In this week's episode of "I Carry," we have a Taurus 327 Defender T.O.R.O. revolver in a PHLster City Special Revolver holster with a Gideon Optics Judge red dot.
Firearm: Taurus 327 Defender T.O.R.O.
So, there are many cool things about one of the newest revolvers from Taurus, the 327 Defender TORO. First, there’s the chambering: .327 Federal Magnum. If you’ve read Shooting Illustrated magazine, particularly our Ammo column, you know our Ammo editor Richard Mann is a big fan of this cartridge. Ballistically, it falls somewhere between .38 Special/standard 9 mm and .357 Magnum in muzzle energy, making it a perfectly solid choice for a defensive handgun. Since it can also chamber and fire the less powerful .32 H&R Magnum and .32 S&W cartridges, it has softer-shooting options for practice or plinking. It also gives the 327 a capacity of six rounds, compared to five for 38 Special in the same-size revolver.
Second, there’s the TORO part – that stands for Taurus Optic-Ready Option. With a plate set up to accommodate both RMSc- and Holosun K-footprint optics, it is now nearly as easy to put a powered optic on your revolver as it is on a standard, optics-ready semi-auto. Bolt the plate to the top of the revolver, where pre-set holes are already waiting, then secure the optic to the plate. Yes, that does mean that you need to tighten and/or Loctite two sets of screws, but remember this is on the topstrap of a revolver, not a moving pistol slide.
The third cool thing is part of the specs we normally list for handguns, the barrel length of three inches. That’s been considered the ideal length for a fighting revolver, as it gives enough room for a full ejector rod to remove spent cases from the cylinder while keeping the barrel short enough to conceal easily. This gives the 327 an overall length of 7.5 inches, a height of 4.8 inches (without optic) and a weight of 23.5 ounces (unloaded and, again, without optic). That’s easily in the realm of a concealed-carry handgun.
More cool things can be found in the bobbed hammer, keeping the 327 snag-resistant and leaving it as a dedicated fighting revolver. There are two different grips included with the gun, too—there’s a boot grip style rubber grip that’s slightly shorter to prevent printing when carried concealed as well as a full three-finger grip for more control when shooting the 327.
Interesting chambering, optics-capable and built for concealed carry? While we’re not saying that Taurus’s 327 Defender TORO revolver is the ultimate concealed-carry wheelgun, it checks just about all the boxes. In any case, it’s a six-shot alternative to the standard five-shot 38 Special, and there’s an awful lot of coolness in one revolver.
