325 wsm

[Ben Lamb]

I have a chance to get in to a 325 WSM for a decent price. Well, it's a great price on dies, brass & bullets from a guy who no longer has a 325. I love the 8mm bore, and a 200 grain pill at 2900 fps is good medicine for anything on he planet. It would also be the final straw that gets me a MRC left-handed rifle, I think.

Anybody have experience with the 325? Pros - Cons - other views?

 

[JoseCuervo]

The 8's used to be on my list, just to have an anti-.338.

 

[noharleyyet]

Have handled and fired a Browning lever in .325 wizzum...liked it.

 

[MJE2083]

I'd go with a 300WSM, more bullet choices, rifle choices, and easier to obtain brass/dies. Less than 100FPS difference between the two with the same 200gr.

 

[1_pointer]

For what/where you hunt I think it'd be a very good fit in the MRC with the 3.1" magazine. That said, if I was considering a chambering for alot of travel hunting I'd go with something more mainstream. Stock up on brass.

 

[6mm Remington]

I load for a buddy who has a 325 WSM in a Model 70 Winchester. It's a very nice rifle and cartridge and he loves it. It's been death on deer and elk for him. I load 200 gr. Partitions and Accubonds in it. Recoil is not bad at all!!

 

[Ben Lamb]

For what/where you hunt I think it'd be a very good fit in the MRC with the 3.1" magazine. That said, if I was considering a chambering for alot of travel hunting I'd go with something more mainstream. Stock up on brass.

I also have a Turk Mauser sitting in the safe that may make for a fun project gun. I could just get it rechambered and have the action cleaned up & then slap it in a composite stock with a 3.5x10 VX3i.

Then I could get the MRC in 300 WSM.

Thanks guys. I think we're well on the way to making the Mrs. mad about how much I'm going to spend on guns this year.

 

[Bambistew]

I've had 2, still have one. Both were M70s pre closure... I wish I still had the first one, it was a beautifully figured featherweight. Both of them shot/shoot 200gr accubonds extremely well with H4350.

It's killed a few moose, a griz, a bou, a couple elk and a few deer. I couldn't see any real appreciable difference to killing power of anything else in the same general class (30-338 cals).

 

[buckbull]

No doubt its a great big game hunting round. I just think you need a plan in case they stop making ammo (or casings) for it. I think its a matter of when, not if.

 

[Ben Lamb]

No doubt its a great big game hunting round. I just think you need a plan in case they stop making ammo (or casings) for it. I think its a matter of when, not if.

140 pieces of once fired brass and dies for a steal. That should last me a few years. Will probably pick up another pieces of brass if I go down this road.

 

[Ben Lamb]

I've had 2, still have one. Both were M70s pre closure... I wish I still had the first one, it was a beautifully figured featherweight. Both of them shot/shoot 200gr accubonds extremely well with H4350.

It's killed a few moose, a griz, a bou, a couple elk and a few deer. I couldn't see any real appreciable difference to killing power of anything else in the same general class (30-338 cals).

It's an odd duck, kinda like me. I think that's why I like it.

 

[jryoung]

That is one cartridge that has intrigued me for a long time. I've been real close to getting one, found a Kimber Montana that I should have pulled the trigger on. I guess I could rebarrel a 300 SAUM that I have now.

 

[mtmuley]

WHY would you rebarrel that SAUM? Great cartridge. And if you did re-barrel, it would make a proper 6.5. Ben, if I were you, I'd jump on the deal. Cartridges like the .325 won't die. Always ways to make brass in the WSM family. mtmuley

 

[Gerald Martin]

I had a Model 70 in.325 WSM. I don't reload and a svelte little 30-06 stole my heart and eased my wallet with factory ammo @ $35 instead of the $70 Accubonds I was feeding the .325. In a moment of shameful practicality, I looked at the .325 in the corner gathering dust and betrayed our sacred trust. I sold her to a guy in town. I still regret it.

I didn't think the recoil was all that bad. I killed several bulls and bucks. My wife killed a bull and a ram with it and didn't mind the kick. Better buy it Ben.

 

[ardrhi]

I got a Kimber Montana in 325wsm for a fraction of what I would have paid for the same gun in any other caliber. Recoil isn't bad at all. Accuracy is as good as anything else I own. Shot a deer at 50yds freehand and an elk at 350yds and both hit right on the money and both drt. I don't think it would be as good for super long range, but I'm set up for holding dead-on up to 300yds.
Obviously, I would not recommend the caliber as a frequent shooter. Ammo is scarce. I hope it is just a temporary shortage, but when I bought the gun a year ago there were about a dozen options available online. I can't even find a listing for 325wsm by Corbon anywhere now and now wish I would have bought some last year. All other options for loaded ammo now appear out of stock at all sources.
My experience is this caliber was way beyond my expectations as a compromise between recoil and magnum power for what I consider reasonable hunting distances. I just hope the caliber isn't drt like the animals I shot with it.

 

[1_pointer]

I also have a Turk Mauser sitting in the safe that may make for a fun project gun. I could just get it rechambered and have the action cleaned up & then slap it in a composite stock with a 3.5x10 VX3i.

Then I could get the MRC in 300 WSM.

Thanks guys. I think we're well on the way to making the Mrs. mad about how much I'm going to spend on guns this year.

I'd probably not spend the money required to get a Mauser to feed a WSM. Just make it a 8X57, and the MRC a 325 then share bullets.

 

[cpoplayer]

I'd probably not spend the money required to get a Mauser to feed a WSM. Just make it a 8X57, and the MRC a 325 then share bullets.

I have a Chinese Mauser that has been rechambered to 8mm-06. The action is about as sloppy as I have ever seen but, the bore is decent. That rifle is a tack driver. It is in a Ramline stock and has an old Tasco World Class 3-9x40. It's was my goto rifle for years. That thing had accounted for a whole pile of whitetail.

 

[Ben Lamb]

I'd probably not spend the money required to get a Mauser to feed a WSM. Just make it a 8X57, and the MRC a 325 then share bullets.

That seems entirely too reasonable.

Although I don't think a 200 gran TTSX would do well in a standard 8x57JS.

 

[MKotur325]

Ben,

I've had two .325's over the years. I've been pretty pleased with them. Accuracy is Great, currently I'm running a new production Winchester m70 Sporter, and it is a half MOA gun when I can do my part. I've had great luck with a 200gr Nosler AccuBond. I've taken Antelope, Deer, Elk and a moose with them. Looking back through my notes I believe it's 17 animals that have met those 200gr AB's. Only 2 took multiple rounds. One was a bull at 500yds, the second was a mule deer that I made a poor first shot on. I've been running Fed GM215M's in Winchester cases with H4350 and those AB's. Probably one of the most accurate loads I've managed for any of my rifles. I haven't been able to safely and accurately get 2900fps out of a 200gr slug, but this load is about 2850 which is plenty close for my tastes. Probably the biggest complaint I have with the .325 is that I would want a longer magazine, so that MRC at 3.1" would be Awesome!! I've shot several .300WSM's and to my shoulder, the recoil is a touch heavier on the .325 (probably the bullet weight...) but not as bad as a .338WM. Realistically, I think you would enjoy a .325, and they flat kill stuff... Go for it!!

 

[Ben Lamb]

I wonder what RL 17 would do for speed? I've been using it on my 8mm's and my 35 whelen to great effect. 2950 on a 200 grain pill would be great.