Why not a 325 WSM??

I would have to say the rifle is what makes this caliber, In a Kimber 8400 or Montana this is a short powerful lightweight package especially in the Montana version, a combination that the 338 WM cannot provide, I say this as a devout 338 shooter. If it was a 338WSM I would feel even better about the package but for now the 325 is the largest commercial WSM caliber and that suits me just fine.
bigbull
 
The "325" as they call it is a pretty potent short mag. But I agree with others it doesn't offer much over the 300 family. But hey, you don't have a rifle in 300 so why the hell not go for it? :)

Personally, for a heavy hitter in the short magnum variety I'd go with one of the original short mags, 350 remington magnum. Which I see Rugers are offered in this calibre again for 2006 :cool:
 
A Remington CDL in 35Whelen would be the way to go......................

Lots of brass forever as it's based on the 30/06.
Lots of bullet selection in 35cal
The CDLs are actually quite a handsome rifle, for a Remington.
The Whelen offers very respectable ballistics.




sc
 
True I dont have a 30. mag.. As most hunters know I cant limit myself to the relative short range of say the 350. rm or the 35 Whelen nor do I need an exclusive rifle as the 375 with its large oal.
So it seems to most it does not offer much over the 300wsm.I still might opt for the 300wsm.
Still on any combo hunt say Dall's or goat with caribou or moose/elk I like the 325wsm..hey I would not be asking all these ?'s if I had all the answers or had made up my mind,.

ps.. Supercub I like 350 or 35 whelen but here in BC it would not be my 1st choice if I went after sheep or gaots
 
JohnC said:
Ruger is now offering it's stainless Frontier M77 (16.5" barrel, scout mount available) in .325 WSM.

If you want a light and handy bolt action for bear, moose & elk, there it is.
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That would be the perfect pack rifle for those guys that wouldnt be caught dead in the bush with a lever:D :D :D :D .
Personally I think its one of the coolest rifles on the planet, and if ever it were available in a lefty (which I would assume will be in a year or two)
I will tell you exactly how I like it in 325...

Its one gun I'd line up for...
 
12 5/8" LOP and 16 1/2" tube for a short mag sure isn't optimal! I think it would kick the crap out of ya and not milk all the potential speed out of the cartridge. I don't see how this rifle format could be considered for standard hunting applications. A heavy cover specialist I'd consider it, and for that why not go with a 7600 or a horny little lever in something like 450 Marlin?

Hell the answer for heavy cover rifle hunting for me was the Rem 7600 carbine synthetic in 30-06 with 180 and 200 grain pills topped off with a Aimpoint CompC X2 2moa reddot.
 
Amphibious said:
wow, think of the recoil, muzzle blast, and velocity loss from that package. might as well be chambered in 8x57....
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Well, no, not really.

The 325WSM is ALWAYS going to have more velocity than a 8x57, regardless of barrel lenght. Especially if you are sing factory ammo.;)
 
Wilson said:
True I dont have a 30. mag.. As most hunters know I cant limit myself to the relative short range of say the 350. rm or the 35 Whelen nor do I need an exclusive rifle as the 375 with its large oal.
So it seems to most it does not offer much over the 300wsm.I still might opt for the 300wsm.
Still on any combo hunt say Dall's or goat with caribou or moose/elk I like the 325wsm..hey I would not be asking all these ?'s if I had all the answers or had made up my mind,.

ps.. Supercub I like 350 or 35 whelen but here in BC it would not be my 1st choice if I went after sheep or gaots
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Wilson, there is not a perfect answer.

I admit to seeing the 325WSM and saying "WOW, the 300WSM is COOL, but they 325 is WEIRD, so it is COOLER.;)

But when it comes down to it, again, I don't think the performance difference betweent he 8mm and the 7.62mm bullet is going to make a big difference.

Alot of elk have been shot with 300's and 7RM's...they wont' knwo the difference. They *MAY* know the difference if using a 338WM..But then you have to deal with more recoil, more $$ bullets, etc.

If it was a 338WSM, I'd be all over it..I'd be jumping up and down, whipping out my VISA and buyinbg one..:D Well, maybe not quite that fast...;)

But I have my 375H&H for the big bears, and my 300WSM for everything else, so.....

Frankly, what is woring with your 7RM? (Unles you just want another rifle?) I have spent lots of time in grizz country wiht a 7RM with X bullets and never felt undergunned. I worked up a load for my with a 160gr X bullet in 7RM, and that dropped that coastal grizz in it's tracks!!!:D

Teh only time *I* will select my 375 H&H instead of my 300WSM is when I am actively chasing grizzlies, and maybe on the big coastal black bears- not that they are exceptionally hard to kill, but every bear that I have shot with that 375 takes no more than a step, and I don't like digging bears out of the thick stuff..:D
 
SuperCub said:
A Remington CDL in 35Whelen would be the way to go......................

sc
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Ya, what this guy said:)

That CDL also has a 24" bbl, great for getting a little more out of the Whelen. The best part of a long tubed gun is you always have the option of cutting the bbl down if need be.
 
I'm with Gatehouse on his last comment, it's weird, that's cool. The 8mm diameter is exactly half way between 30 and 338, I am planning a plains game unt in africa next year and am wondering about getting soemthing larger than a 300 WSM, maybe a 338, maybe a 9.3x62, maybe a 325.
 
Gatehouse.

I appreciate your answer and yes I dont really feel too undergunned with my 7mm even in Bear country..but alas I am thinkin of turning it into a project rifle as it has served it me well so.

Does the 325wsm serve me as both a long range range gun and a big game rifle..if it is then good, what i hope to achieve is not having to buy a 300 and a 375

So I was going to start another thread and list the other cartridges I prefer and why.

Also, I may have lived a few yrs more than you Mr. Gatehouse and one of the other reasons i ask these newby type questions is I prefer lever guns and iron sif\ghts and I assure you me and a 348 can handle and have many a frightening adventure.

But I dare say I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge fading eyesight and a lack of quality time to spend on my adventures

So i still believe the 338 wm to be the standard reigning champion of this catregory but hey if change where not it would not be there.

ps..I appreciate all answers and would like to say that it has been a pleasure to chat here and not have this question turn into a troll thing. Thank you guys from one hunter to another.
 
Wilson said:
Geez one yr. in camp I almost #### cuzz everyone told me the 7mm.mag was responsible fro more wounded animals than any other cartridge..he said i should use my back-up riflechambered in 30-06:eek: a .16 diff:rolleyes:

So what do ballistics say???
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Actually it's a 0.016 difference. And I must say it's nice to see a civil discussion in a thread who's title contains "WSM", :D. I was considering a 325 but I'm waiting to see if they offer more factory loads, since I have no interest in reloading.
 
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I have a 300WM and a .338WM, I am going to buy a .325WSM as soon as the dies and brass are available.
The same rifles chambered in .325WSM will be lighter, shorter, and have less recoil than a .338 with bullets up to 200 grains.
The 8mm accubond offered by Nosler is a freak in design with its low S/D and B/C... check out the Partition and Ballistic Tip bullets if you want to seriously do a comparison with the .338.
Why Not a .325WSM.... well there is absolutely no good reason why not in my mind.
 
Wilson said:
.......... I prefer lever guns and iron sif\ghts .........
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There you go then Dave. You just answered your own question - you need a .325 wsm in a Browning BLR. :cool:

And I have to disagree with Clarke as to what he considers a "small" advantage of the 8mm over the 30 cals. The larger surface area of the fatter bullet - 11 1/4% more surface area - allows it to be pushed faster than the .308 diameter slugs. What this means is the 325 will push a 200 grain bullet as fast as a 300wsm will a 180.

Now I know the typical energy calculations used to compare different cartridges give very little credit to bullet weight. The truth however - something that you and I both know from experience - is that the momentum developed by the heavy bullets is more important that kinetic energy figures, especially when shooting large critters.
 
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Frankly, what is woring with your 7RM? (Unles you just want another rifle?) I have spent lots of time in grizz country wiht a 7RM with X bullets and never felt undergunned. I worked up a load for my with a 160gr X bullet in 7RM, and that dropped that coastal grizz in it's tracks!!!

Gatehouse:

Mind sharing your load for the 7mm RM and the 160gr X Bullet? I'm planning on using the same combo on black bear this Spring!:D

Wilson:

If you want something bigger than your 7mm RM and aren't interested in a .30 cal, then by all means get the .325 WSM as it seems you've already got you heart set on one.

Personally, I don't believe the cartridge will be around in 10 years, but, hey? You reload, so it doesn't really matter! However, if I were in your shoes and looking for a rifle with a little more oommph than your 7RM, I'd seriously consider the .338 Win Mag. You have a much better selection of bullets, commercial ammo is still going to be available in 20 years, its a fine selection for big bears, yet with lighter bullets, makes for a good medium game rifle as well.

Frankly, the .325WSM doesn't really offer any advantages over the .338 Win Mag, other than it's newness. IIRC, the designers attempted to create a .338 WSM, but the ballistics and performance just wasn't there, so they had to settle for a .325 instead. From my perspective, why settle for second best? But, hey! Do what makes you happy, the only guy you have to please is yourself!:)
 
ryanb said:
Actually it's a 0.016 difference. And I must say it's nice to see a civil discussion in a thread who's title contains "WSM", :D. I was considering a 325 but I'm waiting to see if they offer more factory loads, since I have no interest in reloading.
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not that it really matters, but
Actually it's .0015 .323 to .308.
 
325 Wsm

I think the 325 WSM is a neat design and if I didn't allready have a Winchester FWT in .280 I would consider one. I have a 25 WSSM and I like to tinker with it. I don't believe either will be around in 15 years but whatever I reload. If you already have a 7mm Mag in a gun and set-up you like why not just get a .338 barrel installed? You could even get a switch barrel set up installed. My local gun smith does quite a few switch barrel guns. I was actually going to get my Tikka done this winter because I have the original 7mm Mag barrel but I have a nice .280 for the smaller critters.

McRae
 
BIGREDD [/QUOTE]The same rifles chambered in .325WSM will be lighter, shorter, and have less recoil than a .338 with bullets up to 200 grains.[/QUOTE]

BIGREDD why would you shoot any bullet weights under 220gr. defeats the purpose of having that cal. you could just own a 300WSM with far better ballistics, and a lightweight rifle is going to recoil about the same as a 338 WM in standard weight,i know someone who has a Win. featherweight in 325WSM and i have shot it with 200 gr.and it is about the same as my Rem.700 in 338WM with 225 with less velocity and energy respectively, like i said i almost bought one but the 338WM is a better big game gun when it comes to hunting in bear country hands down that is why i bought one instead. If someone wants a lighter gun then get a 325WSM but other than that buy a 338WM.IMO.
 
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My Mod. 70 .338 wieghs 8 1/4 lbs.with 2.5x8 leupold and has 23" barrel. Thats fairly short and light. Recoil with 250s is a bit rude but results far outwiegh that.
 
325

Everybody accepts recoil differently espacially if the stock does not fit perfectly with good recoil pad, i have a 7mm rem mag Model 700 that kicks harder than my 338 thats why it's getting a rimrock stock and a decellerator pad. Don't you think a 325WSM in a feather weight at 6.12 lb. compared to a 338 at 7.4 is not going to kick the same, i have tried it and can tell you it is very close.
 
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