Is the .325wsm going to make it

It'll never be a mainstream cartridge. It'll fall into the same amount of use we see the 350 rem mag and the .284 win. After 10 years, maybe less, finding ammo and even brass with the correct head stamp will be difficult.

I'm kind of concerned about the same thing happening to my 7mm WSM.
 
If I were a betting man I would say that the 270 wsm and 300 wsm are here for the longer haul, and perhaps the 7mm wsm. 325 wsm has an outside chance.
There's just too many well established cartridges that perform just as well, or nearly as well.

As a side note, I shed all my 'boutique' chambered rifles, preferring the classics for many reasons.
Of the four I noted, the 270 and 7mm wsm's are my favourites.
 
Great cartridge, but will likely be a minimal cult following. Nice choice for moose and bears, especially in a light rifle.

Partially to blame is the fan following of both 300s and 338s. The major producers are US based, and US shooters like these two calibre selections.

Also, although I can't speak for all WW2 Vets, but my father hated the 8mm simply because it was the Enemy's weapon. Based on what I saw from my family history, I would wager that many of the older US, Brit, and Canadian boys carried a similar bias. Yes, it was a whole different cartridge, but that dislike gave the calibre a negative aura for some.

I think the major stumbling block was much of it's initial press. I remember several articles referring to the cartridge as the ideal mule deer round, making the crowd of 243 through 300 fans say, "WTF?". Although it is now chambered in several rifles, much of the initial hype centered on a Nosler 48
rifle; not exactly affordable by every hunter. Compare this to it's 270 and 300 brethren which were marketed to 'Average Joe' and offered in affordable rifles from Remington, Winchester, Weatherby, and Savage.
 
no one chambers a factory 8mm mag anymore, so yes it fills a niche. Right between a 338-06 and 338mag. not a bad place to be. the only WSM that ever made sense to me, the only one that offered something different.

I like mine :)
 
While it is a good cartridge it doesn't do anything the 300 wsm can't do. The additional .015" diameter doesn't produce substantial performance increases in the real world.

Winchester should have just bit the bullet so to speak and brought out a 338 wsm even if it couldn't match the velocity of the 338 Winchester. :nest:
 
It should be a fine medium cartridge for medium to large game. But that doesn't mean that the 8mmWSM will last much longer. Be as dead as the SAUMs in a couple of years.
 
It's funny how so many say there is no gap between a 300 and a 338, yet the same guys will likely argue tooth and nail how much difference there is between a 270 and a 300. Yet there is the 7 mag which sells well. Notice the diameter gap is roughly the same, 277-308 vs 308-338.

Most of the guys that say "no" have likely never used one, and the guys who have tried it seem to like it. There will always be brass easily available since it is a simple neck up of 300wsm brass. The bullet selction runs from 150gr to 220gr, with some very decent bullets available from a gameking to a ttsx. Winchester, Browning, Nosler, and HS all chamber rifles in 325. If it does die that will be to bad, it does fill a gap.
 
Isn't the B.C. of .338 bullets much better on average than the .325 cal bullets available?
I remember looking at a Ballistic coefficient chart a while ago, and the .325 bullets on it paled in comparison to the .338 and .308 bullets. Just an observation, but the 8mm must be unpopular for other reasons than just the fact that the enemy used it.
I only know of 1 guy that has a .325 winmag , (out of hundreds of shooters) and he doesn't even shoot it anymore. Like every caliber, there will always be someone shooting it. People still shoot black powder too. Every gun that came out in the last 100 years is better than a BP rifle, but it gets lots of meat each year. So will the .325 crowd. Once a caliber is standardized, it will always have a niche market. Someone will always think its cooler to hunt with a caliber that NO ONE ELSE USES. (I've been know to knock down a can or two with my grandfathers .218 bee. Although he made me mow 2 acres before he would go out in the workshop, and load up 10 rounds for me.)
 
'Boo said:
No ................ the 8mm - aka 325 wsm - is half way between the 308 and 338. Not enough difference to fret about.
Click to expand...

Yes... there is a 0.031 gap from a 277 to a 308 and the 7mm is in the middle. And there is a 0.030" gap between the 308 and the 338, with the 325 right in the middle.
 
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