Best Hunting Caliber that Fits a Short Action??

[ObiJohn]

If OP is purchasing a spare barrel, why not use a 270 WSM reamer instead of the 6.8 Western so he can take advantage of the added case capacity of the WSM?

It's my impression that Winchester shortened the overall case length and then steepened the shoulder angle to retain almost all of the WSM's case capacity while allowing the 175 gr bullets to fit into a short action's overall cartridge length. I wonder if they'll eventually launch a .30 Western, or .338 Western, with the same Western cartridge case and set up for VLD bullets.

 

[Leaf Litter]

Bingo.

Trust me, I'd LOVE the WSM gain over the 6.8 Western in case capacity if I were running it in a full length 3.34" action, but with a 2.95" length limit, the WSM doesn't give you anything due to the amount if case capacity the longer bullets take up.