Hey folks, my first post here. (Cherry officially popped)The name is Mark, and I am 358wsm's brother. I am currently in Afghanistan making some money and saving some bucks (both financially AND because I can't be in the woods.....lucky bucks). As such, I have had the time (craploads of time) to study and research, compare and contrast every medium bore out there.
I already own a 7mmWSM in a model 16 Savage and seriously thought about simply slapping a 325 barrel on it. Cheap instant mid bore. Then I started thinking about what I would really use this for. See, I grew up in Upstate NY which presents you with every shooting scenario you can imagine. From long fields to thick timber. From small doe whitetails, to big black bears. Then I ended up in Alabama, where we have deer and pigs. I have a gorgeous .300 Savage in an original Savage 99F. It's more than adequate for anything I'd hunt in either place. So, really, no need for a mid bore.
So, why am I in this conversation? I'm bored. Did I mention that I'm in Afghanistan!? My family likes to make excursions to Newfoundland to get us some moose meat each year. This is why I bought the 7mmWSM. Back when I bought it, I was a fan of the high speed little balls (hold your jokes). I have since then looked back over my hunting experiences and recall the difference in a whitetail I shot with my 300 using a 130gr hornady doing 3000fps and a whitetail I saw shot with a 12ga slug. Both at very similar ranges and both in the "pocket".
My 300 caused a significant amount of hydrostatic shock and destroyed some of the shoulder meat (lots of it actually) and the 12ga just bore a nice fat hole through it. Needless to say, I'm a fan of fat and slow inertia now.
Given all that, as a reloader, and somebody that wants a nice short carbine like gun that can be adequate for the large Alaskan bruins but not too much for a small whitetail. I simply cannot find ANY 325WSM rifle out there that can hold a torch to the already available Ruger Hawkeye Compact Magnum. So, yes, the rifle availability is what has sold me on this. Now, to seal the deal, I started researching bullets, as I am a reloader.
Comparing BC's, and SD,s as well as availability of a box of 338 balls over a box of 325 balls in stores, the numbers favor the 338 lead and copper.
All that to say, even though I have the money to make a custom rifle of any sort, I can't have anything made that can be enough of an improvement over the RCM rifle to warrant spending it.
The 338 RCM in the Ruger M77 Hawkeye Compact Magnum is simply the most complete all around all purpose North American big game factory rifle combination available on the market today, AND is rather difficult to out do in a custom build without breaking the bank to get very minor advantages out of. It is also the rifle I will be buying as soon as I get home.
To each their own, happy shooting folks!
