Briman

I agree with Virginia7 entirely.

The WSMs are a fad, they really do anything more spectacular than anything else that already exists.

The 8mm remington magnum is a very impressive cartridge, but few people ever bought one, the WSM certainly isn't going to perform better than that cartridge, so I don't see it selling.

Then again, there are more than a minority of people out there in America who will buy something just because it says 'Winchester' on it, and has a nominal measurement converted from the metric system to our system.

Case in point:
The only cartridge in America that has 'mm' in its name is the 7mm remington magnum, the rest of the 7mms have ridden on its coattails.

James B

I think the WSM's are way past the fad stage already. I expect them to hang on and gain a better foothold each year. Its to soon to say if the 325 will be amoung the survivers but the 270 and 300 WSM's for sure are here to stay. IMO The 325 will be helped by the fact that big game keeps getting tougher and the old elk cartridges which worked great for years will no longer get the job done. Calibers like the 7x57, 3040 krag. 405 Win, 300 Savage, 30-30 Win to name just a few.

Virginia7

JamesB,
Are you serious? Are the mule deer & elk evolving? Getting tougher/thicker hides?
My old landlord in WY. used to hunt 'em with a 257Roberts. He had no complaints.
Now, that's a little light to my way of thinking, but certainly don't need a 325WSM.
Any reasonable cartridge from 270Win. on up will do. The hunting may be getting more
demanding, more pressure, etc., but I seriously doubt the game is getting "tougher".
Heck, the old 7mmRem.Mag. has been knocking 'em off ever since its' intro. many years ago.
Cartridges such as you mentioned are on the light side, but will do the job if the hunter
is willing to work at it, and place the shot carefully (as always).

bigbulls

I think he wqas being sarcastic. He just forgot the smileys.[&:][]

Doe Dumper

I think James is givin gun reviews Leslie Neilson style...

James B

Just kidding. Virginia 7 You make me feel really old since I had been hunting for quite a few years before the 7 MM Mag was introduced by Remington. But not before it was a wildcat. I am not that old.

travelr

I don't particularly have any problems with the short mag craze, just the advertising folks hyping them. And IMHO, the best of the lot are .223,
.243 & 257. The 7mm and 300 are non-performers in that neither cartridge equals the ballistics of the 7mm Rem Mag or 300 Win Mag. But you'd never know that based on all the hype.
And I'm starting to hear about these short fat cartridges jamming on bolt guns! Hmmm, well I guess that is 'fixable'. Just what I want to buy, something that doesn't work.
As for the 325WSM (8mm/.323cal) too early to tell what it's future holds.
What doesn't work for me is the limited selection of .323-cal bullets. If half of the comments I've heard and stories I've read about the short fatties jambing are true, that would be two strikes against the .325 before it gets out of the gate. To date, the best article I've read on the .325WSM
was by Dave Scovill. And he had enough sense to handload some rounds to get some decent accuracy. At the other extreme you have Bryce Towsley with 2-4" groups in his write-up in the American Rifleman. Oh yeah Bryce, that was some fine shooting that day!
Personally, I was waiting to see if anyone wanted to improve on the .338 Win Mag. I've been holding off buying a .338WM to see what Winchester was going to do. Now that has been settled, guess it's time to visit my local gunshop and get that .338WM.

bigbulls

For many of us it's not all about the velocity of the bullets they push out the end of the barrel. They do offer something that the other magnums do not. The give you magnum performance a sleek non belted case, shorter actions for better use in "mountain" rifle and compact rifles, lighter weight for those that "watch their weight", a bit less recoil given the same weight and design of stock.
With the introduction of this cartridge I guarantee you that there will no longer be a limited supply of .323 diameter bullets. I am quite sure that you will se a very substantial jump in abailable bullets of all types of construction and weights.

There wera a few stories about the WSM line early on but to my knowledge that has been totally resolved. I have heard many more stories about the WSSM line of cartridges as they are so short and fat that they do not guide themselves into the chamber as well as they should.


I'd really like to see cartridges based on the same dimentions as the WSM cases but steched to 30-06 lengths. As much as I like the WSM's these would be some very nice cartridges in a smooth bottle necked case with no stupid belts.

James B

I have been concerned since reading reports of poor feeding. I wonder if that is cleared up and if it pertained to all the rifles chambered for them or just the Winchester/Browning. Anyone have reports on the newer ones or the Savage rifles? I like the idea of the 325. I have had two 338 Min Mag rifles and they just never impressed me. The 300 Mags seemed to perform on game in the field as well or better than the 338 IMO.

bigbulls

I got a 300 I built on a Howa action and I have not had any problems with it feeding at all. Granted I have only put a few boxes through it but so far it feeds just fine.