I was debating weather to have a 300 or 325 WSM built for all around hunting in Alaska. Upon comparison with 180 grain ballistic tips in respective cartridges, it became apparent that the 300 WSM had less drop and more energy at 400 yards. This, coupled with the increased sectional density of a 180 grain 30 caliber bullet, seems to make my choice a no brainer. The velocities and BC were taken from Nosler's website and the ballistics were run on JBM Ballistics page. Is the choice that simple, or am I missing something? The 325 WSM pushes the 180 grain out of the muzzle at a little better than 100 fps faster than the 300 WSM, but the ballistic coefficient makes up the difference in a hurry. Rifle will mainly be used for sheep/caribou/moose. Have a .375 Weatherby for the big bears.

Personally if you were going to use it for what you named, get the .300. I own a tikka t3 in .300wsm and love it. I bought it for sheep hunting as it was light. It is flat shooting and hits hard! I took it to Africa this summer and we never recovered any of the 180 grain barnes tsx bullets from any animal, they were all complete pass throughs. I use the 150 grains for sheep. Awesome rifle and doesn't kick a whole lot. My 13 year old daughter shoots it. JMO

A round is only as good as the bullets available for it, and there simply aren't many choices in 8mm, but there are huge choices in 30 cal. My way of thinking is, for the smaller and less dangerous species, a 300 WSM pushing a 168 gr triple shock @ 3100 fps is more than enough, and plenty flat shooting. For any tasks that a 30 caliber is not up to, I'll jump straight to a 338 win mag, or larger.

So to me, the 8mm doesn't offer or do anything that I couldn't do better with a 30 caliber, nor is the 8mm enough of an increase for those times I'd want more than 30 cal. Kind of a could do everything pretty well, but doesn't accel at anything cartridge. Also dropping down a touch in bullet weight and/or velocity means a slight drop in recoil, which is something I want in a light rifle for taking long shots.

My thought is a Kimber montanna 300 WSM is about as good as it gets for an all around minus the big bears Alaskan rifle, and I'll be getting one in the near future and plopping a 6X42 with target turrets on it for just such a use.

Paul H,

Your thoughts mirror mine. I was really excited about he 325 until I started doing some objective analysis. It just doesn't offer much over the 300. Mine will be a 5.5 to 6 lb custom rifle using a new Remington clone action built by Stiller Precision Firearms to benchrest tolerances, topped by a 3-9 Swarovski. Will be using it for Dall Sheep this fall.

I have a .300 WSM and I LOVE it!!! I think it is the best all around caliber made. I use 150 grain ballistic tips for Whitetail and I shot a 2,000 lb. Eland with it 2 years ago using the 180 grain FailSafe bullets. Mine is a Browning A-Bolt Composite Stalker with a Leupold Vari X III 3.5-10x50mm. I have read some stuff on the .325 and I'm not impressed at all. The only real advantage that I can think of with the .325 is that you can get a little heavier bullet in factory ammo but I still prefer the .300. I HIGHLY recommend it!

Of the two I would say the 300WSM, again , 8mm bullets are far and in between. 338 Win Mag is probably the best choice for Alaska (providing you don't have a love afair with the .375 H&H).

If I were to go .325, I would go for the heavier barnes bullets (225 gr TSX), they perform quite well for their weights and can hold up to the extra velocity of the .325 compared to the 8x57mm.

John

I would agree with the 300 WSM. Why Winchester choose the 325 instead of making it 338 was a serious marketing fault.

Forget both of them and get a good stainless 338 win mag.I asked a friend if he had seen anyone using a wsm he said nope none.I have seen none either.The 325 will fade away in 5 years or less.The 338 win mag will be here as long as we are able to still hunt.

I agree the 338 is what you want to take with you. I own the 338 RUM and thats what I'd take.

Well, IMHO, I wouldn't even think of any wsm,wssm,rim,raum,sim,saum, or sum (or whatever else the bean counters at Remchester have most recently dreamed up) . Since you already have a .375 for the big bears, I'd say go with a plain jane .30-06. The '06 will be fine on moose & more than adequate for caribou & sheep. I've used my .270 Win for sheep & caribou for years & would use it on moose where we hunt - if I had to. Don't see any reason to change. If you didn't have the .375, I'd say .338 Mag. and I always use a quality bullet for hunting.
Just my opinion & probably not worth much.
Bear in Fairbanks

If you think an -06 that weighs a pound less, and gets an extra 100 fps is a good thing, then you'll realize that 300 WSM is a good thing. If you have an -06, there isn't much need for a 300 WSM, but if you're looking for a good 30 cal hunting rifle, I think you'll find few that offer the overall package of the 300 WSM.

If you already have at .375, it would make NO sense to pack a .338 up and around the mountains for sheep. Go with the .300 wsm. Can get it light, doesn't kick much and it shoots very flat.

I keep trying to tell people that a 30-06 and a 300 mag or wsm over lap alot.There is a hudge difference in the killing power between the 30-06 and the 338 win mag.I dont think the 325 wsm will last 5 years or less without winchester.I think the 338 will be around as long as hunting will be done with guns.

Northway

I also have a T3 in the 300wsm and absolutely love it. I also cannot believe how reasonable the recoil is for caliber in a 6.5lb lightweight rifle.

The combination gives a flat shooting lightweight rig that makes walking through the hills just that little bit easier!