Is the .325wsm going to make it

xwe666 said:
R106 let us know how your 325wsm is shooting.
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Well I had some problems with the scope mounts coming loose so that was frustrating but everything is good now. My load is 200 grain accubond with 65 gr of IMR 4350. The best 5 shot group so far is 1.150" I always seem to get one flyer. I chronyed A load at 64 grains @ 2835 fps
 
I'm looking at the Nosler #6 manual and it says that the 325 WSM
has less recoil than the 300 Winchester Magnum, if that is true it will be a selling point.
 
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325 WSM should stick with Browning xbolt's and Winchester model 70's driving their sales going forward. Will never replace the 338 win mag or be as popular as the 300 wsm but will survive none the less.
 
270BBR said:
I'm looking at the Nosler #6 manual and it says that the 325 WSM
has less recoil that the 300 Winchester Magnum, if that is true it will be a selling point.
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my .325 is a winchester m70 exreme weather and it has less felt recoil than my remington 700 sps 30-06. the bell and carlson stock on the win has a lot to do with it but it's very nice to shoot
 
r106 - I have the same gun and it really likes accubonds and rl17 and 4007ssc - didnt like 4350 or re19... both 17 and 4007 shot under an inch, and the odd cloverleaf. I put through over 2000rnds thru my m70, and it still shoots great - my gig is shooting paper and metal at long range, and the lightweight barrel really heated up and threw the groups up after 10 or so shots... PM me if you want my loads.

I'm now making a custom build out of it, having MysticPrec put a 325 Shilen barrel onto the action, and this is going into a T5 stock - cant wait!
Its a good caliber, despite the naysayers - it was my only big bore gun so it suited me just fine - which is all that matters to me!

oh - i also had my groups open way up, and I too had a mount issue - the front base screw sheared off, so now I am going to put on a one piece...
 
Andy said:
It's common for people who own only two or three chamberings to consider the ones they own as the best at their respective purposes. Once you own 20+, you become less of a "cheerleader" for the rounds you shoot (and for new rounds), and recognize that there is enormous overlap and redundancy out there. You then adopt the attitude that you buy a new chambering because you want to, not need to.

The fact is that anything created in the past 20 years for hunting purposes (I could just as confidently say 40, but might miss one), did not fill any "hole". The 325 WSM certainly fits into that category. Please don't amuse us with a hunting scenario where only the 325 WSM is best - there just aren't any.
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True words. Well said!

I once read a statement that said that except for the 222/223 style cartridges, there really hasn't been any significant advances for hunting since the 270Winchester was introduced. I tend to agree.

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I think the 300 wsm is the top contender for long term survival.

So I bought a 30-06... fills the gap nicely between 270 and 338 Win and ammo is still cheap.

What is the difference in velocity and energy between the 30-06 and the 325 wsm with similar bullet weights, for the record?...
 
in favour of 325wsm - about 450fps and 1000ft lbs energy, and 17" less drop at 500.
Thats using 200gr noslers both sighted in at 200yds.

The gap is a lot less with a 300wm or 300wsm.
 
I don't know why they bothered with some of their latest. The .270 and .300 were successes right from the get-go. The 7mm was released later and did nothing that the other two didn't already do, why bother tooling up for 7mm when the niche has already been filled? The WSSM's were ridiculous. The .325 does nothing "better" than anything else. It's just not enough larger than the .300 to put it in a whole other class, and the .338 WSM didn't work due to the bullet length. A .358 might have worked out better for them since grain for grain .358 bullets are shorter than .338's but it doesn't look like they were interested in going that large.

.270 and .300 are in it for the long haul. The 7mm is gaining a bit of support from the bench rest crowd it seems, but I don't think it'll be mainstream. Winchester is chambering more sporting rifles in 7mm WSM so that may change, we'll see. .325 was apparently selling better than the 7mm but I dunno, people didn't buy in to the hype it seems. Might just fade away slowly, but at least it'll be easy to form for reloaders.
 
chrismc said:
in favour of 325wsm - about 450fps and 1000ft lbs energy, and 17" less drop at 500.
Thats using 200gr noslers both sighted in at 200yds.
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I don't know where your figures are coming from, but they are inaccurate.
The 325WSM can drive a 200 Accubond to 2900 or so, at max.
The 30-06 can reach 2700 with the same weight Accubond.
So that is 200 fps difference, not 450, as you stated.
Obviously, the trajectory and energy difference is not as great as you stated either.
My figures are not guesses, they are from actual chrographed results.
Regards, Eagleye.
 
mikeyb said:
I don't know why they bothered with some of their latest. The .270 and .300 were successes right from the get-go. The 7mm was released later and did nothing that the other two didn't already do, why bother tooling up for 7mm when the niche has already been filled? The WSSM's were ridiculous. The .325 does nothing "better" than anything else. It's just not enough larger than the .300 to put it in a whole other class, and the .338 WSM didn't work due to the bullet length. A .358 might have worked out better for them since grain for grain .358 bullets are shorter than .338's but it doesn't look like they were interested in going that large.

.270 and .300 are in it for the long haul. The 7mm is gaining a bit of support from the bench rest crowd it seems, but I don't think it'll be mainstream. Winchester is chambering more sporting rifles in 7mm WSM so that may change, we'll see. .325 was apparently selling better than the 7mm but I dunno, people didn't buy in to the hype it seems. Might just fade away slowly, but at least it'll be easy to form for reloaders.
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i think they might be covering their bases. they might not want to repeat what happened with the 264, bring out a cartridge family (264, 338, and 458) and have the competition (remington) bring out a different caliber on the same case and become more popular than any of their cartridges. not to mention the norma cartridges.
 
Eagleye said:
I don't know where your figures are coming from, but they are inaccurate.
The 325WSM can drive a 200 Accubond to 2900 or so, at max.
The 30-06 can reach 2700 with the same weight Accubond.
So that is 200 fps difference, not 450, as you stated.
Obviously, the trajectory and energy difference is not as great as you stated either.
My figures are not guesses, they are from actual chrographed results.
Regards, Eagleye.
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I got the numbers and there was a 450fps diff, off ballistic charts on the net:
30-06 here:
http://www.cpcartridge.com/30-06B.htm

and the 325 here:
http://www.winchester.com/Products/rifle-ammunition/supreme/accubond-ct/Pages/S325WSMCT.aspx

I did not find one manufacturer that made both cartridges with the same nosler bullets, so I quoted the velocities I could find using the same bullets.

These are factory loads - that aside, yes, you can prob load the 30-06 a bit hotter.

My 325 handloads are 2980-3000fps, more than the 2950 stated by the factory win loads. The most accurate load from my gun was 3050fps but had slight press signs, and yes, it was over a chrony. I backed off to a load at 2980 with good accuracy and no press signs.

FYI I did also search on the reloaders nest, and most of the 30-06 loads listed there with 200gr were well under 2500fps. Most were 2300-2400fps.

Nosler reloading site lists handload data up to 2560fps for the 200gr 30-06, and 2900 with the 325. We both know (and I have seen) these can be hooped up a bit in modern rifles. But as for factory loads, I have not seen any 200gr 30-06 data faster than 2500fps.


So, that is where my data is from.
 
I have seen a number of 325 WSM's that were leaving ejector marks on their brass with Factory loads, so plenty "hot".
Personally never graphed a factory 200 that made 3000 in the WSM, but they may exist.
Reloaded, the 200 in the 30-06 is pretty easy to make 2700 with several powders, including: H4831, RL22, Ramshot Hunter, VV N560, Norma MRP, Norma 204 & RL19. [Load Data.com lists a couple, including one load at 2800.]
Factory loads are somewhat anemic in most '06 offerings, and reloading data available tends to pander to older rifles chambered thusly.
So even using those figures, 450 fps makes no sense at all in the real world.
The 300 Win Mag and the 308 Norma Mag will break 3000 fps with the 200, but both have more capacity than does the 325 WSM.
Tradeoff is the slightly larger bullet base of the .323 diameter bullet.
Regards, Eagleye
 
I'm sorry but I've read a couple threads now where people say that the 325WSM is the answer to the question nobody asked.

The 325WSM is a great cartridge. Most cartridges that come out now aren't going to be revolutionary because there is such a wide spread of cartridges already available that there will always be a caliber that's close enough to do almost the same job. To me the 325WSM makes alot more sense than the 300RCM and 338RCM.

Now tell me this, How is the most popular WSM, the 300WSM any different??? Again, it's the answer to the question nobody asked.

What does a 300 WSM do that the proven 300WM doesn't?
Shorter action for faster follow up shots? Come on people! Like we actually noticed the extra 4/10 second it takes to reload on a long action!

Sorry just had to vent...
 
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