thread, I guess I just don't see the niche for this cartridge. Having one or two more rounds in a cylinder just really isn't that important to me I suppose.

I also guess that since it seems that S&W is able to pack seven rounds of .357 into an L Frame, why can't Ruger do the same with their GP frame. I can't imagine that it would take a whole revamp of the frame.

I also guess I don't feel like adding a whole 'nuther caliber to my reloading bench for a cartridge that essentially does the same thing as one I already reload for.

I gotta admit, I do like that Blackhawk though.

 

[poncaguy]

I'm placing an order for the Blackhawk in the morning, never could find a SP101 327, so I'm very pleased.Now for a carbine in 327............