Nature Boy
Member
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2015
- Messages
- 8,256
Chop 2.5" and over half a pound off the rifle, get the same performance and less recoil. Seems like a deal to me.So, why not just get a .338 Win Mag? It’s been around maybe 60-70 years.
I think that's very reasonable. But one way to look at it is the 325 does at 400y what the .358W does at 200y in terms of terminal performance (200 to 225gr slug at about 2000 ft/s). For western hunters that can matter quite a lot.200 yards in would be my limit with the .358win and at that distance a 225g pill traveling at 2,400 fps does the job nicely
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I don't think it's a good choice for a factory ammo buyer, but then few things are.
I never could understand why folks say something like that, AS LONG as there ARE a couple good bullets for the cartridge!IMO, the .325WSM suffers a bit from fewer bullet selections.
33 bullets on midway i can think of at least 5 more custom bullets to.I never could understand why folks say something like that, AS LONG as there ARE a couple good bullets for the cartridge!
AND there is, the 200NP is all the bullet a 325 needs for hunting big game... And there are several others, if you don't need a premium bullet.
SO, who care if it doesn't 15 or 20 or more other choices?
DM
I understand that in about 40 of the 50 states there is just about nothing big enough to necessitate a 325WSM. That by itself is some sort of ceiling.No doubt the .325 WSM was the bastard child of the WSM line. Everyone was expecting a .338 WSM and instead got an 8mm WSM with a funny name given that nothing about the cartridge was .325 in size - bullet diameter is .323, same as the JS M98 and the 8mm Remington Mag. Cynics (including several in print) accused Winchester of trying to dupe gullible gun buyers into thinking it was "almost" a .338.
That was 13 years ago.
Since then, of the 4 WSM cartridges the .270 and .300 have cemented themselves as popular. The 7mm WSM has been dropped despite arguably being the most useful of the small bore WSMs when hand loaded but lives on with a population of enthusiasts. And the 325 continues to be cataloged, neither a raging success nor dropped. That suggests it outsold the 7mm WSM, shocking given that no 8mm caliber in new production rifles previously ever sold worth beans in the US.
I think the answer lies with the field having essentially been swept of medium bore magnums suitable for use in a light rifle. The .350 Remington Mag is thoroughly dead. The .376 Steyr never really did anything. The .338 RCM came and went with almost no one noticing outside Alaska. The short Lazerroni catridges even many gun nuts have never actually seen. All that's left on the field is the .338 WM, which comes in rifles the better part of a pound heavier than the .325, and still manages to have notably worse recoil at the same bullet weights.
And the Winchester engineers really were right about the 325. It does match the .338WM factory performance despite spotting the typical 338 two inches of barrel. 2000s at 2900+, 220s at 2800+ and 250s at 2700+ with temp insensitive powers (Retumbo and RL-23 for the heavies). Since the introduction Woodleigh has made some reasonably slick heavy bullets that close the BC gap to .308 caliber fairly effectively too. These 400-500 yard elk shots reasonable. So it's not an "almost" .338 - it's got the same power and reach as a .338, but with higher-SD slightly smaller bore projectiles.
Results in the field have been consistently good with the Partitions, TSXs, Weldcores, A-frames, and Accubonds.
So strangely Winchester's oddball has found itself the most powerful round readily available in a light, short action rifle. For a brown bear, bison, moose, or even elk hunts where a lot of walking is involved they seem to have a winner, albeit a winner of interest only to a small number of hunters. I think a light 325 may also be the best possible bear defense rifle when loaded with the 250gr Weldcore.
So has the flathead V8. Should I just get one of those when I trade in my 2018 Titan?So, why not just get a .338 Win Mag? It’s been around maybe 60-70 years.
If the flathead got as good of mileage, was as quiet and reliable, passed pollution standards, and was actually available then yes.So has the flathead V8. Should I just get one of those when I trade in my 2018 Titan?
the rsaum are a nice case. there about perfect for what most need i wish they were more popular i like the 7mm.I wish they had standardized the 257 or 264 RSAUM. That would be cool.
RSAUM is nice because it is not quite as "overbore" as a WSM case, and has a little bit of taper.the rsaum are a nice case. there about perfect for what most need i wish they were more popular i like the 7mm.
There's no practical difference between the two except the the SAUM line has fewer calibers and is dead as a door nail.RSAUM is nice because it is not quite as "overbore" as a WSM case, and has a little bit of taper.
The same could be said of anything bigger than a .243.I understand that in about 40 of the 50 states there is just about nothing big enough to necessitate a 325WSM. That by itself is some sort of ceiling.
I still remember being in Cabelas during the WSM introduction and overhearing the salesperson trying to sell another customer on a 325WSM. "As light as a 308, but hits like a 338 mag!"
It is a useful caliber, no doubt. It's just kind of caught in between. I'm not talking about enthusiasts, but for the average rifle buyer, what do they get with .323" over .308"? It takes a special customer for the deer/elk/bear caliber. Most people don't see much terminal performance gain between .308" and .338" (all things being equal, except caliber). It reminds me of the 338 Federal threads on THR. I think that once you get to .358" and over, the hunter has a different purpose for the rifle.
Any recoil discussion between 300WSM and 325WSM is just splitting hairs. With equal rifles, they are hunting guns that get sighted in with a few shots and are shot a couple of times max at game, while the hunter is wearing heavy clothing.
At the end of the day, 325WSM was a great idea. It's just that now it suffers from rifle availability, ammo/brass availability, and a distinctive performance difference when compared to 300WSM.
There are plenty of 8mm bullets out thereOr, you can get a rifle that weighs the same as a .338win but out performs (slightly) the .375 H&H. Specifically, the .375 Ruger.
IMO, the .325WSM suffers a bit from fewer bullet selections.
Me neither- besides there are plenty of 8mm bullets out there. And the 325 has proven results with: Swift A frame, Nosler partition, Sierra Game king, Barnes TSX, Nosler AccuBond, Woodleigh etc.I never could understand why folks say something like that, AS LONG as there ARE a couple good bullets for the cartridge!
AND there is, the 200NP is all the bullet a 325 needs for hunting big game... And there are several others, if you don't need a premium bullet.
SO, who cares if it doesn't have 15 or 20 or more other choices?
DM