As a long-time fan of the .338s, I’ve worked with and hunted with most every cartridge in this versatile caliber. When I walked into Grice Gun Shop in Clearfield, PA, there was no specific item I was looking for in particular; I was just looking for a good deal on something I might not normally consider. In their used gun rack, something caught my eye right away- a like-new stainless Browning X-Bolt in the previously-untried-by-me .325 WSM cartridge. Stainless has long been a must for me. I don’t like to take nice blued guns out in foul weather and constantly worry about rust forming on a special rifle.
I’ve had Browning shotguns and Winchester rifles previously with the Dura-Touch™ stock, and find the rubbery feel to be excellent for control in the field, especially during wet, rainy conditions. Having worked before with the .338 RCM, and amazed with the ballistics the short, fat case produces, I was intrigued by what the very similar-sized WSM shooting .323 diameter bullets could do. As the rifle looked as if it had not even seen a box of shells through it, and the price was too good to pass up, I happily walked out, eager to see how it would perform with carefully crafted handloads.
Chapter 1: Browning X-Bolt
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The ergonomics, how great it feels in your hands, and when at your shoulder, how smoothly the bolt operates, solidified the decision to purchase right away. I like the control of the palm swell in the pistolgrip and the very natural feel of the finger grooves in the forend. The Dura-Touch™ stock is also very quiet in the field. The next thing that sold me is the trigger, smooth, very little creep, and not influenced by a lawyer to be too heavy to accurately shoot. The X-Lock™ scope mounting system, using a total of eight screws, not only four, makes perfect sense and results in a rock-solid platform for mounting a scope.
The detachable, rotary polymer, 3-shot magazine is very easy to insert and remove. The barrel is fully floated, and even when shooting pure copper bullets, fouling was almost non-existent and easy to clean. Removing the barreled action from the stock, one can see that the action- front and rear- is supported in the stock with bedding compound. The...
recoil pad is far more than the typical “rubber boot heel” many rifles now come with; it is engineered to actually break/push the stock away from your cheek, and it really works as promised.
Not wanting to sound like I’m reciting directly from the Browning brochure, it’s just so pleasant that every feature Browning promotes as being a plus on the X-Bolt truly comes out when I hold, handle, and shoot it. This honestly is a rifle for which I don’t need a trigger job, don’t need to have it bedded, and don’t need to have a better recoil pad installed. Personally, I give it an A+ for looks, ergonomics, and functional engineering… but will it shoot?
Chapter 2: Fast, Accurate Handloads
I only had on hand one factory load, Winchester 180 grain Ballistic Silvertips, and they proved to be both fast and accurate. With an average speed of 3,081 fps, and 3-shot group averages of just under an inch, I could grab a box, sight in and be ready to go hunting. They also offer loads featuring 200 grain Nosler AccuBonds or 220 grain Power Points, but none were available on short notice. With ammunition still in short supply, I really wanted to focus anyway, on what the handloader could do with this round using the more readily available 8mm (.323) bullets.
A good representation of all bullet types was already on my shelves from prior work with the 8x57 Mauser. For antelope, deer, caribou, or lighter practice loads, the 150 Grain Hornady SP is great, with reduced charges to duplicate the recoil and performance of the very useful .308 Winchester. Full power loads for the same game, reaching up to 3,300 fps was covered by the 160 grain Barnes TTSX. The all-around 195 Hornady SP or Nosler 200 grain AccuBond would be loaded to almost 3,000 fps and be great for hogs, elk, bear, moose, or a trip to Africa. Some Sierra 220 grain GameKing spitizer boat tails were tested, and also suitable for heavier game.
When handloading, any magnum rifle can be made to perform like a smaller cartridge of the same caliber with a concept I developed over twenty years ago while living in Montana, called MELs-...
Moderate, Effective Loads. In use, the lighter weight bullets within the caliber are chosen, with a shift from case-full charges of very slow powders, to medium charges of medium burning rate powders. Never greatly reduce slow burning powders when trying to develop softer shooting loads. Hodgdon or IMR powders excellent for MELs include: H4198, H322 or H4895; and IMR 4198 or 4895.
In my testing, I tried IMR 4198, H322 and H4895 with charges from the high forties to the mid-fifties. Velocities were right at .308 Winchester speeds, around 2,870 fps, using the 150 Hornady SP bullet. Best 3-shot groups ran from 0.63 to 0.78”, with averages for five, 3-shot groups running from only 0.74 to 0.88”. Anything for which one would use the classic 150-.308 Win load, ballistically, these could do the very same job. They are especially good for practicing with the .325 magnum, with a minimum of recoil and muzzle blast.
All told, almost 30 bullet/powder combinations were tried in the X-Bolt to obtain the twelve handloads listed in the chart. These successful attempts resulted in loads that meet or beat the desirable 1 MOA goal for hunting loads in a magnum rifle. Initially, I tried to do 5-shot groups, but found that 3 shots made the barrel quite hot; pushing it to 5-shot groups made the barrel impossible to touch, and the last two rounds down the hot barrel would wander well out of the initial 3-shot group. Besides, not many big game animals will stand around and give you five chances at them. For magnums, 3-shot groups is a much more realistic test to see how well a given load will perform.
The solid copper Barnes 160 grain TTSXs with blue tips and a boat tail base would be an excellent choice for light to medium big game out to past 400 yards. IMR 4895 produces just over 3,200 fps with 0.80” 3-shot averages, with my best group a very credible 0.58”. Vihtavuori N550 was faster still at 3,321 fps, averaging 0.91” groups. The Hornady 195 SP Interlock shot well with three powders averaging close to 1 inch. My best group measured 0.70” when loaded with 70.8 grains of Alliant RL-19 for 2,969 fps, with a five group average of 1.02”. This bullet could be used for...
everything from deer or elk, on up to moose. Hodgdon H414 and Vihtavuori N550 also produced nearly the same speeds and virtually identical accuracy with the 195 Hornady.
Right from the start, my rifle loved the Nosler 200 grain AccuBonds. Tipped so as to prevent bullet tip deformation, the core is bonded to the jacket ensuring good expansion with high weight retention. Also having a boat tail, the relatively high BC of .450 makes it a good long range deer or elk projectile. It can hold together up close on hogs, black bear, or moose, or still expand past 400 yards on caribou, deer, or elk.
Using Hodgdon H414, I shot two back-to-back groups well under 5/8”, and my five group average came in at only 0.65”. Most of the time, two bullets would touch, and the third would be just a short distance away. Ramshot Hunter or Vihtavuori N550 did almost as well accuracy-wise, at 0.81 and 0.96” respectively, with virtually identical speeds. Note that my loads, in my rifle, are a little higher than some sources indicate. I had no problems with extraction, or burnishing of the ejector plunger on the face of the case. As always, do start 10% below listed charges, and work up slowly in your rifle, stopping beforehand if any warning signs appear.
While I had only a limited quantity of the sleek 220 grain Sierra GameKings, Vihtavuori N560 averaged just under an inch and produced 2,864 fps from the 23” barrel. It would be great on heavier game out to 300+ yards.
Chapter 3: Summary
The .325 WSM has proved to me to be an extremely accurate cartridge in my X-Bolt with a broad variety of bullets. It’s tempting to say that with handloads, using just the 160 grain Barnes TTSX and 200 Nosler AccuBond, you could hunt game small or large, near or far, anywhere in North America, or the rest of the world for that matter. And practicing with the lower recoil MELs featuring the 150 Hornady, would help you to prepare for your hunting with full power loads. Burning 10 ~ 14 grains less than its cousins- the .338 Winchester or the 8mm Remington magnums- with near equivalent performance, its efficiency is also very apparent. A 200 grain...
premium bullet at nearly 3,000 fps is certainly a force to be reckoned with in the field.