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 have the Charter Arms .327 Federal Magnum in 4″ and 2.2″ barrel. Both have minor extraction issues and less-than-smooth cylinder action— but they are relatively new so I’ll check back after a few hundred rounds. I’m using mostly .32 S&W long for carry and find the guns handle well and shoot comfortably, plus the .327 mag load indeed has a good amount of pop to it. .32 shorts are fun to shoot but hard to find (as is the .32 H&R mag) but the shorts foul the cylinders a bit.
I just purchased a Charter Arms Patriot on Saturday. I fired it for the first time yesterday and the first two rounds failed to fire even though the primer was punched. The next 18 did fine but the two failures were disconcerting. I don’t know if it was because the gun was tight being new or if the ammo was defective. It was factory Federal low velocity 85 gr ammo. I also noticed a slight expansion of the case but extraction wasn’t difficult. I had been looking for the S&W 632 carry comp but haven’t been able to find one so I settled for the Patriot.
My Patriot’s seem to be working better with more use—- however I had a Magtech 32 Long ammo shell recently split the casing after discharge. I have to wonder if it’s the ammo or the gun. I’m thinking ammo.
Thanks for the info on the magnum. @wyo Is it hard to find ammo and when you do is it super expensive? I would hate to buy a gun and then spend all my money on keeping it loaded. I’m seriously thinking about buying a gun, but I don’t want to be spending twice the amount of the gun on ammunition.