.325 Winchester Magnum

[lgm270]

Has anyone had any personal experience with the .325 Winchester Short Magnum?  Would enjoy hearing whatever impressions, experiences or opinions you have. 

Does anyone have any opinions about how its performance compares with .30 caliber magnums?

[charles p]

Have a 300 WSM.  Bought it for an elk trip but have only taken whitetail with it.  Too much gun for whitetail.

[superdown]

I have a browning a-bolt in 325 wsm i have shot two deer with it so far and i am very impressed/pleased with the results one was a mule deer and a whitetail using the winchester 220grn power points i would reccomend it to anyone . it preformed very well i personally don't find it to be to much with proper bullet placement the only time any round is to much is when the animal is shot in a shoulder or hip and there is meat loss but i take heart/lung shots so i don't have any issues with that. 

[lgm270]

I have a browning a-bolt in 325 wsm i have shot two deer with it so far and i am very impressed/pleased with the results one was a mule deer and a whitetail using the winchester 220grn power points i would reccomend it to anyone . it preformed very well i personally don't find it to be to much with proper bullet placement the only time any round is to much is when the animal is shot in a shoulder or hip and there is meat loss but i take heart/lung shots so i don't have any issues with that. 

Thanks for your response.  How does the recoil of this ctg. compare with such rounds as the 30-06? Do you handload it?  Out of curiousity, why did you chose the .325 WSM over other rounds? 

[Drilling Man]

How does the recoil of this ctg. compare with such rounds as the 30-06?

  One word, MORE!

  When your pushing the same or heavier weight bullets, at a higher velocity, only one thing can happen, more recoil. (compareing the exact same weight gun)

  DM

[superdown]

I chose it because i am a fan of big bore rounds i grew up shooting a blr in 358win and have had a ruger #1 45-70 . suprisingly it has less felt recoil than my blr lightning 300win. but i vave allways preferred rounds that give a "push" rather than a "snap".

[Tonk]

I don't have one but I do have a .338/06 and that is a simple caliber to live with since I reload all my own. It's been out there for many years, no magnum but will do anything my .338 Win mag will do out to 250 yards, give take 50yds and a lot less recoil too.

I don't know about being able to find factory ammo for that caliber, especially out WEST. I know a lot of people who have a hard time finding those Winchester WSM calibers on the shelf in their own back yards.

[Drilling Man]

I don't have one but I do have a .338/06 and that is a simple caliber to live with since I reload all my own. It's been out there for many years, no magnum but will do anything my .338 Win mag will do out to 250 yards, give take 50yds and a lot less recoil too.

I don't know about being able to find factory ammo for that caliber, especially out WEST. I know a lot of people who have a hard time finding those Winchester WSM calibers on the shelf in their own back yards.

  I'll bet you he will find that 325 ammo on the shelf, faster than you will find .338-06 ammo on the shelf.

  It's all about stocking up on the ammo you need, and buying more BEFORE you need it.

  Many of my rifles have never seen even one factory round since i bought them many years ago...

  DM

[RWK]

270! i BELIEVE YOU CAN'T GO WRONG WITH ANY OF THE WSM CALIBERS. i GOT A 270 AND 2 FRIENDS BOTH HAVE 300'S.

[Ultra25-06]

I own a savage model 14 euro classic in .325 and am extremly pleased with it. The accuracy from factory ammo is very satisfactory, specifically the 220gr power points and the 200 gr accubonds. The recoil in this model is fairly stout however very managable. I would say more of a push than kick. I tend to shot 40 to 50 rounds from it when I take it out. The 185gr rem psp are a pure joy to shoot when loaded to a slightly lower velocity and still provides good groupings. I dont think I would load the lighter bullets to high velocity for any large game though, I belive they would not perform very well. I will say the light 150 are great on small critters just dont plan on taking anything home.  My hunting partner has a model 70 in 300wsm and absolutly hates it now that he has shot my savage in .325. He stated that the recoil does not seem to be as bad with the .325 so I tried his model 70 in 300wsm and I have to agree. However his model 70 is a syn stock. I have some loads developed for the 185 psp and 200 ab however I am currently stationed overseas and do not have access to my data. I plan on working up some loads using the 250s when I return to see what they produce. Oh as far as factory ammo I live in Idaho and I can find it at just about any gun store or sporting good store even the wallmarts keep it in stock. It is a very easy cartrige to load for and seems to be inherently accurate.

[Sweetwater]

"The 185gr rem psp are a pure joy to shoot when loaded to a slightly lower velocity and still provides good groupings. I dont think I would load the lighter bullets to high velocity for any large game though, I belive they would not perform very well."

Ultra25-06: My curousity got the better of me. To what lower velocity do you subscribe? I'm unfamiliar with the ballistics of the 325 WSM, but am a lifetime handloader for the 8x57. My little carbine will drive the REM PSP 185gr to 2550fps. Last year it really took down a North Idaho Whitetail Buck - DRT! Where will the 325 WSM take the 185gr?

Again, just curious -  no axe to grind.

Regards,
Sweetwater

[Ultra25-06]

I'm unfamiliar with the ballistics of the 325 WSM, but am a lifetime handloader for the 8x57. My little carbine will drive the REM PSP 185gr to 2550fps. Last year it really took down a North Idaho Whitetail Buck - DRT! Where will the 325 WSM take the 185gr?

Again, just curious -  no axe to grind.

Regards,
Sweetwater

That is honestly about the range I was thinking in my head, 2500 to 2700fps range. I am new to reloading only been doing it for a couple of years now. The reason I stated I dont belive they would perform as well at higher fps is that as I went up in charge with the lighter bullets the group started to expand in this caliber. The .325 has some loads available to push the 185s in slightly over 3100fps however I did not even reach that kind of speed for I had found a charge that I was satisfied with, closer to the range you speak of. The best results I have currently had were with the 200gr ab at near max published loads.
Anyhow with your long experiance with the 8mm I would love to gain any knowledge you can provide or are willing to share. As I stated I am new to reloading and only had a couple of months to mess with the .325 before I came overseas. Do you live in Idaho? I can say that I cant wait to get back there.

[Thebear_78]

In a lightweight rifle like the kimber montana the 325 WSM is an excellent all around big game rifle.   With 220gr bullets it is every bit the equal of the 338 win mag and with 200 gr bullets it will outstep a 300 win mag.   Basicly it sits right down the middle between the 300 win mag and the 338 win mag and that is a very good neighborhood to live in when it comes to big game hunting.   I had a kimber montana and really like it.  It was pretty much everything you would want in a big game rifle, lightweight, accurate, handy, and fairly weather proof.   The barnes 200gr TSX is a real winner out of it for all around use.  A budy of mine guided a hunter this year who took his brown bear at about 20 yards with the 220gr powerpoint load,  was pretty much a bang flop with no follow up shots needed.