I'm shooting a Kimber with a 24" barrel. The Winchester factory ammo is very good, 2867 fps and easily under 1 moa. But so far I haven't been able to get good velocity from a handload, seem to always end up in the mid-2700's and hey, I already have a 30-06. Anyone having better luck?
Who has a good 200 gr load for the .325 wsm?
- Thread starter mckie
- Start date
Jeff Olsen
Handloader
- Nov 10, 2006
- 294
- 2
mckie":3sk8jy7y said:
That's about my experience from my 22" BLR in 325 WSM. I ended up settling for about 2825 fps with 200-gn Partitions (my rifle shoots 'em better than Accubonds, go figure!). To get that, I am using a slightly over book maximum charge of H4350, so... go there at your own peril!
It's more power than a 30-06 by a considerable margin... even my "fast" 30-06 gets about 2840 with 180-gn bullets, and the "slow" .325 does that with 200's... of course, the .338 does it with 225's! In order to not be mad at Winchester about my .325 WSM, I had to come to peace with it slotting right in between '06 and .338... which is not a bad thing, right?
My BLR easily holds 1.25 MOA, from which I conclude it's a fundamentally accurate caliber. One question about your Kimber- how smoothly does it feed the .325 WSM?
I think .325 is the most useful cartridge of ALL the WSM's, and unfortunatly I think it's the one that's going to fail in the marketplace. For instance, have you seen the new Remington Model 7 XCR's? I'd be all OVER one of those in .325 WSM... fluted barrel, the XCR coating... compact rifle in a genuine elk caliber... sweet! But they don't make it, and won't, because then they'd have to catalog ammo for it forever.
-jeff
- Thread starter
- #3
Thanks for the response Jeff. I'm in Eugene too.
The Kimber feeds the rounds smoothly enough. It's one of the 8400 models which Kimber says was designed from scratch as a short magnum rifle. The trigger is phenomenal, you can't feel it move at all but just add pressure and off she goes. I like the rifle, I like the caliber and the ballistics are close enough to the .338 for me. With factory ammo. But at $50 a box I'd rather shoot my own loads! I'm somewhat reluctant to go over the published maximums, but so far I don't see any over pressure signs so maybe I'll inch it up a little.
The Kimber feeds the rounds smoothly enough. It's one of the 8400 models which Kimber says was designed from scratch as a short magnum rifle. The trigger is phenomenal, you can't feel it move at all but just add pressure and off she goes. I like the rifle, I like the caliber and the ballistics are close enough to the .338 for me. With factory ammo. But at $50 a box I'd rather shoot my own loads! I'm somewhat reluctant to go over the published maximums, but so far I don't see any over pressure signs so maybe I'll inch it up a little.
Jeff Olsen
Handloader
- Nov 10, 2006
- 294
- 2
Oh yeah? Eugene? Did you get the rifle at S-M? They are doing Kimber rifles now...
I've put Jewell triggers on two of my rifles now. One step better than the excellent Kimber trigger, even. Really makes a huge difference!
I did actually have a load that reached factory specs. I got my 325 not long after they came out, and there wasn't much published data on the cartridge yet as far as reloading. One day, I found a load on the internet and the poster seemed pretty straight up, so I dropped his load down by a few grains to give it a try and BOOM! Absolutely pancake-flat primer, extrusion around the firing pin, hard extraction... a huge overload. Scared the crap out of me. I happened to be shooting over my chrono, and it clocked at 2950 for a 200-gn bullet!
So if you want velocity, I could look that load up and you can blow yourself up, too!
Where do you shoot? I go to an informal range out west of town on BLM land. I've got some steel plates set up at 250, 350, 400 and 500 yards. I mostly shoot on weekdays (I'm a Realtor ® so my schedule is very flexible) but if you ever want to hook up, let me know! I am mostly working with my 30-06 and .338 on those plates, as my .325 is a Browning BLR and not ideal for longer-range work, though it whaps the 340-yard plate just fine.
My email is handwired@gmail.com if you want to hook up. I like to have fun shooting; I'm not a snob, but I don't shoot with people who drink beer while shooting or anything like that. I'm sure you're the same way.
-jeff
I've put Jewell triggers on two of my rifles now. One step better than the excellent Kimber trigger, even. Really makes a huge difference!
I did actually have a load that reached factory specs. I got my 325 not long after they came out, and there wasn't much published data on the cartridge yet as far as reloading. One day, I found a load on the internet and the poster seemed pretty straight up, so I dropped his load down by a few grains to give it a try and BOOM! Absolutely pancake-flat primer, extrusion around the firing pin, hard extraction... a huge overload. Scared the crap out of me. I happened to be shooting over my chrono, and it clocked at 2950 for a 200-gn bullet!
So if you want velocity, I could look that load up and you can blow yourself up, too!
Where do you shoot? I go to an informal range out west of town on BLM land. I've got some steel plates set up at 250, 350, 400 and 500 yards. I mostly shoot on weekdays (I'm a Realtor ® so my schedule is very flexible) but if you ever want to hook up, let me know! I am mostly working with my 30-06 and .338 on those plates, as my .325 is a Browning BLR and not ideal for longer-range work, though it whaps the 340-yard plate just fine.
My email is handwired@gmail.com if you want to hook up. I like to have fun shooting; I'm not a snob, but I don't shoot with people who drink beer while shooting or anything like that. I'm sure you're the same way.
-jeff
- Thread starter
- #5
Yeah, I bought it at Starvin' Marvin's. I try to buy most of my shooting stuff there to support my local gunnie, even though Marv keeps trying to drive me and all his other customers away! Actually I think Marv has mellowed some - or maybe I'm just getting used to him.
I no longer work, there are those who say I never did, so my schedule is also pretty flexible. I belong to the EEGC out at McGowan creek and mostly shoot there; 200 yards is our longest range tho. But sure, if you think you want to shoot with an old deaf geezer sometime, I'm your guy! My email is barb-michael@hotmail.com
Oh, that load you mentioned? I think I'm gonna pass. Mike McKie
I no longer work, there are those who say I never did, so my schedule is also pretty flexible. I belong to the EEGC out at McGowan creek and mostly shoot there; 200 yards is our longest range tho. But sure, if you think you want to shoot with an old deaf geezer sometime, I'm your guy! My email is barb-michael@hotmail.com
Oh, that load you mentioned? I think I'm gonna pass. Mike McKie
Jeff Olsen
Handloader
- Nov 10, 2006
- 294
- 2
Whoops! The forum didn't notify me there was a reply...
Yeah, Marv can be a real pain sometimes. I'm sure we could share stories. On the other hand, great gun shop! I'm drooling over a DPMS AR10-style rifle right now, just not sure which one! Probably trade one of my M1a's for it.
I'll zip you an email; maybe we can hook up sometime!
-jeff
Yeah, Marv can be a real pain sometimes. I'm sure we could share stories. On the other hand, great gun shop! I'm drooling over a DPMS AR10-style rifle right now, just not sure which one! Probably trade one of my M1a's for it.
I'll zip you an email; maybe we can hook up sometime!
-jeff
