Henry 327 Fed Levergun....accurate...?

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AJMD429
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Henry 327 Fed Levergun....accurate...?

Post by AJMD429 »

I notice Piller said he has a 327 Fed, and I bought one a few months ago just because I thought I should support Henry and it would be a nice little alternative to my 32-20 Marlin and companion gun for my 32H&H Ruger Buckeye conversion.

However, I can’t get much better than two or 3 inch groups at 25 yards. I haven’t had time to reload though, so I’ve been using factory ammunition ranging from 100 to 130 grains.

Anyone here with feedback on accuracy for the 327 Fed Henry...? I hate to box it up and return it to the factory, but I’m not particularly happy with that level of accuracy.
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Re: Henry 327 Fed Levergun....accurate...?

Post by Sixgun »

Doc,
That's no good...as you know......this is just a guess so I may be wrong....isn't the 327 Federal just an elongated 32 mag? IF it is just try shooting some of that in there, along with 32 S&W Short or long you may have laying around.

I've shot all that shorter stuff out of 32-20's...even 32 auto's----6
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BenT
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Re: Henry 327 Fed Levergun....accurate...?

Post by BenT »

I have the 16 inch barrel version and shoot 32 H&R medium loads that run about 1000fps out of my revolvers. I get just under 2 inches at 50 yards, But I have not really done any load development for this rifle. I have just been shooting loads that I already use. Part of the reason I bought it was to support Henry. But I have never shot much for 327 federal in any of my hand guns, 32 H&R is just more pleasant. I load my 327 brass with 115 grain bullets(.313) at about 1000 FPS with H4227 and those grouped better than the 100 grainers I am shooting now.
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Re: Henry 327 Fed Levergun....accurate...?

Post by Turdyturdy »

With velocity spreads of 200 fps is it any wonder we can't get good accuracy with the 327. The 327 operates at such high pressure that it makes it fussy! Reducing the loads did help the accuracy a lot in my testing. I ended up not much faster than the 32h&r to get good accuracy. Makes me wonder if the 327 is worth the effort. My experience has been with a Buckeye Blackhawk 32cylinder with chambers reamed to 327 length. Your rifles may be a lot different
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Re: Henry 327 Fed Levergun....accurate...?

Post by piller »

I am using mostly 115 grain flat nose lead bullets meant for the .32-20 over a medium charge of Universal. I find that 296 and less than max load, weighed each load, with 115 grain Speer Gold Dot bullets gives best accuracy for jacketed. The rifle belongs to my Wife, and she has decided to use it at 50 yards when shooting targets. Her 50 yard targets at the range are about 2 inches. We have put 5 or 6 times as many rounds out of the Ruger SP101 vs the Henry. The factory grips on that SP101 fit her hand perfectly. Universal is a little bit smoky in the .327, but a good crimp reduces that. I do not know if it is the Henry, the cartridge, or our shooting, but it is not a highly accurate rifle. The SP101 is as accurate, and maybe a little bit more accurate. With the lead bullets anyway. The hotter rounds with the jacketed bullets and 296 powder are the opposite.
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Re: Henry 327 Fed Levergun....accurate...?

Post by AJMD429 »

Interesing. I had thought that perhaps the rifle would optimize at higher velocities, but then tried the higher bullet weight just hoping twist would be enough to stabilize them, since my ultimate loads when I get around to handloading would be 'heavy-for-caliber and slow', but since the 130 factory loads which I think were pretty hot, weren't very accurate, it got me worried. (I honestly can't remember, but I think I chronographed them around 1800 fps - can't recall the spread though, or even for sure if I chronographed them - if I did, I evidently didn't write it down... :? ).

If they had made them in 32 H&R that is what I would have ordered, since my 'companion gun' is a 32 H&R; (...besides if I want to go 'bigger thump' I've got a 357 Mag, 44 Mag, 45 Colt, 454 Casull, and 500 S&W to escalate to... :twisted: ) - I mostly just wanted a 'modern, sturdier case' equivalent of the 32-20.

At least now there may be SOME hope of working up a more moderate load that will be more accurate; I am willing to try, when I get time (after deer season). I will leave my 32x "rifle testing scope" on it for now. (...looks dorky, but the adjustment is broken, so I can't use it 'for real', yet it holds 'zero' so I can mount it on whatever I want and shoot groups, knowing that any error is either the gun itself, or the ammo - I shoot those tests from a 'Lead-Sled' so within reason, any inaccuracy won't be due to me...)
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Re: Henry 327 Fed Levergun....accurate...?

Post by CowboyTutt »

Doc, if you haven't already I would start by contacting Henry. Their customer service is supposed to be excellent. After that, if you decide to do your own diagnosis, I would start with the basics of how tight are your sights. scope or iron. Sounds like scoped. Chronograph the factory ammo next step. After that I would be looking at chamber shape and bullet jump to the rifling with your factory ammo in your gun. I would of course recommend you slug the barrel and compare that to bullet dimensions of your factory ammo. None of which you don't already know. But I think I would start by simply calling Henry. Big PITA, all of this. I'm sorry for it. But best regards Doc. You will figure it out. -Tutt
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Re: Henry 327 Fed Levergun....accurate...?

Post by piller »

Doc, what powder are you using? I tried a few in it, and settled on Universal and 296. Universal just gave the best accuracy for me when using lead bullets. Not real fast, but they seem to be fast enough. The jacketed bullets liked 296. I also tried some H110. There was no difference that I could tell. I know that Hodgdon says they are the same powder, but some manuals and some internet forums say there is a difference.
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Re: Henry 327 Fed Levergun....accurate...?

Post by piller »

My load data for the Speer Gold Dot 115 grain bullet came from Speer. They also list for VVN110 as a compressed load. I tried it and accuracy was not great.
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Re: Henry 327 Fed Levergun....accurate...?

Post by piller »

I just did a search for components. I looked and I have used up all of my Gold Dot 115 grain bullets for the .327 Federal. It is now listed as factory loads only. Insert curse word here!
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Re: Henry 327 Fed Levergun....accurate...?

Post by AJMD429 »

So far only factory ammo; I was experimenting with them because I hadn't had time to reload yet, plus wanted to get a feel for the viability/stability of the heavier bullets - i.e. if the twist was fast enough to go that route. Like most of the other posters, I am not interested in the 'magnum' aspect of the cartridge, just like the '32' caliber. The thought of a 130 grain bullet (or even heavier) at 1200 fps even would be just plain fun - - - IF it is accurate enough for practical pest dispatch, plinking, or perhaps groundhog hunting.

Time will tell. Hopefully after deer season (and our office move/buildout getting done so we can see enough patients to quit losing money - having three providers yet only two exam rooms, and turning away at least a dozen patients a day is NOT the way to do things...!) and after re-assembling my Chinese monkey-puzzle Rossi-92, I'll get a chance to mess around with the Henry.

In the meantime I'll try not to let the CoVid19 Monster get me... :|
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Re: Henry 327 Fed Levergun....accurate...?

Post by piller »

If I come up with something which is more accurate than the average in PillHer's Henry, I will let you know.
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Re: Henry 327 Fed Levergun....accurate...?

Post by piller »

Not cheap, but Swift bullets just released a .327 bullet for reloading. It is a .312 diameter 100 grain A-Frame bullet. Prices seem to be running about $1.20 per bullet, not cartridge, just the bullet. Accuracy was commented on in Handloader magazine as being 2 to 3 inches at 50 yards with open sights. The article shows W296 at 13.2 grains giving about 1730 fps with a 1.98 inch 50 yard group. I know you haven't had time to load up anything yourself.
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Re: Henry 327 Fed Levergun....accurate...?

Post by BenT »

I took out the Henry this weekend and shot 32 H&R handloads. 100 grain Rainier plated bullets and 5.0 grains of AA5. Mine has the 16 inch barrel and I shot 8 shots and I got a 1 inch group at 50 yards. Seven of them were in 3/4 inch. I then shot all 4 handguns at 25 yards and they averaged about 2.5 inch groups. Handgun sights and my eyes don't get along anymore, yet I keep buying hand guns. But just the shiny ones. :D I need to get back to working up loads for 115 grain cast bullets and see if I can tighten up my handgun groups. I didn't have any other loads to test.
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Re: Henry 327 Fed Levergun....accurate...?

Post by AJMD429 »

Glad the thread is still going. I do hope to mess with the Henry 327 before long.

Right now, we are just trying to settle in after FINALLY getting 'minor' things done in the remodel to make the space we moved in to function as a medical office...

(....minor things like DOORS on the exam rooms - the plywood floors were ok, but patients kind of like doors... :D )

And on the home-front, gotta get firewood going - we only have about two or three weeks-worth, and generally have to keep the furnace going through the end of April... :|
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Re: Henry 327 Fed Levergun....accurate...?

Post by Nate Kiowa Jones »

BenT wrote: Mon Dec 14, 2020 8:30 pm I took out the Henry this weekend and shot 32 H&R handloads. 100 grain Rainier plated bullets and 5.0 grains of AA5. Mine has the 16 inch barrel and I shot 8 shots and I got a 1 inch group at 50 yards. Seven of them were in 3/4 inch. I then shot all 4 handguns at 25 yards and they averaged about 2.5 inch groups. Handgun sights and my eyes don't get along anymore, yet I keep buying hand guns. But just the shiny ones. :D I need to get back to working up loads for 115 grain cast bullets and see if I can tighten up my handgun groups. I didn't have any other loads to test.
I had one of the 20" octs. in 327 FM. After a lot of work to get a decent Silhouette trigger of about #2 we shot it with a 14X scope mounted to work up some loads. I too planned to use the 100 gr. Rainiers. After trying several powders the best combo was the Rainiers over 11 gr. of the AA #9 over a Win MSP primer. It was running about 1600 FPS and grouping about 3"to 4" (counting flier) @100 yds
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