The 325 Winchester Short Magnum (sometimes known as the 325 WSM) is a cartridge chambered in.325 Winchester Short Magnum. It's a rebated rim bottlenecked centerfire short magnum medium bore cartridge with an 8mm caliber. The cartridge's nomenclature is misleading, as the bullet diameter is.323 in (8.2 mm). It is unquestionably the biggest member of the Winchester Short Magnum cartridge family.
In 2005, Winchester Ammunition debuted the cartridge at the Shot Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 8mm caliber did not have a fanbase in North America when it was introduced, therefore it caught the shooting public off guard. Earlier attempts to introduce 8mm cartridges in North America failed because the.30 caliber (7.62 mm) was widely regarded the preferred caliber among American hunters.
A.300 Winchester Short Magnum case has been necked up to accept an 8mm round in the 325 Winchester Short Magnum. The cartridge is designed to be a short, thick cartridge that can be fired via a short action rifle at high pressures. The cartridge may be utilized in actions chambered for rifles with a.375 Holland & Holland bolt face diameter because of the rebated rim construction.
It was intended for the hunting of medium and large body thin skinned hazardous and non-threatening big game species of Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America at the time of its introduction. The.325 WSM should be thought of as a hunting or sporting cartridge first and foremost. The.325 WSM is an 8mm magnum rifle cartridge that is efficient and flat firing. Performance is comparable to that of two other magnum cartridges: the 8mm Remington Magnum and the German 868mmS with lighter bullets.
