6.8 Western

[DavidA]

Just goes to show you what marketing does. Remington never marketed it properly and then never put out AMMO for it. They sort of screwed the pooch there.

 

[Lee Goodwin]

Seems to me the biggest leaps have been powder and projectiles, over the last 20 years. Scopes and gunmaking has gotten better since computers came along. Now, shooters have to catch up and pick a set up and practice.

 

[Coastal]

The problem with the .260 was that it was just a little bit before it's time. The high BC /fast twist craze hadn't hit yet. That was in the late 90's. And I remember all the gun 'spurts talking about "I don't know why we need this. We already have the .270/7mm-08 that will do everything it does and then some. And we have the .243 and 6mm that will do all the light stuff even better." At that time all anyone cared about was velocity and it was not a screamer by any means. THAT is what hurt the .260. Same reason you didn't hear much about the 6.5x55 then either, despite all the multitude of guys who claim they were slaying critters with their 6.5x55 for decades before the Creedmoor.

 

[Deleted member 115360]

Can all just agree that B.C. now means "before creedmoor" as a way to establish time? I can do that math with my hands..

 

[Trm82]

View attachment 243079
Attached is my 270 wsm load with a 130 gr classic hunter at 3089 and a 6.8 western at 2835 with a 170 eol both at 7500 ft

There is no way your numbers for the 270 wsm are correct .
I run your velocity at altitude on my app and have numbers no where close to what your claiming with your load !!
I get 1753 FPS and 887ft/lb at 1000yards with your load.
What your saying you get with your load beats my 270 wby shooting 140 classic hunters @ 3390 FPS not likely

 

[Send it 284]

Now something game changing is the 277 Furry. The ballistics performance is ridiculous. It makes sense as a mountain packing riffle, small, light and powerful. Unfortunately pushing 80,000 psi, I would think your barrel life would be fairly limited. I looked at Speacial cases made out of stronger alloy brass and $4.95 per case, couple that with limited barrel life and it is pretty expensive to shoot. Glad to see more people entering the long and heavy .277 market though.

So the 277 Fury is supposed to launch a 140 grain low bc bullet at 3000 fps from a 16" barrel right?
I just got my 16" 6.5 saum barrel screwed on, and with a 20 rounds through the barrel I'm getting 2850 with 142s and H1000. Obviously the wrong powder for a 16" barrel..
I just worked up a few charges with RL 26 this afternoon and hit pressure at 3075!
More testing to come but its making that 277 fury seem a lot less impressive

 

[MtnMann]

Back when I was just starting to hunt big game my dad bought into the hype of the 270WSM and traded in a Rem700 270WIN for a Rem700 XCR 270WSM. Never had any issues with the cartridge in terms of effectiveness on animals but we never cared for the round especially as it has always been an expensive round to shoot.

Unless by some miracle the 6.8 Western is able to be produced in high quantities and the ammo sold at a reasonable price, I don't see it becoming very popular. I'm sure it will have its fans as every cartridge does, but I am currently loading a 180gr Berger in my 7mm Rem Mag pushing it around 3020fps out of a 26" factory Rem 700. As such there would be no reason from a performance standing for me to pick up the 6.8 Western. The only benefit I see is the ability to use a short action but for me personally the few inches in OAL I save on my rifle doesn't make sense financially.

 

[762x51]

there's no ammo on the shelves as it is and they're coming up with new stuff to not be on the shelves either?

 

[HunterMann]

So, how about how poor the timing is that they 277 sig fury and the 6.8 western are launched right on top of each other, and both of them fill a hole that didn't really exist. I think some of you nailed it, they are just praying to be the next 6.5cm. They are hoping for the equivalent of "going viral" in today's nonsensical world of cartridge marketing. The 6.5 caliber is exhausted for mass marketing, so they had to move on to thr next probable diameter opportunity.

Next year 4 companies will make .25 cartridges with awesome marketing names, and that is the culture we have now..

I agree that it is mostly a bunch marketing hype to sell more guns and ammo. You don't have to be better, just newer! Post some articles and videos of guys screaming how incredible the cartridge/rifle/scope is and people will buy it. Look at the "Short Magnum" craze of a few years ago; not many survivors left today. Different! or New! or Limited Supply! marketing works across all retail sectors. Look at the adds pushing coffees, doughnuts, and fast food sandwiches; the method works. With the new machining and manufacturing technologies the manufactures don't have to sell 5000 units to be successful. They are probably even at 500 and making good profits by 1000 units sold. If demand keeps steady, they manufacture another run to their production target. Repeat as often as required. If demand drops off, they shelve the product for something different, newer, or limited supply again. There seem to be plenty of willing buyers in the marketplace.

 

[Calvin45]

One thing that I find irritating (and it's nothing new either) is the apples to potatoes spin they put on these things. This 6.8 w is being advertised to retain more energy than a 7mm rem mag. No way that's true comparing the highest bc projectiles in both cartridges.

and Ron Spomer endorsing it means nothing to me, if anything it's against it. He's a great hunter and shooter no doubt but reading a few articles and watching a few videos about anything ballistic and technical and I know what I need to know. Saw a YouTube video by him explaining why the 6.5 creedmoor beats the .300 win mag at 1000 yards, proceeding to compare the ballistics of the 143 eldx with the 180 COR-lokt.

 

[Send it 284]

One thing that I find irritating (and it's nothing new either) is the apples to potatoes spin they put on these things. This 6.8 w is being advertised to retain more energy than a 7mm rem mag. No way that's true comparing the highest bc projectiles in both cartridges.

and Ron Spomer endorsing it means nothing to me, if anything it's against it. He's a great hunter and shooter no doubt but reading a few articles and watching a few videos about anything ballistic and technical and I know what I need to know. Saw a YouTube video by him explaining why the 6.5 creedmoor beats the .300 win mag at 1000 yards, proceeding to compare the ballistics of the 143 eldx with the 180 COR-lokt.

Yep its totall crap

 

[can1010]

you know what is really irritating page after page of facebook pile on, herd mentality and group think. its starting to sound like the leftwing media talking points, come on now everybody lets rehearse saying all the same thing at the same time.

what don't people understand it wasn't designed or marketed with us in mind. they don't care about your custom rig, your fast twist rebarrel or your custom hotrod reloads.
this was for the guy that wants to buy a rifle and a couple boxes of ammo and enjoy themselves because they have a life other than shooting and spending countless hours at the range and loading bench then bragging how great they are shooting with some miracle powder at incredible velocity

 

[HunterMann]

But the 6.5 Creedmoor works right? If it didn't work with all the hype, it would be a do noting cartridge, right?

The 6.8 Western is a smart idea, better than putting a fast twist barrel on a 270 Win, the 30-06 case does has limitations even when AI'd.

Good idea at the wrong time.

I have used a 260 REM [worst cartridge name ever] since before anyone conceived of the 6.5 CR. The 260 REM is great for the shooting I do. However the 6.5 CR is a decent package and I might even buy one some day. But there are now many more and better .264 bullet choices than when I first started with the 260 REM.

 

[HunterMann]

As I see it the only point of Winchester and Browning developing this was so there could be a production rifle produced that mimicked what others have been building custom 270 wsm's throated long for years now. If you want a production rifle that's less expensive this cartridge would be the way to go. But compared to having your barrel throated for the heavies I don't see another advantage. 6,8 western has a shorter shoulder and maybe some taper taken out of the 270 wsm parent case.

Lots of people in the marketplace are not interested in customization of throats, rate of twist, hand loading, or other specialties. They are willing to pay for off the shelf accuracy and in reality they can get it. As much as they care to spend. The are buying the short cut to the end result. They probably won't shoot 4 boxes of ammo in a year because they don't have to. They bought what they wanted...