300WSM vs 325WSM

[6x6in6]

Struggling with which caliber to go with next and input from both caliber owners appreciated.
Searched here a bit over the past few weeks/month and found some pretty good stuff but just wanted to see if anybody had some fresh insight.
I'm going in the SM direction to shed some weight.  My current 338WM is a fantastic gun but it's just flat heavy to pack around.  I'll lay that one out in the classifieds soon enough.

The primary use for either caliber would be elk.  And, someday moose....  Not needed for deer, got the 270 for that.
Strictly hand loads pushed through it.

What opinion and experiences would you care to share?

Thanks!

[bearpaw]

Short mags shoot great, and I have seen lots of animals taken with them, but we have seen them jam up in the time of a needy follow up shot at least a dozen times, for that reason I would recommend you find a lightweight standard length caliber rifle. You may have to carry an extra pound but it could save losing an animal. I think there are some newer model rifles that are not too much heavier than a short mag. Just my two 

[SkookumHntr]

-Ive had my 300wsm A-Bolt for 5 years now and have never had a jam ever! Absolute Meat Hammer on everything that I have shot with it, Bull Elk, Mule Deer, 2 Blacktail, 1 Wolf, nothing has taken a step after the shot! Great to pack, Short Bolt throw, You cant go wrong. I shoot 180grn Federal Premium Nosler partitions. Hoping to start hand loading this year.

[GoldTip]

My hunting buddy, Silent Bob packs a 300wsm and I pack a 325wsm.  He hasn't used his on elk as of yet, but he's killed 2 Moose with it, one Shiras one canadian.  I've also killed 2 moose with my 325wsm and 1 elk and a couple deer or so.  I think either one will fit the bill your looking for.  None of the Moose went anywhere after being shot and only one took two bullets and the second shot was probably not necessary when evaluating my Shiras post mortem, but I say shoot till they hit the ground with big critters.  If you like the 338 for the bigegr critters I think you'll love the 325wsm, as it will shoot right with the 338 with the 220/225grainers, which is what I've used.  Good luck.

[Bob33]

The 300 shoots flatter; the 325 shoots a bigger bullet (although it is not .325; it is a .315 caliber).

The 300 has a better selection of bullets. 

Take your pick.  Both will do the job if you do yours.

[bearpaw]

bob33 summed it up pretty good....

I used the 300 WSM all over NZ and Australia on a dozen species and had no problem. That was with a new Win Mod 70. However, I used a 375 HH on the water buffalo.

I am trying to remember which brand/models jammed, I will ask my son later if he remembers, he was with a couple different bear hunters who had jam ups. If we come up with a particular model I will let you know what it was.

[Wacenturion]

My son and I both have .325 wsm's.  Don't think you could go wrong with either one.

[Red Dawg]

If you are a 338 man then you should go with the 325 shorty. The 300 is by far more versatile but in the end I think you would enjoy them both equally.

[Bofire]

 :)I think you should study the reload books, since that is what you will use. Factory and reload ballistics can vary widely, many factory loads use blended powders we cannot buy.
Carl

[ecnclan]

Don't think you can go wrong with either, good idea to look at reloading manuals like Bofire said.  See what bullets and loads your looking at.  I have a 270 WSM and had a 300 WSM with no jams or malfunctions to date.

[superdown]

I shoot a 325wsm a-bolt II hunter left hand with Leupold VX-III 2.5-8x36 the 325wsm uses 8mm bullets which are .323 . i have taken two deer with it my late season 08 whitetail at 75yds and and a mule deer at 310yds last year both were taken using Winchester 220grn power points and no hold over was necessary on the muley .I love this round it preforms flawlessly .http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.325_WSM

[BrandonWatts]

i shoot a 300wsm and have been happy with it took a bear with it last summer drop in his tracks. 300 is a flatter shoot like said before also put out almost as much energy as the 325wsm.

[Jamieb]

300wsm with a 165 gr tsx would make for a fine elk/moose killer.

[Deep Forks]

 

300wsm with a 165 gr tsx would make for a fine elk/moose killer.

    I've shot elk with this load and it whomped him in his tracks.
        The gun is a Tikka t3 stainless and is just under 1" at 200 with the load    above and just as good with 180 partitions.  Awesome gun, load and mild      enough the wife shoots it.   

[sako223]

I know a guy who decided  take his .300wsm for a trophy hunt out of state. On camera the gun jammed. a frustrating loss. this is not an isolated case. Also the WSM runs higher pressure and limited bullet weight. For me the .300 WM is a better choice.

[Huntbear]

My  nephew has an A bolt in 300 WSM.  Dropped a bull elk in his tracks at a ranged 400 yds.  My brother bought a BAR in 300 wsm this last year.  Even working up rounds, no  jams.  Shoots less than an inch MOA. 

I would prefer the .30 caliber just for bullet selection alone.  Although the .325 is intriguing.

[wsmnut]

I have had five wsm's.  I really like them.  My favorite so far is the 300 wsm.
Nice to shoot, and the bullet choices give you an incredible amount of possibilities.
Mine have all been Model 70's.  Haven't had any feeding problems.
I have a new Model 70 Extreme Weather SS in 325 wsm that I just finished breaking in that might prove to be the best shooter of the bunch.  It is also the lightest.  Don't tell my wife it is noticeably lighter than her .270!

[Intruder]

The 300 shoots flatter; the 325 shoots a bigger bullet (although it is not .325; it is a .315 caliber).

The 300 has a better selection of bullets. 

Take your pick.  Both will do the job if you do yours.

Good summary!  The bullet options in the 300 do it for me.... just more versatile. In respect to bullet weight you can get almost as big w/ a 300 too.  I've never shot a 325 but have heard from 2 guys who own em that they have a healthy recoil.  May be their gun configuration  but those guys on here who have one may want to comment on that.   

[6x6in6]

Thanks for the responses all. 
I did spend a little time looking in my Nosler book on reloading a few weeks back and some of this just off memory.  I'll do the refresher course. 
The muzzle velocity with 180's gave the nod to the 325 by about 100fps with comparable powder choice, IIRC.  180's is most likely what I'd push through it.
I do not remember exactly what the BC was between the two but I would hedge to guess that the 325 Partition would be slightly worse.
With that said, down range at 300+ I'd venture to guess that they are still very similar with MV being what they are.
I'm not much for pulling the trigger at 400+.  Done so with one shot success with both the 338 and my 7mag.  Just not my cup of tea.  I'd rather pull the sneak and narrow the distance to sub 300.  Part of the fun.

It's a tough choice, sort of, but not really.  Either one would perform as expected I'm sure.
Leaning at the 300 which is where I was before I asked the question.

Thanks again!!!

[Intruder]

I did a quick check in the Hornady book and it appears that the 325 has a very small capacity difference as a result of having a shorter shoulder.  Overall speeds didn't vary much where a apples to apples comparison could be made.... less than 50 fps.  In some cases the 300 was actually faster.... 

Where bullets are the same weight there will be a better a pretty good increase in BC for the 300.

[carpsniperg2]

300 wsm is the choice for me, of the 2. allot of ammo out there and there is not much diffence in the 2 to make one stand out a whole buch more.

[need2huntmor]

I have a .325 WSM in the Kimber Montana and love it.  I do not reload, so I do not like the small selection of ammo.  I do not think that the recoil is that bad.  Only had the rifle for about 6 months, but love it so far (shot a moose, elk, and deer with it this year).

[fishcrazy]

I seen something that showed bullet drop with those 2. They had very little difference out to about 300 yards then the .325 really started dropping. They have poor BC. The bigger cal. bullet will probably hit harder up close and have more shock. I handload and one thing I always look at is bullet selection. yuo can buy .308 bullets at 7-11 but probably will have a tuff time finding much for that .325 or should we just call it a 8mm.

Kris

[Magnum_Willys]

I've been amazed at the knockdown difference between the .300 and the .338 with regards to elk with the .338 being more effective.   Other than bullet diameter these are basically the same round.  I assume the same difference would occur between the .300 WSM and the .325 WSM.  The theory about the short actions getting the same power with less kick is questionable.  My sons .325 WSM kicks about as hard as the .338 WM - probably because the short action allows a smaller gun which kicks more.

[superdown]

I got rid of my BLR in 300wm because it kicked like a mule. I really enjoy shooting the 325wsm because it seems to have more of a big push than that snappy type of recoil that the 300wm and 7mm rem mag has but I'm used to shooting rounds like the 358win and 45-70 . not that they recoil to much but a couple of other rounds i don't enjoy shooting just because the recoil is like an annoying little bitch slap are the 270,30-06,30-30.

[Rob]

I’m unclear on how the decision between 300 wsm and 325 wsm meets your end goal.  Either round you call out will kill anything in North America without issue.  I read your driver as shedding pounds and killing larger game like elk and moose.  I would focus the rifle. 

I got tired of hauling around a heavy rifle on elk hunts so I picked up the Rem Model 700 Alaskan TI.  The gun, with Leupold 3-9 ultra light scope, scope covers, sling and fully loaded is right at 7.25 pounds.  And that is for a 300 WM

Granted, she kicks like an ill-tempered mule, but that is only an issue on the range.  I don’t even feel it when shooting in the field with the adrenaline and all.  And I certainly don’t feel it while carrying it!

The Alaskan TI is a great light weight rifle, but it is a bit overpriced in my opinion.  There are probably other similar models at a lower cost.  I seem to recall Tikas are very light.  The only person I have met who carries lighter scoped firearm than me is the guy I hunt with who uses a 454 casul (sp?) scoped pistol.

If it were me, and the goal was to get a light pack rifle, then I would select 4-5 cartridges that would work for your intended game (i.e. 300 WMS, 325WSM, 338 WM, 300 Wby mag, 300 WM, etc) and then look for the lightest rifle you can find.  That would eliminate stainless rifles, most wood stocks, and definitely laminate stocks.

[whacker1]

I would choose the 300 based on bullet selection & you will generally get better BC out of the 300 at the same weight bullet, because the bullet will be longer.

[Wacenturion]

Something................a comment off an Alaska forum regarding.325 wsm vs. .338.  Some insight on bullet selection for the .325 wsm with it's 8 mm bullet.

"8mm bullets are abundant in 125, 150, 170, 175, 180, 190, 196, 200 and 220 grains, from quite a number of manufacturers.  250s are available but not as easy to find.  In like bullet weight, the 8mm will have geater sectional density than a 338 bullet, not the other way around, although the 338 does has a greater cross-sectional area, as you point out."

[Wacenturion]

Good article with comparisons on the new short magnums............ballistic chart at the bottom.

http://www.gunnersden.com/index.htm.short-magnums.htm

[Curly]

Maybe the 338 RCM would be a good choice.

"The most recent short magnum cartridges, as of this writing, are the .300 and .338 Ruger Compact Magnums (RCM). These .308 length offerings, developed by Hornady for Ruger, are based on shortened .375 Ruger case. This is a beltless bottleneck case with a rim and head diameter of .532". The RCM's were introduced in 2008.

Hornady offers .300 RCM factory loads with 150, 165 and 180 grain bullets; 200 and 225 grain bullets are offered in the .338 RCM. The performance of the .300 RCM is comparable to that of the other .300 short magnums, while the .338 RCM--a true medium bore cartridge--is comparable to the .350 Rem. Mag. and superior to the .325 WSM."

http://www.chuckhawks.com/short_magnums.htm