Anyone know the fate of the 6.8 western?

[Frank in the Laurels]

..another wasted promotional gimmick, if you bought one I'd suggest you buy as many casings as you can find, no matter what the cost compared to what you will if you don't...

 

[Quintus]

One thing I will say about the 68, it did push bullet makers to kick out at least a few .277 heavier options so my next 270Bee will be a 7.5T.

 

[Rifleman97]

Man I have been waiting for the ADG brass to hit so guys can put it to the test. Although im not a a fan of cartridges less that 7mm, for some reason i want to see what this 6.8 can do. It's kind of talking to me. Is there any reason this would be a choice over the 270wsm? I'm not hip on the WSMs but I've read the choice for longer ranges would be the 6.8? Don't know why?

6.8 western has a faster twist rate from the factory, and a slightly longer throat I believe so it can handle the heavies better. This has never affected guys who build custom as they just choose the twist rate they prefer, and the throat length they want. But for a factory rifle, the 6.8 western is better than the 270wsm for those reasons.

Also just remembered, the 6.8 has the shoulder pushed back and the case shortened so it can have the bullets seated long and still fit in a short or medium length action. The 270wsm seated long needs a medium or long action.

 

[Hand Skills]

Cool thing about 6.8w is you can neck down 7saum and shoot.

Kinda like how you can neck down 300wsm brass to .270wsm and shoot it.

I like the .270wsm at 3.150" OACL myself.

If a guy is concerned about support or factory ammo, just build a .270win Centurion Edition

Fast twist barrel and a 3.5-3.6" mag box, and you'll be right there with the 6.8w in performance.

Happy 100th birthday, .270 win

Here's to more!

 

[Lou270]

I have too many nice 270 wins to want another "standard" but as a long time 270 fan may do a fast twist "270 Centurion" for the 100 year anniversary. Have bunch of different heavy 277 bullets to feed my 6.8Ws anyway and can only use one at a time there

Lou

 

[fseaman.js]

Curious about what the fate of the 6.8 western will be. Anyone have any hot tips on if shot show is going to have any 6.8 news? I want to rebarrel my 6.5prc and this is a top contender, but without some more support I'm likely to go to a different route.
Cheers

I think the 6.8 Western will be with us for a long time.

Will it become a "classic" like the 270? Only time will tell.

Will there be ammo and components for a long time? I think so because it's not that different from several other chamberings in the same category. 300 RUM based "short magnum" that are near or same length as a good ol' 308. So brass makers only need small adjustments to make a run of 6.8 Western vs 270 WSM.

This points out something "important" to rifle manufacturers and reamer makers. The twist, throat, freebore, stuffing angle and all those little "specs" are written into the specifications listed with SAAMI and CIP.

A change as simple as the twist 1-8 for a 6.8 Western vs 1-10 for a 270 WSM to CIP, SAAMI and manufacturers is a big thing. For us, specifying a custom gun or replacing a barrel, not such a big deal. We choose the twist that lets us shoot the intended bullets "best".

Throating or the space for "longer" bullets can also be a big thing for manufacturers. Custom or replacement barrel? Again, not an issue for us.

I know because I've been lucky to have the conversation with a ballistician at one of the manufacturers, that the assembled cartridge has to fit within the limits of the target action. So the 6.8 case dimensions were altered to accommodate longer bullets but still fit the targe actions, basically 2.8" COAL. Just changing the twist of the 270 WSM to 1-8 and using longer bullets would "solve" the same problem but then... NOT NEW

You won't go wrong building a 6.8 Western. You won't go wrong building a 270 WSM 1-8 twist. For both if the rifle can accommodate COAL longer than 2.8, there is no "difference".

Choose which ever rocks your world more.

What action?

 

[Idaho Lefty]

I keep hearing this but Win has had more success than anybody. 270, 243, 308, 300 historically. The 300 wsm still has more sku than 6.5 prc and 270 wsm has more than 7prc. They have had their stinkers like wssms and 7wsm but so has hornady…rcms, 338 marlins, 450 marlin and bunch of others you can't get ammo for at all. At least Win will give you a run of 325 wsm power points In recent times, not popular here but the 350 legend is wildely successful and 6.8W had a big punch from 7prc but staggering back up. Just annoys me that people think Hornady is the only company than can do something but that is very near sighted

Lou

The Volume of Sales of, the 7 PRC is getting, pretty Large with, Lots of, New Rifles and Pre-Fit Barrels being, Chambered, for It !
So,. there's "Formidable opposition" as to, Volume of Sales for the 6.8 W..
But IF, a 6.8 W. is desired,.. Buy ENOUGH, Brass, Bullets and, a Good set of, Dies for it, for WHEN / If, "sale's" do Get,.. "Spotty" to be, safe.

 

[Lou270]

The Volume of Sales of, the 7 PRC is getting, pretty Large with, Lots of, New Rifles and Pre-Fit Barrels being, Chambered, for It !
So,. there's "Formidable opposition" as to, Volume of Sales for the 6.8 W..
But IF, a 6.8 W. is desired,.. Buy ENOUGH, Brass, Bullets and, a Good set of, Dies for it, for WHEN / If, "sale's" do Get,.. "Spotty" to be, safe.

100% true for any. No doubt, the 7prc is doing great. But is is not just "stealing" from 6.8W. It will do same if not more to 6.5 prc, 300 prc for those who are enamored with the highest possible BC of match bullets which fuel the high end rifle churners during the long range trend we have now. All of these will be hard to get in a down turn like covid when all you could get was 308 and 223 or common stuff like 30-06/270 at times. This is because a couple of years of popularity is nothing compared to the world wide number of rifles out there for rounds that have been popular for 50-100 years. For ex, I didnt see 6.5/300 PRC ammo or brass at all during Covid until the big classics were regularly back in stock. Actually 6.8W was the only non 308/223 ammo due to intro during the pandemic and probably caused a bunch of rifles to be sold in that cartridge initially

Lou

 

[Mike D Texas]

It will end up as an enthusiast cartridge at best.

 

[southpa]

6.8 western has a faster twist rate from the factory, and a slightly longer throat I believe so it can handle the heavies better. This has never affected guys who build custom as they just choose the twist rate they prefer, and the throat length they want. But for a factory rifle, the 6.8 western is better than the 270wsm for those reasons.

Also just remembered, the 6.8 has the shoulder pushed back and the case shortened so it can have the bullets seated long and still fit in a short or medium length action. The 270wsm seated long needs a medium or long action.

So, essentially for a custom rifle guy who reloads its nothing different except a tad smaller and slower?

 

[Rifleman97]

So, essentially for a custom rifle guy who reloads its nothing different except a tad smaller and slower?

Precisely. Nothing wrong with that, choose which you prefer

 

[Starbuck]

I don't see the utility in switching a 6.5PRC to 6.8W, or in choosing a 6.8W over a 6.5 PRC for a new rifle build/purchase, all else being equal. The 6.5PRC is already well established, there will be little to zero discernable difference in on game performance, and with a 6.8W, for at least the near future, you'll struggle to find high end brass and have less options for high BC bullets.

That being said, I don't see a thing wrong with wanting something different just to give it a try or because a certain bullet diameter winds your clock for whatever reason. I already have a LH 6.5 PRC Tikka that shoots fantastic, but I have also been eyeing up the deals I'm seeing on the X-bolt MAX SPR's in 6 8W. Already picked 2 of the X-Bolt MAX LR's up in different cartridges, but won't likely say no to a 6.8W much longer if I see one for sub $600. I figure it'll maybe someday fit right in next to my 325wsm, 7wsm, 270 wsm, 358's, 450 Marlins, etc, etc.

Given the 6.5PRC's head start, I would've gotten more excited if the 6.8W was either a 7mmW or a 6mmW instead of being so close to the 6.5. I'd have even been a fan of standardizing a 1:8 twist, throated for 212, 215, 225's on the 300wsm.

 

[Calvin45]

At the store I work at We've sold as many 6.8 western chambered rifles (Brownings) in the last year as we have .270 winchesters, which surprised the heck out of me. Not a ton of either to be fair, but still. I think it'll be a slow but steady kind of winner. No explosion of interest or hysterical fanfare and hype…but it's a solid performer that really does hit a sweet spot in my opinion with the 165-175 grain loadings. Head and shoulders above the 6.5 PRC, no question about it at all, and a true short action that by all accounts outguns or at least matches the 7prc (which is not a short action) ballistically. It's a winner. I think more and more folks are starting to see that.

 

[ObiJohn]

The 6.8 Western is a great choice if you have a short/.308 length action and want to shoot high BC bullets. The factory .270 WSM will not handle bullets over 150 grains because of the twist rate, and rebarreling with a fast twist still leaves the problem of cartridge length with high BC bullets in a short action (why the 6.8 was designed/created). The 7 PRC requires a medium/.30-06 length action.

You will always be able to make 6.8 Western brass from .270 or .300 WSM brass.

The 6.8 will be around as long as short magnum brass and .277 high BC bullets are available. My Mausingfield already has an extra magnum bolt head and extractor and is waiting on a 6.8 CF barrel... it's going to have .22-250 1:7, .308, and 6.8 barrels and be my switch barrel hunting rifle.