325 WSM, who has em, how are they?

Charlie38

Charlie38

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Northwest (Prince Rupert), BC
I am looking at the BLR in 325 WSM. Thoughts and comments on the 325 WSM cartridge. I have a BLR in 358 Win so know and like them. It will be a saddle gun for horse hunting everything, bears, moose, elk, deer, sheep & goats. How were they on game animals you shot?
I will shoot 200gr Partitions. I will be putting my Leupold 3x9x40mm VX2 LR on the gun. Might get a Stainless Stalker, not sure yet.
Thanks :)
 
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I have a 325 WSM A-Bolt. Fantastic caliber. MOA accurate to 400 yards with several loads and great balance of recoil to power. Haven't taken game yet but it will be a fine performer from caribou to moose.
 
shanedapane said:
This caliber is a waste of gun powder and precious brass. I wasted money on one, so yeah, I feel I have the right to say that.
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Well, that is just silly.

It will do nothing that cannot be done already with another cartridge, often better, except be shorter, and I just don't see any advantage to me. It is hardly a "waste of gun powder", but I would not spend money on one until it has survived a while longer. I think one of the reasons you are getting so few comments from real owners, is that there are so few.

If you want to get one, my advice would be to not use light for caliber bullets like the 200 grain. You can shoot 200 grain bullets in one of the .30 cal. magnums just as fast, and with better sectional densities. If you need a .325 at all, you should use heavier bullets so that you actually gain something with the larger caliber over smaller diameter rounds.
 
Interesting thing about these less popular rounds. At some point they stop being chambered and then climb in value. If you reload making 325 brass from 300 brass is a breeze, so no worries there. I love my 350 Rem Mg. The 325 is just as capable in close but extends my shooting range out to 400 yards. It handles heavy bullets a bit better than the 300WSM. For big game like moose, bison and grizzly that's a good thing. The kick is tolerable in a light rifle, now that my separated shoulder has healed up.

Not sure why it would be a waste of powder. In a BLR it would be about the ultimate lever moose gun.
 
I've had my Kimber Montana in .325 WSM since 2007 and love it. It's taken 3 caribou, a bull moose, bear, an elk and some deer. Performed flawlessly out to 450 yds. I have used factory 220 gr Super X, as well as my handloaded 200 gr Accubonds and 180 gr Ballistic Tips. I agree that it doesnt do anything that another gun won't do. I love the performance of 180 gr Ballistic tips thus far. I liked the far better bullet selection when I shot a .300 Win Mag but this rifle/caliber has worked well for me and i dont plan on getting rid of it. I fought the WSM bandwagon for years but am glad I finally gave in!!!
 
My dad has a Browning BAR in .325 WSM (bought it 3 years ago) and it is quite fun to shoot. He killed one coyote, one moose and one deer with it up to date. Only the deer ran for about 100 feet before going down, but we found out that the bullet hit a tree (about 4 inches diameter), went through the side of it and hit the deer. The downside is obviously the price of ammunition. But he likes it more than his old BAR (~1987) in .300 WM, which I now own and use for hunting :D
 
325

My 325WSM is a Browning X-bolt RMEF model with a cheekpiece. It's a nice light rifle to carry in the bush with tolerable recoil for a Magnum caliber over .308 diameter. Those 8mm 200 grain Accubonds are very accurate and kill moose very well. Mine's a keeper with Spring bear slowly coming up.
 
I have one in a M70. Recoil is manageable even in my light rifle. I find it less snappy than a 7mm Mag. Accuracy is excellent with my handloads and I feel comfortable shooting out to some fairly long distance with it. It has accounted for about a dozen deer, 1 elk and 1 moose. It has performed flawlessly on all of them and meat damage was minimal even on some very close shots.
 
i have a win m70 in 325. shot coyotes, wolves, bear griz and black, elk, moose, deer white and mulies, caribou, sheep from canada, us and overseas range cows and more than one horse. caliber has never failed. puts everything down with authority...

I'm using a 200gr Barnes TSX @ 2,940 fps

BTW: i used to use a 338 Win Mag
 
Takujualuk said:
Interesting thing about these less popular rounds. At some point they stop being chambered and then climb in value. If you reload making 325 brass from 300 brass is a breeze, so no worries there. I love my 350 Rem Mg. The 325 is just as capable in close but extends my shooting range out to 400 yards. It handles heavy bullets a bit better than the 300WSM. For big game like moose, bison and grizzly that's a good thing. The kick is tolerable in a light rifle, now that my separated shoulder has healed up.

Not sure why it would be a waste of powder. In a BLR it would be about the ultimate lever moose gun.
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I was thinking of maybe re-barreling to a 35 Sambar later If I didn't like it (in the BLR)
 
yups

shotcup said:
My 325WSM is a Browning X-bolt RMEF model with a cheekpiece. It's a nice light rifle to carry in the bush with tolerable recoil for a Magnum caliber over .308 diameter. Those 8mm 200 grain Accubonds are very accurate and kill moose very well. Mine's a keeper with Spring bear slowly coming up.
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I have the exact same rifle...what u say is the truth..Also" it will beat a 30-06"
in every way...everytime,, as expected
 
Tikka49 said:
I have the exact same rifle...what u say is the truth..Also" it will beat a 30-06"
in every way...everytime,, as expected
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And what does that prove? Why put it that way? Who has to "beat" anything?

You could say just as well of the .338Win. , "I have the exact same rifle...what u say is the truth..Also" it will beat a .325"
in every way...everytime,, as expected"

What does that prove about the .325? Nothing. Such comparisons serve no purpose except to expose something about fearing "being too small".

The .325 does, in fact, slide in nicely between the .30-06 and the .338Win. in terms of "power" for big game. If you don't need it all the time, the .30-06 makes more sense. If you do need the power all the time, the .338 makes more sense. I just don't think we needed anything in that power level. There is nothing wrong with it, but .... what's the point?

Just say'in.
 
...It handles heavy bullets a bit better than the 300WSM. For big game like moose, bison and grizzly that's a good thing...
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That why it's the best of the big game WSMs IMO.
I was thinking of maybe re-barreling to a 35 Sambar later If I didn't like it (in the BLR)
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Further improvements on the best big game factory WSM to be more than a "bit better" with heavy bullets - I like that.
The same by another name;
350WSM_barrel_stamp.jpg
 
I placed an order for a browning in 325 wsm today:D
I wanted a rifle larger than my .308win. I have compared balistic charts for the 300wsm ,325wsm and the 338win mag and the 325wsm seemed to fit the bill for what I wanted. I have a few friends with them and they are a great accurate rifle. I cant wait to recieve mine...
 
I have a win m70 extreme weather in .325wsm. and love it. factory ammo prices are very high. but if you reload your set. I load 200gr accubonds for almost the same price as I load my 30/06.

I have taken a deer with it in the fall and it didn't go more than 25 yards. I will have it with me this spring for black bear. And hopefully a moose draw this fall

people that say it's a waist of powder or a useless cartridge are just ignorant. plain and simple. Can other cartridges do the samething yes but doesn't make it useless. with that same thought the 30/06 would make every cartridge from 270-300win mag useless. that would be no fun.

Isn't this a website for gunnutz? a newish round comes out that actually offers something new and people like to trash it?? I wouldn't call them true gunnutz
 
I think the .325 WSM is an exciting & fascinating cartridge, and I'm just trying to decide what rifle I want it to be chambered in.
 
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