PERMITS & Handloads for 327 Federal Magnum Ruger - On Range :Part 2:

The newly arrived 327 Magnum revolver has now been presented at the District Police Headquarters for it's "Debut" and registration entry onto my personal firearms file.

The firearms team at Christchurch Police HQ were most welcoming - and as usual appeared happy to see me at their busy office.

- Avoiding using any names - I was told there that my application for an Import Permit that dates from 11 November last year (four & a half months ago) - for a Hogue after-market rubber grip for this gun - was further delayed & still unavailable because of "problems" in Police National HQ, Wellington.

 - This had resulted in them returning all of Christchurch's Applications for them to process themselves ! - which they have no facility to do  .. So then my District Firearms Office had to re-process and re-submit all of the "rejected" paperwork once again to the National Office ... 

UNBELIEVABLE.

- It seems there may be no need to change Laws to ban anything when you can just demand a Permit - and then refuse to process Applications.

Has no Licensed Dealer or Shop in the shooting world heard of a WRIT OF MANDAMUS  - legally requiring a government official to properly fulfill their official duties?

Meanwhile I have coped with this ridiculous delay by changing over the original factory grip onto my .22" revolver and I have fitted the larger Hogue grips onto the 327 Magnum.

_______________

- I have now built-up a few different flavors of the various .32" Caliber cartridges - mostly being fairly standard for their cartridge types.. to try in the new Ruger SP101 327 Federal Magnum.

I also took to the range some commercial loaded .32" H&R Magnum and two different species of .32" ACP.

 - However I did hand craft 10 test rounds of a Duplex load - using a light "scooped" charge (2.5 gns.) of bulky IMR 'Trailboss' powder to push out of the barrel one 48gn. lead ball behind a copper plated 72 grain round-nose - making a total projectile mass of 120 grains.

De-Constructed Experimental DUPLEX Load

 - with the "Powder-Scoop" hand-made from a .22" WMR Case.

I calculate that this 'bullet & ball' load should accelerate to below 800 ft./ sec. velocity - and only use 20,000 psi of the 327's maximum pressure rating of 45,000 psi.

(- The fired .22" WMR case (scoop) held 3.0 gns of the donut shaped Trailboss powder - until I inserted the wood-screw 'handle' into the base and reduced it's capacity to 2.5gns.).

IMR Trailboss Powder is High Volume / Low weight

 - Great for Case-Filling In Light Loads.

- I will of-course set-up the Lee 'through-the-die' powder thrower to replace the hand scoop -  if/when I build a larger number of duplex rounds.

- And I made sure that the brass rod "Knock-Out-Drift" and a hammer went into the range bag for any squib load failures 😜 - but it wasn't needed.

Continued in 'Part 3'.

Marty K.