325 WSM - My initial impressions

todbartell

todbartell

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Got to fire a Browning Abolt stainless stalker today, chambered in 325 Winchester Short Mag. 23" barrel w/ BOSS.

the rifle : not a terrible rifle, but nothing great either, especially for the price. trigger isnt bad for an out of the box rifle, but its not too light. recoil pad is like a small brick, not something you want on an 8mm Mag. the BOSS, obnoxiously loud, and the blast concussion felt when firing it is almost as bad as the sound. wearing plugs under muffs helps a bit. the BOSS did though, reduce felt recoil to that of a normal 30-06, which was nice. atop I had a Leupold FXIII 6x42mm in Talley lightweight rings.

the load : 200 grain Nosler Accubonds loaded over 63.5 grains of H4350 (grain under Noslers max). Federal 210M match primer and a Winchester 300wsm case necked up in a RCBS FL die. Overall length is 2.86". not quite a compressed load, but close to it.

the range : inital results have been poor and not too encouraging. groups at 100 yards average 2" for three shots, shooting prone w/ bipod & rear sandbags, with the BOSS setting on '3' (which is about what is reccomended for 300 & 338 mags with 200 grain bullets. Will set it to '0' for the next range trip. Average muzzle velocity is 2723 fps. Nosler claims 2900 fps for this load, but they used a 26" test barrel for their data.

So far, nothing too great to write home about...will hit the range again early this coming week to send some more rounds out the tube.



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325 wsm

My old Yugo 8x57 Mauser gets nearly 2600 fps with 185 grain bullets and shoots into an inch at 100 yards.:cool:
New doesn't always mean better..........:D
I just measured the Yugo barrel....23 & 1/4 inches
 
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The fun is in tinkering and finding the ideal load. Although the MV is not spectacular, 2700 fps with a .325 cal 200 grn bullet will be deadly. Have fun loading and look forward to more results!
 
todbartell said:
a Browning Abolt stainless stalker today, chambered in 325 Winchester Short Mag. 23" barrel w/ BOSS.
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:eek::eek::eek:OMG:eek::eek::eek: You bought a Browning?!? :p:D

Kidding aside, I hope you have fun with it and I'm sure you will find the 'magic' load in time for moose season. That calibre should flatten and old swamp donkey nicely.;)

:D
 
todbartell said:
nope, I didnt buy it. Id never buy an Abolt with my money :)
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wow:eek: ....I was wiping sweat from my forehead:confused: as I reached for another beer:) .....'bartell with an Abolt....I didn't believe it.....I should laugh....I have an M77 and an M70......:confused:

sounds like the ABolt 325 is a keeper:D
 
I get 3050 fps from my 8MM Mag. My hunting buddy had, for a short while a 300 WSM and the velocities were less than my .30-06. I have heard some of the manufacturers are droping the short magnums from their lines, no wonder.
 
hermie said:
I get 3050 fps from my 8MM Mag. My hunting buddy had, for a short while a 300 WSM and the velocities were less than my .30-06. I have heard some of the manufacturers are droping the short magnums from their lines, no wonder.
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no 30-06 will ever equal the velocity of a 300 short mag,...unless it has a 28 or 30" barrel...I had a 22" 300 SAUM Model Seven that did an easy 3100 with a 165......not many standard 30-06's will do that...I'm sure the 24" 300WSM will do even more....not knocking the 30-06, I have one...powder capacity wins every time...well,...almost every time:D
 
todbartell said:
Got to fire a Browning Abolt stainless stalker today, chambered in 325 Winchester Short Mag. 23" barrel w/ BOSS.

the rifle : not a terrible rifle, but nothing great either, especially for the price. trigger isnt bad for an out of the box rifle, but its not too light. recoil pad is like a small brick, not something you want on an 8mm Mag. the BOSS, obnoxiously loud, and the blast concussion felt when firing it is almost as bad as the sound. wearing plugs under muffs helps a bit. the BOSS did though, reduce felt recoil to that of a normal 30-06, which was nice. atop I had a Leupold FXIII 6x42mm in Talley lightweight rings.

the load : 200 grain Nosler Accubonds loaded over 63.5 grains of H4350 (grain under Noslers max). Federal 210M match primer and a Winchester 300wsm case necked up in a RCBS FL die. Overall length is 2.86". not quite a compressed load, but close to it.

the range : inital results have been poor and not too encouraging. groups at 100 yards average 2" for three shots, shooting prone w/ bipod & rear sandbags, with the BOSS setting on '3' (which is about what is reccomended for 300 & 338 mags with 200 grain bullets. Will set it to '0' for the next range trip. Average muzzle velocity is 2723 fps. Nosler claims 2900 fps for this load, but they used a 26" test barrel for their data.

So far, nothing too great to write home about...will hit the range again early this coming week to send some more rounds out the tube.



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Well, the first issue is that you had a POS Abolt...:)

I coud never warm up to the Abolts, I thinkit is a Love/Hate thing there...

I also think that the BOSS is for the swine that use factory loads, and not Premium Handloads, so I would back that BOSS thingy off to zero and see how you do. Better yet, unscrew that ####er and chuck it far into a field, where no more ear damage can result...;)

The 325WSM is like any other modern cartridge- It shoud be abe to shoot up to it's capabilities.;)
 
So you pick a load at random, shoot it at 100 yards off a bipod rather than a bench, use a 6 power scope and then complain about the accuracy? :rolleyes:

If you denounced every rifle you have shot after a single trip to the range to shoot a single loading than chances are good you would never find a rifle you are happy with. ;)

Try working that load up properly using the cases you now have that are fire-formed for that rifle - necking cases up to a larger calibre commonly pulls the necks out of "square" . Mount a higher power scope on that critter and shoot it from a solid bench. Get rid of the "Princess Auto" $7.00 ear-muffs :) and replace them with a decent pair. You may be surprised as how well that rifle will shoot.

And while I admit I am far from a big A-Bolt fan I have always found them to be just as accurate as any other production rifle on the market.
 
I can shoot prone off a bipod with both my 223 and whispy barrel Titanium 30-06 and put 5 & 3 shots resp. into 3/4", with a "mere" 6x scope...

Sure its just one load, and the gun is brand new, but Id expect sub 3" groups out of a rifle.

But, Boo', you're a big Abolt/WSM fan, aren'tcha ;)

PS, btw I was wearing $180 ear muffs
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todbartell said:
Sure its just one load, and the gun is brand new, but Id expect sub 3" groups out of a rifle.
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You said you got 2" groups. That btw is sub 3". :rolleyes: LoL

todbartell said:
But, Boo', you're a big Abolt/WSM fan, aren'tcha
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Yep I am starting to like em a bit now. :) I will be the first to admit I hated the first 2 I owned, This new A-Bolt Classic Hunter in 300 wsm I just bought of of Martin may change my way of thinking. I will let you know my final verdict after I hunt it hard this fall.

180 grain Hornady SP over 67 grains of RL19 for 2945 fps

This 3 shot group was shot at 130 yards with a 9 power scope off my portable bench. Sniper58 was there to witness it.


300wsm-180.jpg
 
The 8mm Accubond has not been gettting good reports at all.
The 200 g Partition has a much higher ballistic coefficient than the 200 gr Accubond... go figure. I don't know where Nosler went wrong with this bullet but I have not heard of any real good results with it in the .325WSM!
You might want to change up the bullets T/B.
I have never seen an A-Bolt that would not shoot well for a hunting rifle (MOA at least)... they have really good barrels and decent triggers (a little tweaking doesn't hurt the triggers).
 
Boo,
I'm glad you're liking the gun I sold you. The only thing I ever fired out of it wwas 168 gr TSX's, but they never grouped quite that well, that being said it killed everything it barked at last year with somewhat dramatic results.
 
Hey Tod, any thought on using Ramshot Hunter? Looking through all the data out there, both what the powder companies print and what actual shooters have seen themselves. It seems to be get substantially higher velocities than the other powders out there when using the heavier bullets. Looking at picking some up myself to give it a try.
 
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