Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Opinions on New 8mm WSM from Winchester???

I'm sure the bullets will be a "normal" 8mm diameter, just like a .270 is really a .277 and a .280 Remington is really a .284....

How about the Model 70 .427 African in a fiberglass stock or the .396 Alaskan in a Super Short cartridge.

Actually, I think that this .325 WSM is going to make it. The indicated bullet types, speeds, and sizes look good for big whitetail, black bear, hogs, moose and elk, deep woods or fairly open forests without probably being excessive in recoil. Sort of like a flatter shooting .35 Whelen. I would buy one in a BLR and top it with a good 1.75-6X.

James.

The ONLY real problem I see with this cartridge is lack of decent bullet selection. There are no 8mm accubonds or TSX's and only a 200 grain partition.

Granted, it only takes one combination to make a good big game load, but that doesn't give you a lot of wiggle room. MAYBE it'll be enough to warrant the bullet manufacturers to come out with a few more good 8mm bullets. If so, i'd consider grabbing one of these ---- in a Remington action of course (grin).

They've got the 200gr Accubond on the way acording to Midway, there are XLC's, Ballistic Tips, Partitions, Regular Hornadies, All the bullets a shooter could ask for just check out Midway's selection..

I need not look further than the 200 gr Partition to be satisfied in that diameter..I'm sure it wouldn't take a landslide in sales for Barnes to jump on a XXX in .323"

People talk about the allure of the .338 since it is so common...How often do we really buy a different cartridge based on the selection of component bullets at the local store? I order 95% of my bullets through the mail anyway and Other than my fascination with all things .277" I usually look for something different to add a little spice to life.

Recoil needs to be considered as well, I know that my .270 WSM with 150's at 3,000+ fps gets your attention in a Featherweight even with the McMillan stock <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> You have to remember Joe Average one box a year can't really shoot Granpa's .30-06 with full house 180gr bullets without jerking the trigger and flinching like he was smacked with a 2X4..

Mike

ROTR, That's good news on the accubonds. I just checked their website and they're not listing it yet. Had somewhat better luck with the accubonds in my 7mm shamu today than with TSX's. I think they're a good bullet. Hopefully verify things tomorrow and have a load for elk and goat. Else, the 300 shamu is shooting nicely.

Speaking of getting smacked with a 2x4, I took one to the side of the face a few days ago. Still stinging! %^&$ing jealous boyfriends <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />! Single life has its ups and downs <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Doht!!

Sounds like the rut is going full swing in your neck of the woods!!

Better get yourself up the Mountain...

I like the Shamu concept as well as the WSM's I think they are available even lighter than the Featherweights come too whick can be a plus..

Can't wait to hear a good elk goat story..

Mike

I dunno but I like bigger cases with bigger bullets. If I'm going to do a 8mm somethingorother, I want a case that holds a fairly obscene amount of gunpowder. I've never owned or shot a 8mm Rem mag, but always thought I'd like to. If it trips Boddinton's trigger, I'd like to give it a go. The 340 Wby is intriguing too, along with Lazzeroni's offering. After all, recoil is invigorating! The short mags are fine in the 30 caliber and under bores, but when I go bigger, I want a bigger case too. I can't say exactly why. I just do. Today.

Hoooo Yaaaa!

That sound like a heck of woods rifle!

Sign me up for 2 (One for regular use, and one for Sundays!). <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

BMT<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

8mm is the European equivelant of our .308 cal. It's a mid bore size for general game hunting, nothing more. IMO it offers nothing over a standard 300 WSM as it's not enough of a jump up in diameter. A 300 WSM will throw a 200 grainer of greater SD at 2,850 which makes it, practically speaking, as or more effective than an 8mm 200 grainer 100 fps faster.

Do the people at Olin actually shoot anything other than feet?

Agreement here. We didn't see a whole boatload of 6.5mm bullets either, all there was in the American public's mind was the barrel burning .264 Win. Mag. Suddenly folks re-discovered the 6.5X55, Remington brought out the .260 and voila, here come the 6.5 bullets. I don't think the bullet makers bring out whole lines of bullets hoping that a rifle manufacturer will maybe chamber for that caliber. More like the other way around, IIRC. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />





Now, "the allure of the .338 since it is so common?!" Hey, what the $%^&!!! So how come the .30-06 is not the most alluringest chambering of all, huh? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />



Ya know, guys, this is saying something from someone that had five .30-06's, three .375's, two .270's, four or five .30-30's and mostly just a closetful of chamberings at least 75 years old. Finally bought a 7mm Rem.Mag., gotta keep up on the cutting edge technology, don'cha know. But for some strange reason I kind of like this 8mm WSM.



We had the .270 - it filled it's selected niche of 400-500 pound game within 350-400 yards real well, don't need the .270 WSM. Same same for the 7mm WSM/SHAMU and the 7mm Rem. Mag. We had the .30-06, .300 H&H, .300 Weatherby and .300 Win Mag, so this .300 WSM filled which infinitesimally small niche?



Maybe one could say we already have the .338-06 (sort of) and the widely available (for your right handers, at least) .338 Win. Mag...



But the more I think about it, the more I like the idea of this new 8mm. And not as something to neck up or down, but to shoot just the way it is. With those heavier bullets it will have more oomph than an '06 and a bit less recoil than a .338 WM. I actually see a use for a decently powered 8mm that neatly splits the difference between the "not enough" factory 8X57 loads and the "too much" 8mm RM loads. Does it really do anything you can't do with a (name most anything already in your safe)? No. When you think about it, does anything short of a .375 do anything you can't really do with a .30-06? No.



I just like this new guy. Maybe when Winchester finally makes some left handed Featherweights they might spare an 8mm WSM reamer on a few...



Ohmigod! I might actually enter the 21st Century! Nnnooooooo.......!!!!!

I believe the hard core guys, like the ones that visit this site, would eventually embarce an 8mm but I think the gun buying, general public, would be slow to adopt. I would hunt with an 8x57 but only because I would accept its limitations, whatever they may be for the applied purpose. an 8mm short mag would take lots of educational marketing and most hunter don't really need an 8mm mag anyway. I would buy a 338 wsm only 'cause I like the 338 cal and availability of bullets.

It's nice to see this thread turn in a positive direction. In all honesty, I might consider one myself. I need another rifle like a woman needs a third (ah...never mind)! I bought a M-70 Classic Coyote a couple of years ago with the express intent of making it a .338 WSM. I was serious, as I even had the dies. But after careful deliberation, I decided that W-W was probably going to come out with it anyway if I waited a year or two. (Looks as if I might have been wrong! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> ) And now my dies reside somewhere in AZ <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Now I am leaning toward a 6.5 WSM or probably more likely, a 6.5 Shamu. Being somewhat of an 8mm Slut, I know there are a lot of good bullets out there already, and the liklihood of more coming.

I agree with Jim in Idaho.... It nicely fits in between the grossly underpowered 8x57 and the 8mm Maggie. I have an 8mm Mag., but don't use it much because it is far more powerful than needed for deer and Elk hunts don't come often to me.

Of course, if we were practical, we would all just have about three rifles, A .257 Robts/6.5x55, a .30-06, and a .375 H&H. And most of us could get by quite nicely with just a .30-06

This is what makes our hobby fun: The chance to work/play with something different. For me, I shall look forward to see what Big Greens answer is. Who knows, they might just come out with a factory 6.5 Shamu. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> ...the9.3Guy

Woodleigh makes a 250 grain SN in .323.
A 160 grain TSX would turn the 325 into a hotrod.

I'm pondering.

I've always considered the 8mm bullet to be the perfect all around big game bullet. 165-180 grain for smaller animals and 200-220 grain for big game.

I think it the fact that you can shoot a 220 grain true spitzer efficiently that seperates the 8mm from a 30 cal. 220 grain also seems like the perfect size for big moose and elk.

Having said that, I also know that 8mm bullets have been very limited. I'm hoping that this will prompt a surge of new 8mm offerings for some time.

I still think they should call it 323. Sounds better.

I wonder how many sales does it take to distinguish a new round as a success or flop?

How many people would really want an over .30 cal. magnum?

My biggest gun is a 7mm Rem Mag., I have been entertaining the idea of getting a 300 win mag because they seem to average better accuracy, not because I think it would kill anything quicker.
What will an 8mm WSM kill that a 300 WSM wouldn't kill just as quick? Giant bears maybe? For that you could use one of the African calibers. If that is the target animal for Winchester's marketing, wouldn't they have done better with a .375 WSM?

Killing "just as quick" isn't the issue for me. Blood trails are. Eventually, you are going to need to trail a critter and bears and elk have thick hides that'll plug up smaller holes readily. Though the smaller diameter stuff works just fine, it takes a bigger hole (min 30 cal IMO) to get an entrance big enough to cause a decent blood trail. Bigger is always better when it comes to trailing....

When your shooting at a 1500 pound animal thats all hyped up the 7mm rounds make me feel uneasy.

Still, I wish winchester had made it a 338wsm. There is no reason why you have to shoot 250 grain bullets. The 225 grain premiums do just fine, and I don't think a shooter would notice much difference between a 220 grain 8mm and a 225 grain 338 bullet.

OK I wil admit it, I am in a foul mood. Opening day of deer season= 2 does (not legal) & 1o,ooo idiots that think deer hunting & compitition hill climbing go together. Not to mention the flatland highrollers buying up property & shutting off thousands of acres of good hunting land for their "preserves"
With that out of the way. I have no use for ANY W(in)S(tupid) M(i'll be nice & not insert).
As for the ".325", I have a personally sporterized Oberndorf M98 that puts 220 gr Sierra's down range at around 2500 fps & 1.5 MOA or better.
No use for the 325wsm or any of the other wussums. Marketing ploy & absolutely nothing else.
NOTE: As has been pointed out earlier in other places by smarter men than me, it is not by accident that the respected dangerous game calibers were ALL made with long sloping cases ( 375H&H, 348 WCF for a couple). It is called reliable feeding. the short fat idea is great for bench rest where nothing meaner than a 90 degree wind shift will bother you. In the field the idea ain't so hot, & in fact could be down right dangerous.
However if it encourages Barnes to build a 200 gr. TSX, I will not complain.

It seems to me that the guys that want and use the 35 cal do fine with the 35 rem and 358 win. in reality, most of us only shoot deer and most 7mms or below do the trick. still... I have taken a liking to my 300 wsm but I acknowledge that my 30-06 would do just as well. it really comes down to that fact that I like the rifle so much, not just the caliber it is chambered in. the 165 grain bullet puts a nice hole in the deer, in two places, and aides blood trailing. much needed in the planted pines and briar thickets where I hunt. try to find a deer that ran 100 yards in jungle over your head, its tough without a blood trail and they don't always drop where you shoot them.

I think the lack of acceptance of 8mm bores is only because they were not thought of as .32's by American shooters. Most of us know that 8mm started as a .318" and later became .323". When you consider the American .32's were pretty much right in the middle of those dimensions, you'll find that 8mm isn't all that odd. Marketing failure more than anything. .32/8mm will do more than a .30 of any stripe at lower chamber pressures, all else being equal. Lab advantage is obvious, but field advantage is pretty much invisible.AW