The Charter Arms Patriot was a short-lived line of revolvers chambered for the .327 Federal Magnum. In all, three Patriot models were manufactured between 2008 and 2011. The three models were the standard model, the Target Patriot and the Crimson Patriot.
Let’s dig into this line of handguns.
Standard Charter Arms Patriot
The standard model Patriot was a 2.2″ barreled revolver with a cylinder that held six shots. It had a fixed ramp front sight and a foxed notch rear sight.
Due to the relatively short barrel, it appears the gun was designed for concealed carry. Unlike the company’s Off Duty revolver, the Patriot had an exposed hammer, allowing the shooter to work the gun in double-action or single-action modes.
The standard Patriot revolver weighed 21 ounces while unloaded. Rubber grips were standard on the gun. Charter Arms only offered this gun with a satin stainless steel finish.
MSRP on the gun was $536.00.
The Target Patriot
This version of the Charter Arms Patriot features a longer barrel (4″ vs. 2.2″) and has an adjustable rear, target-type sight.
The barrel has a full length underlug, which is likely to help tame the recoil of the little magnum cartridge. The Target Patriot carries a $593.00 MSRP.
The Crimson Patriot
The Crimson Patriot was also chambered in .327 Federal Magnum and had a 2.2″ barrel. The gun shipped from the factory with the Crimson Trace LG-325 Lasergrips.
The Crimson Patriot shares many of the features of the standard Patriot revolver. The Crimson Patriot is a six-shot, exposed hammer revolver made of stainless steel that weighs 21 ounces unloaded. It has fixed sights, using a ramp front and notch rear. The big difference is the addition of the rubber overmold Lasergrips.
The suggested retail on the Charter Arms Crimson Patriot was $768.00. Considering the standard Patriot retailed for $536.00 and the Crimson Trace LG-325 Lasergrips retailed at $299.00, the Crimson Patriot retail price represents a significant savings as compared to adding the grips yourself ($768 vs. $835).
| Patriot | Target Patriot | Crimson Patriot | |
| Caliber | .327 Magnum | .327 Magnum | .327 Magnum |
| Capacity | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Barrel Length | 2.2″ | 4.0″ | 2.2″ |
| Weight (unloaded) | 21 oz | 23 oz | 21 oz |
| Sights | fixed | adjustable rear | fixed with Lasergrips |
| Finish | satin stainless | satin stainless | satin stainless |
| Grips | rubber | rubber | Crimson Trace |
| MSRP | $536 | $593 | $768 |
Charter Arms Discontinues the Patriot Line
The Patriot revolvers were discontinued by fall of 2011. Charter Arms did not make any announcement regarding why the handguns were pulled from production. I can only assume that the line was canceled due to sales.
If the company was selling a boatload of them, I would expect that Charter Arms would have continued the production. It looks like the total time these revolvers were made is about three years.
Alternative to the Patriot
The .327 Magnum is an interesting cartridge and a number of manufacturers launched guns to support the caliber. Some of those gun have also been discontinued.
Here’s the best information I have as of the most recent update:
Taurus 327 – Taurus offers two revolvers chambered for the .327 Magnum. One has a matte black finish while the second has a stainless finish. Both sport exposed hammers, a 2″ barrel and 6-round cylinders.
These Taurus handguns are affordable with MSRPs being less than $400 for each of them.
Ruger LCR – Ruger remains the strongest supporter of the .327 Federal Magnum and offers a wide range of wheelguns chambered for the cartridge. For self-defense, it is tough to beat the LCR series of revolvers.
Currently, Ruger offers the original “hammerless” LCR design and the exposed hammer LCRx models in .327. Both models have 6 round capacities and barrels of 1.87″ long.
Unlike the Taurus revolvers, the LCR uses pinned front sights so you can easily upgrade them. Pricing is more than double the Taurus, however.
Ruger SP101 – Ruger also offers its classic SP101 in .327 Magnum. Compared to the Charter Arms Patriot, the SP101 is much nicer. But, you are also paying for the upgrade.
The 3″ SP101 will set you back $889. For the 4.2″ barrel, the MSRP is $949. The longer barrel also comes with target sights.
Patriot Resources
Here are a few videos of the Charter Arms Patriot being shot:
Updated: March 31, 2022
44 replies on “Charter Arms Patriot Revolvers in .327 Federal Magnum”
I just purchased a Taurus 327 federal, and I love it great for concealed carry, shooting it was excellent, love it.
My Charter Arms 327 also was bored incorrectly. Have not yet gotten it back from the factory fixed–going on 3 weeks. I saw a post that the Ruger has the same problem!
I just chronographed the American Eagle 100 gr. JSP out of the 4″ Charter .327 Magnum and got an average 1581 FPS…with the Federal 115 gr. Hydra-Shok I got 1478 FPS and 1421 FPS with Speer 115 gr. Gold dot. Not too shabby and fairly accurate to boot. Some case sticking and cratered primers.
Thanks for posting your chrony results Bill. At almost 1600 fps, that JSP might make for a pretty good small game round. And the 1400+ fps from both the Hydra Shok and the Gold Dot clearly make a good self defense round. The .327 Mag is definitely a hot round. I hope this one makes it, but only time will tell.
I bought a Taurus 327 and also have extraction problems but only with the federal eagle ammo. No problems with hydra shok.