Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting .325 WSM. The good and bad??

Thanks for the reply. I am very interested in the 7mm-08.

As for the blood trail. Can you get that with bullet selection? I understand your desire, and am just asking a question. I know that it can really matter with a big fat black bear, but the structure of the animal is so different. Heck, look at what those Berger VLD bullets do (in 7mm). High shoulder shot, jellie insides, drop like a rock. The 7mm 168's have a BC of .643 (from what I've heard, the quality varies a lot from bullet to bullet).

It is really interesting to go to Winchester's web site, and see how similar the 7mm mag and the .325WSM in the XP3 are in velocity and trajectory, but man is there ever a difference in foot-pounds. I would venture to say you are going to get a bigger blood trail more from the explosive energy departed on the tissue than from simply increasing the frontal diameter of the round. It would be very interesting to read more on this. Time to check out google.

It really sounds to me like you know what you want, and are now prepared to justify it to your wife. The .325 should perform a lot like the 7mm in the air, with more terminal damage. You should be able to shoot the heck out of it. It is almost as if you were meant to have one!

Good Hunting,

5Points

Dober,
the caribou would not let me get the 3rd shot in befour he went down....lol.... thinken I could of had a little smaller group if I was not shooting free hand....

If you know you are going after elk, then a 358 Winchester or 338 Federal would be better choices than the 7-08, and I say that as a 7X57 Mauser fan.

The 308 Winchester would be a better choice than the 7-08 too.

Elk and the related large non-dangerious big game animals Caribou, moose, eland, kudu) respond to the authority of wider, heavier bullets. The 7mm's are marginal for elk, as you already know, that is why you are considering the 325.

My son started shooting my BLR in 358 when he was 13, and used it to good effect, with 225 grain bullets and heavy handloads. It could be loaded down to 35 Remington velocities with 180 grain Nosler Partition handgun bullets for a couple of years too. This would be fine for shooting smaller game animals like deer.

I'm using the 4831/200gr TSX load. I can't think of anything in the America's this load wouldn't work for....................DJ

7mm is marginal for elk? Do they wear flak jackets down there? We have pretty big Roosevelt Elk up here and they die like everything else if you put some lead through the heart or lungs...chunk of lead doesn't really have to be that big either.

I guess they can 'appear' to be bullet-proof sometimes. I shot a medium-sized 6pt at 250y with a 300 Win Mag. I put two 180g partitions very similar to STA's caribou. He just stood there so I thought better safe than sorry...and he just crumpled like you would expect with a hole in the lungs. I'm sure my 260 could have done the same job. Been said a million times - put the hole in the right spot and they won't be standing long.

Well if THAT's the way we are showing off our .325's... <grin>... here's my Kimber:





And, like some kind of fargin' miracle, here it is again:



Here that damn thing is AGAIN! Look at that puffed-up leg. That's what happens when you shoot a deer through the hip joint at 40 yards with a 200-gn Accubond from said .325...



This is what a 8mm Accubond looks like after smashing the hip joint of a deer at 40 yards, traversing 39" plus of deer, and ending up under the chin. Final weight was right at 140-ish grains for 70% retention.




This is my other .325, carefully at rest in a bed of... fresh elk poop <g>. I've since de-glossed the stock.

A very wild Q here but have any of you guys farted around with a light load in your 325's?

I mean like a reduced load.

Thx

Dober

Hey DJ, I've got a Schmaltz Ti bolt handle... how do you like yours?

I haven't put it on yet... I kinda like the larger size of the factory original but the one ounce lighter weight is appealing.

I might put a 6x36 Leupold and Ti handle on 300WSM8400MT and get it down to 7lbs 1 oz "all-up" weight...

Mark, I have a 175-gn Sierra PH load that I run pretty light... but I wouldn't call it a REDUCED load, just light.

You mean like 8mm Mauser type light? 32 WCF light?

8 Mauser type I guess.

Thx

Dober

DJ, nice scope, which one is that? Why not Talley LW's?

Mark, you got me thinking that some flat points made for the .32 WCF (or is it .32 WS?) would be pretty hip, for blacktail.

They'd probably do less damage if I shot 'em in the ass anyways <g>...

Any of you guys shot the 180 NBT in your 325's yet?

Thx

Dober

I shoot the 180 TSX. There is a guy at the gun club that shoots a a-bolt 325wsm with 180 NBT and H4350 dont think he has killed anything with it but paper...

STA-is 3K a reasonable speed for the 180's in your short 8 mag mag?

Thx

Dober

yes no trouble at all getting 3000+fps. I run mine with a max load of RL19 @3100fps with that said 3000fps would be more reasonable speed thinken brass would last a long time.....

Thx and what do you use for primers?

Dober

Fed 215M

My load is MAX in my Montana....
180TSX
RL19 72.5gr
Fed 215M
.030 off the lands
3100fps
.5 to .8 MOA

Thx, whenever I've worked with the short mags I've always had the best of luck with the 215's as well.

In my 338 WSM I've tried about all of the primers made and 215's just make it perk.

Dober