I have a 338 WSM in an XP-100 handgun and have alot of respect for the round out of a handgun length 15" barrel. I get 2900 fps with the 180 gr BT for deer and just shy of 2800 with the 210 gr Partition for elk and both loads shoot into sub 1/2 moa out to 400 yards out of this handgun.

In a rifle it would be even mor eimpressive I feel. Would it match a 338 Win Mag, no. But none of the short mags, even the Lazzeroni rounds which he claims will top standard belted magnum performance will top this class of rounds.

I have a 7.21 Tomahawk, Lazzeronis short 7mm mag and it will not match a 7mm Rem Mag loaded with top handloads dispite what Lazzeroni lists on his sight. In fact with a properly throated WSM, the WSM has a slight edge in capacity as well as better quality brass at 1/4 the price as well.

The comments by Craig Boddington kind of suprise me. I know he is an 8mm fan which is fine, it is a great caliber and one that should be more popular then it is but unfortunately it is one of those in between calibers.

Most hunters wanting a fast, flat shooting magnum go with a big 300 which shoots flatter then any 8mm magnum and with a much better selection of bullets. While the 8mm may start out slightly faster then the big 300's at the muzzle, the better B.C. of the .308" bullets make up the difference and leave the .323" bullet behind quickly as range increases.

If a hunter wants more power, they simply go up to the 338 caliber which again has much better bullet selection and still better B.C. bullets in the heavy weight class. They shoot nearly identically to the top 8mm loads but land with more authority on heavy game.

Now back to the 325 WSM with no competition compared to the 338 WSM being compared to the Win Mag. One had better hope the public has forgotten about the 8mm Rem Mag because if they have not they will quickly realize the 325 WSM is far less potent then this round which itself was pretty much a flop in sales.

The 338 round is hot right now, chambered in a short action I feel this little powerhouse would have offered much more then the 325 WSM would.

I personally feel the reason they did not go with the 338 WSM is simple. The 270 WSM has only the 270 Win, which it will outperform and the 270 Wby which is basically unused by the general public to compete against.

The 7mm WSM is competing directly with the 7mm Rem Mag and Winchester is the first to say it is the full equal to the Rem Mag. In fact I believe I say an advertisement that listed the velocity of the WSM as higher then the 7mm Rem Mag with 140 gr bullets, which is laughable at best.

With the 300 WSM, they try to say it is the ballistic Twin of the 300 Win Mag in a small compact package knowing that the popullarity of the 300 Win Mag will probably never wain in sales because if is just to good of a round so there is no concern releasing a round to go along with it.

With the 338 WSM, I personally feel that while the 338 Win Mag is a great selling round, it may not survive a challange by another round. Certainly not if they use the same advertising ploys used with the other calibers that it is the bullet match of the Win Mag.

I feel in an attempt to be unique, they missed the boat offering a round that really provides nothing over the 300 WSM at all.

Look at the bullets available in the two rounds. Top end, the 300 has up to 220 gr hunting bullets which is also where the 8mm tops out.

The 300 has match bullets in 220 and 240 grain classes which I believe there is a 170-175 gr class match bullet in the 8mm caliber but this is not a good long range match bullet.

In lighter bullets, the 8mm does have some 125 gr bullets but they are intended for the low powered 8mm Mauser rounds and in the WSM will bot perform well at all where as the 300 has bullets like the 125 gr BT which is designed for lighter deer size game.

The 300 WSM just beats the hell out of it all the way around.

I think Win missed the boat on this one. I would have much rather seen a 375 WSM designed with bullets intended for North American hunting released. I can imagine no better round for hunting elk in the dark western timber as well as being able to reach out 300 yards to hammer a bull across an alpine meadow.

Just my opinion,

Good Shooting!!

Kirby Allen(50)

So, more feeding issues, less power, less mag capacity, harder time handling heavy bullets... the WSM definitely are not the equal of the original short mags. But you can trim a couple ounces off your rifle, get a theoretical advantage in accuracy, and a shorter bolt throw, maybe ess recoil due to different burn rates and less powder.
That's about where I see it all.

you must be running pressures very high in the 270wsm to get those velosities,is that a chronographed load?All else being equal the 270wby will get more velosity than the 270wsm,the manufacturers talk about the short mags useing less powder to get equal speed,bottom line "the standard mags have more capacity and are cabable of more velosity"
but to winchester it all about marketing

With respect of not being able to get 2900 fps out of a standard 338WM and 210 NP I find it easy to get 2970 fps using IMR 4350 - pressures are fine so is case life and I measure case head expansion - Also noticed that Nosler just came out with a 180 gr Accubond for 338 - I would think this would be ideal in a 338 WSM or 338-06. Problem with the short mag cases seems to be using the heavier weight bullets - I think a 250 would intrude quite a bit on a 338 WSM case. Other articles I have read about 338 WSM and Mark Doborinski's personal experience sort of indicate the short magnums just don't meet the velocity of the standard magnums - if reloaded. The new 325 WSM really doesn't have much competition and the 200 gr Accubond bullet at near 3000 fps should make for a great elk rifle. That article in Shooting Times does a pretty good job of explaining the limitations and assets of the new short magnum cases.