Taurus M327 3-inch stainless - First Impressions

[Jay1958]

I picked up my new Taurus M327 3-inch 327 Federal revolver tonight. I haven't had a chance to take it to the range yet, that will have to wait for this weekend. But I did get some first impressions:

Right away the first thing that struck me about the Taurus M327 was that this is a nice looking little revolver - but that didn't surprise me. The finish is matte stainless. It had pink grips out of the box, but a black set are also included from the factory. I put the black ones on it right away, after snapping a few photos with the pink grips. I can't say for sure, but I suspect CDNN pulled the black set out of the box on the "pink grip" M327s they sold, and then offered the black grips separately, to lower the price point on them. CDNN was sold out of the M327 3-inch stainless, and I got mine elsewhere. Saved me from having to purchase another set of grips!

What surprised me was the trigger. I'd heard horror stories about how heavy the DA pull is on these. I was really surprised when I tried it out the first time, dry firing - expecting the worst. I looked over at my FFL - a friend who received the shipment for me. "This thing has a better trigger than our S&W 642's!" (He and I purchased identical S&W 642s at the same time). Now I know that may not be saying much, S&W j-frames aren't known for great triggers! but this one was pretty smooth, and not too heavy.

I have three Ruger SP101's, so I'll be doing a head-to-head comparison and test of all four small frame revolvers. I pulled them all out of the safe when I got home with the Taurus. Only one of the SP101s had a lighter, smoother trigger than the Taurus! One was close enough to being the same that I couldn't tell for sure which was better, and one was just slightly heavier. Length of pull on the Rugers is just slightly longer.

All four have excellent single action triggers, although the Ruger SP101 327 is slightly heavier than the other three. Not enough to make much, if any, real world difference.

I can't wait to get these out to the range! Here is a list of the revolvers that I will be testing/reviewing:

Ruger SP101 38 Special 3-inch 5-shot
Ruger SP101 38 Special 2-inch 5-shot (bobbed hammer)
Ruger SP101 327 Federal 3-inch 6-shot
Taurus M327 327 Federal 3-inch 6-shot (ported barrel)

One last note: Out of the box, the Taurus had some kind of sticky gunk in places where I expected to find oil or grease... not sure why they use something sticky instead of normal gun oil or even packing grease? Needless to say, when I pulled off the grips I thoroughly cleaned it out.

[MilProGuy]

Congrats on your new M327...it's a real beauty!

[mahead]

I have the 2" 327 and love it. I want to get a 3" as well but CDNN won't ship handguns to MD. I put the lighter hammer and trigger springs in and it has an amazingly smooth pull and no miss fires.

[Qwiks draw]

Great pics.
I own 2-327s and both are the 2" barrel ones and a SP-101, but in .327 Federal. Love them all.

[RimfireRat]

Ck Buds Guns , they are cheaper after the free shipping than CDNN. as to shipping to MD .If I recall MD has to approve any guns that are sold in the state.This means they can drag their feet as long as they want. ( the original intent was to elimnate any unsafe Sat nite spls ..sic ) My guess the 327 mag won't even get a review from Md. ~~~RR~~

[jonrjen]

Well, Hurry up and go shoot. I would really like to read a report on the 3" Taurus 327 with the ported barrel. I could even live with the pink grips for the right report.

[mahead]

the 327 is good to go here in MD. already on the approved list. CDNN just wont ship handguns to MD.

[Jay1958]

I checked Buds before I bought mine, but I wanted the 3-inch and Bud's only had the snubbies.

I plan on taking mine to the range Saturday, so I'll try to post a review over the weekend.

Ck Buds Guns , they are cheaper after the free shipping than CDNN. as to shipping to MD .If I recall MD has to approve any guns that are sold in the state.This means they can drag their feet as long as they want. ( the original intent was to elimnate any unsafe Sat nite spls ..sic ) My guess the 327 mag won't even get a review from Md. ~~~RR~~

[Qwiks draw]

Well, Hurry up and go shoot. I would really like to read a report on the 3" Taurus 327 with the ported barrel. I could even live with the pink grips for the right report.

Yes! Off to the range with my good man! We want all of the juicy details!

[marine-mp]

I've got the Taurus .327 with the 3' ported barrell from CDNN for $249.00 Came w/the pink grips and I changed them out for the Altamont Wood-Checkered boot grips. This piece is a real shooter with, as stated by Jay1958, the sweetest D/A trigger of all my D/A's. It shoots dead-nuts with sights and POA. I get my ammo from Reed's Ammo and Research and he loads a potent cartridge. I like the fact that it shoots the .327 Mag, H&R Mag, and all the .32's. Kinda like a family gun!!! I still can't understand why Taurus discontinued producing this piece when S&W and Ruger can't keep them on the shelves??? Anybody??? Semper-fi Mike