[1][2] Introduced at the 2005 Shot Show in Las Vegas, NV, it is the largest member of the Winchester Short Magnum family of cartridges.

The .325 WSM was intended for the hunting of medium and large bodied thin skinned dangerous and non-dangerous big game animals of Africa, Asia, Europe and North America.

The common wisdom indicated that Winchester would release a .33 calibre (8.38 mm) cartridge based on the .300 WSM case.

[citation needed] The .325 Winchester Short Magnum has 5.39 ml (83 grain) H2O cartridge case capacity.

(Commission Internationale Permanente pour l'Epreuve des Armes à Feu Portatives) rulings the .325 Winchester Short Magnum can handle up to 435 MPa (63,091 psi) piezo pressure.

[6] The German 8×68mm S cartridge introduced in 1939 is probably the closest ballistic twin of the .325 Winchester Short Magnum.

The .325 Winchester Short Magnum is considerably shorter and fatter and has a more radical rebated rim, much steeper shoulder angle and a shorter neck (7.82 mm) than the 8×68mm S. This makes the 8×68mm S case with its 9.11 mm long neck better suited for loading long heavier bullets and due to its sleeker exterior shape bound to cycle more reliably in bolt-action rifles in extreme situations.

On the other hand, the proportions of .325 Winchester Short Magnum promote good internal ballistic efficiency that allows the .325 Winchester Short Magnum to fire shorter lighter bullets at slightly higher muzzle velocities whilst using less propellant than the classically proportioned 8×68mm – that has 5.58 ml (86 grains) H2O cartridge case capacity.

However, these later two cartridges have a distinct edge of being able to seat long heavy 220 gr (14 g) bullets without encroaching upon the powder space.

It was intended to take medium and large bodied, dangerous thin skinned game up to 1,800 pounds (816 kg).

However, on the contrary to what some competitive shooters and sportsman believe, and as mentioned above, for reloaders there are quite an array of bullet sizes and shapes to choose from.

Originally, Winchester released the Ultimate Shadow, Camo Ultimate Shadow, Classic Featherweight, Classic Laminated, Super Grade RMEF (Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation) and Super Grade III in the 325 WSM while Browning chambered the 325 WSM in their A-Bolt, X-Bolt and BAR rifle lines.