I Think The .325 WSM Deserves A Second Look

[Nature Boy]

The question with the .358 is whether you're willing to live with slow. Depending on the bullet slow is OK but not at long range.

200 yards in would be my limit with the .358win and at that distance a 225g pill traveling at 2,400 fps does the job nicely

 

[Llama Bob]

So, why not just get a .338 Win Mag? It’s been around maybe 60-70 years.

Chop 2.5" and over half a pound off the rifle, get the same performance and less recoil. Seems like a deal to me.

 

[Llama Bob]

200 yards in would be my limit with the .358win and at that distance a 225g pill traveling at 2,400 fps does the job nicely

View attachment 813353

I think that's very reasonable. But one way to look at it is the 325 does at 400y what the .358W does at 200y in terms of terminal performance (200 to 225gr slug at about 2000 ft/s). For western hunters that can matter quite a lot.

 

[GooseGestapo]

Or, you can get a rifle that weighs the same as a .338win but out performs (slightly) the .375 H&H. Specifically, the .375 Ruger.

IMO, the .325WSM suffers a bit from fewer bullet selections.

 

[LoonWulf]

I have an 8.25lb .375 river, running hot 270s its a handful...well pair of hands full.

I think the .338 RCM makes more sense then the 325 WSM (action/mag length consideration etc), but if you want a short light rifle in a +30 cal, I think they are both pretty good options.

I'd probably prefer to eat the punishment from either of those in a 6-7lb gun than a .376 steyr, especially if I needed to deliver a quickly aimed second or third shot.

 

[CoalTrain49]

I don't think it's a good choice for a factory ammo buyer, but then few things are.

But factory ammo is what most hunters use. If all you do is hunt, factory ammo makes a lot of sense. $40 for a box of ammo that will last thru the season and put your game in the meat locker looks like a pretty good deal to me.

I find it incredible that a person can find a box of 300 WSM with all of the other well known cartridges available that will do essentially the same thing, kill game at 300 yards.

I found a box of 300 WSM brass at the range the other day left by a hunter who doesn't reload.

 

[cougar1717]

I still remember being in Cabelas during the WSM introduction and overhearing the salesperson trying to sell another customer on a 325WSM. "As light as a 308, but hits like a 338 mag!"

It is a useful caliber, no doubt. It's just kind of caught in between. I'm not talking about enthusiasts, but for the average rifle buyer, what do they get with .323" over .308"? It takes a special customer for the deer/elk/bear caliber. Most people don't see much terminal performance gain between .308" and .338" (all things being equal, except caliber). It reminds me of the 338 Federal threads on THR. I think that once you get to .358" and over, the hunter has a different purpose for the rifle.

Any recoil discussion between 300WSM and 325WSM is just splitting hairs. With equal rifles, they are hunting guns that get sighted in with a few shots and are shot a couple of times max at game, while the hunter is wearing heavy clothing.

At the end of the day, 325WSM was a great idea. It's just that now it suffers from rifle availability, ammo/brass availability, and a distinctive performance difference when compared to 300WSM.

 

[Jessesky]

I don’t like the commercial backing of 8mm bullets. That was the main reason I didn’t give it a second look.

 

[DM~]

IMO, the .325WSM suffers a bit from fewer bullet selections.

I never could understand why folks say something like that, AS LONG as there ARE a couple good bullets for the cartridge!

AND there is, the 200NP is all the bullet a 325 needs for hunting big game... And there are several others, if you don't need a premium bullet.

SO, who cares if it doesn't have 15 or 20 or more other choices?

DM

 

[troy fairweather]

I never could understand why folks say something like that, AS LONG as there ARE a couple good bullets for the cartridge!

AND there is, the 200NP is all the bullet a 325 needs for hunting big game... And there are several others, if you don't need a premium bullet.

SO, who care if it doesn't 15 or 20 or more other choices?

DM

33 bullets on midway i can think of at least 5 more custom bullets to.

 

[GooseGestapo]

Only 15 of 33 in stock.
Never said Few. Just fewer. Didn’t say they were bad choices either.
This is getting as bad as comments on Facebook for illiteracy.

 

[mshootnit]

No doubt the .325 WSM was the bastard child of the WSM line. Everyone was expecting a .338 WSM and instead got an 8mm WSM with a funny name given that nothing about the cartridge was .325 in size - bullet diameter is .323, same as the JS M98 and the 8mm Remington Mag. Cynics (including several in print) accused Winchester of trying to dupe gullible gun buyers into thinking it was "almost" a .338.

That was 13 years ago.

Since then, of the 4 WSM cartridges the .270 and .300 have cemented themselves as popular. The 7mm WSM has been dropped despite arguably being the most useful of the small bore WSMs when hand loaded but lives on with a population of enthusiasts. And the 325 continues to be cataloged, neither a raging success nor dropped. That suggests it outsold the 7mm WSM, shocking given that no 8mm caliber in new production rifles previously ever sold worth beans in the US.

I think the answer lies with the field having essentially been swept of medium bore magnums suitable for use in a light rifle. The .350 Remington Mag is thoroughly dead. The .376 Steyr never really did anything. The .338 RCM came and went with almost no one noticing outside Alaska. The short Lazerroni catridges even many gun nuts have never actually seen. All that's left on the field is the .338 WM, which comes in rifles the better part of a pound heavier than the .325, and still manages to have notably worse recoil at the same bullet weights.

And the Winchester engineers really were right about the 325. It does match the .338WM factory performance despite spotting the typical 338 two inches of barrel. 2000s at 2900+, 220s at 2800+ and 250s at 2700+ with temp insensitive powers (Retumbo and RL-23 for the heavies). Since the introduction Woodleigh has made some reasonably slick heavy bullets that close the BC gap to .308 caliber fairly effectively too. These 400-500 yard elk shots reasonable. So it's not an "almost" .338 - it's got the same power and reach as a .338, but with higher-SD slightly smaller bore projectiles.

Results in the field have been consistently good with the Partitions, TSXs, Weldcores, A-frames, and Accubonds.

So strangely Winchester's oddball has found itself the most powerful round readily available in a light, short action rifle. For a brown bear, bison, moose, or even elk hunts where a lot of walking is involved they seem to have a winner, albeit a winner of interest only to a small number of hunters. I think a light 325 may also be the best possible bear defense rifle when loaded with the 250gr Weldcore.

I understand that in about 40 of the 50 states there is just about nothing big enough to necessitate a 325WSM. That by itself is some sort of ceiling.

 

[mshootnit]

So, why not just get a .338 Win Mag? It’s been around maybe 60-70 years.

So has the flathead V8. Should I just get one of those when I trade in my 2018 Titan?

 

[mshootnit]

I wish they had standardized the 257 or 264 RSAUM. That would be cool.

 

[redneck2]

So has the flathead V8. Should I just get one of those when I trade in my 2018 Titan?

If the flathead got as good of mileage, was as quiet and reliable, passed pollution standards, and was actually available then yes.

 

[troy fairweather]

I wish they had standardized the 257 or 264 RSAUM. That would be cool.

the rsaum are a nice case. there about perfect for what most need i wish they were more popular i like the 7mm.

 

[mshootnit]

the rsaum are a nice case. there about perfect for what most need i wish they were more popular i like the 7mm.

RSAUM is nice because it is not quite as "overbore" as a WSM case, and has a little bit of taper.

 

[Llama Bob]

RSAUM is nice because it is not quite as "overbore" as a WSM case, and has a little bit of taper.

There's no practical difference between the two except the the SAUM line has fewer calibers and is dead as a door nail.

 

[Llama Bob]

I understand that in about 40 of the 50 states there is just about nothing big enough to necessitate a 325WSM. That by itself is some sort of ceiling.

The same could be said of anything bigger than a .243.

 

[30Aught]

I own a Kimber SuperAmerica and Browning A Bolt titanium in .325wsm. It does deserve a second look. Great for Elk,Moose,Northern Brown Bear,Eland,Kudu,Nyala, etc. I intend to use 250 grain on a Cape Buffalo when I go. Nearly 2000 ft. lbs of energy at 500 yards. They are flat shooting, light rifles and non belted cases. You can reload 150-250 grain projectiles. And it is a thumper. PH guides in Africa are very impressed with the performance and wish more hunters used them over there. Australians, Alaskans and many other open country large game hunters love them. And the heavier grained bullets are good for short range work.Some guys even like them for an all around rifle ,even though they could be much for whitetail in my opinion. What's not to like? Very happy to see your post. Also, there are a lot more 8mm bullets out there than people think, and the following ones are proven: Swift A frame, Nosler Partition,Nosler Accubond,Sierra Game King,Barnes TSX, Woodleigh. There a more than enough 8mm bullets out there if you look hard enough on internet. Double Tap Ammo made me 200 excellent rounds before I started reloading. Hendershots in Maryland also makes 325wsm ammo. They are expensive but good. Nosler even has them. You can still buy brass too. I'll spare you all the other reasons why it is a great cartridge because they have all been mentioned by others before me on this thread. I know it doesn't do what others can't, but it does have a slightly unique slot and performs beautifully. Contrary to other's beliefs I think it is the best of the Short Mags. Boddington loves the caliber too. Any how, thanks for renewing attention to it and it has been interesting reading everyone's posts. Barring the naysayers.

 

[30Aught]

325wsm great for CXP3(300-1000 lb. game) which the lower 48 has enough of.

 

[30Aught]

I still remember being in Cabelas during the WSM introduction and overhearing the salesperson trying to sell another customer on a 325WSM. "As light as a 308, but hits like a 338 mag!"

It is a useful caliber, no doubt. It's just kind of caught in between. I'm not talking about enthusiasts, but for the average rifle buyer, what do they get with .323" over .308"? It takes a special customer for the deer/elk/bear caliber. Most people don't see much terminal performance gain between .308" and .338" (all things being equal, except caliber). It reminds me of the 338 Federal threads on THR. I think that once you get to .358" and over, the hunter has a different purpose for the rifle.

Any recoil discussion between 300WSM and 325WSM is just splitting hairs. With equal rifles, they are hunting guns that get sighted in with a few shots and are shot a couple of times max at game, while the hunter is wearing heavy clothing.

At the end of the day, 325WSM was a great idea. It's just that now it suffers from rifle availability, ammo/brass availability, and a distinctive performance difference when compared to 300WSM.

 

[30Aught]

The recoil energy of the 325 is 35 ft lbs.(tolerable). The 30-06 is 20 ft. Lbs. Some people say the 325 is a little more than the 30-06. They most certainly are wrong.

 

[30Aught]

Or, you can get a rifle that weighs the same as a .338win but out performs (slightly) the .375 H&H. Specifically, the .375 Ruger.

IMO, the .325WSM suffers a bit from fewer bullet selections.

There are plenty of 8mm bullets out there

 

[30Aught]

I never could understand why folks say something like that, AS LONG as there ARE a couple good bullets for the cartridge!

AND there is, the 200NP is all the bullet a 325 needs for hunting big game... And there are several others, if you don't need a premium bullet.

SO, who cares if it doesn't have 15 or 20 or more other choices?

DM

Me neither- besides there are plenty of 8mm bullets out there. And the 325 has proven results with: Swift A frame, Nosler partition, Sierra Game king, Barnes TSX, Nosler AccuBond, Woodleigh etc.