6.8 Western- has it been abandoned already?

Only time will tell if the 6.8 Western is here to stay. Ive sen ammo for it on the shelves when little else was. They'd better start producing more rifles fast while there is still some memory of it in the publics mind...and reinvest in marketing hype at the same time.

The new cartridges- They're all new models of toys for the purpose of creating economic activity. There is no "need" for any new cartridge, except for long range competition, in which case increased BC, lower recoil, and possibly greater velocity are the holy grail. No change that is made will change the hunting and casual target shooting experience we now have available. This is not to say it's not fun or there is no value in having a new model toy. In 30 years we'll have laser blasters or something similar that will obsolete all of it, except for the appeal of antiquities just like we like to shoot a flintlock.


Some of you will still be alive in 40 years, and I don't envy you. Mankind has rarely been able to control the application and use of its new technologies and this time around the new tech will be controlling US! This is a given. We will be the entity that becomes obsolete. (Assuming we don't end it all first.)

So enjoy your 6.8 western, 32WSM, wildcat you create, old school 06 or whatever toy that occupies your limited time on earth as much as you can.
Happy Thursday everyone!

Shortmag11 said:

I don't think it ever took off. I don't live out west but I've never seen one on a shelf anywhere. Even if they are selling as fast as they arrive how many is that? 1 or 2 every blue moon when one arrives at a store? And it's really not a new cartridge. It's a 270wsm with an 8 twist instead of 10. This is the worst example ever of a manufacturer trying to reinvent a wheel. Just my $.02.

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You can say that about a lot of cartridges.

the 6.5CM is a short action 6.5x55, or it's a fast twist 260rem. The 6cm is a fast twist 243win.
The 300prc is a fast twist 300wm.
The 6.5prc is a fast twist 264wm.
The 7PRC is a fast twist 7rm.

So I guess they're doing a lot of reinventing the wheel.

When you do the ballistics on 6.8W vs 270wsm in factory offerings, the 6.8W offers a lot more if distances are going to be more than 300yards or so.

Oh and 6.8W is on every shelf here.

skipglo said:

The 6.8 what?

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I don't remember. I'll look when I get home.

My lgs shelves are full of ammo for it

akmtnhnt said:

You can say that about a lot of cartridges.

the 6.5CM is a short action 6.5x55, or it's a fast twist 260rem. The 6cm is a fast twist 243win.
The 300prc is a fast twist 300wm.
The 6.5prc is a fast twist 264wm.
The 7PRC is a fast twist 7rm.

So I guess they're doing a lot of reinventing the wheel.

When you do the ballistics on 6.8W vs 270wsm in factory offerings, the 6.8W offers a lot more if distances are going to be more than 300yards or so.

Oh and 6.8W is on every shelf here.

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Ammo and funky looking brownings with every shade of cerakote imaginiable....

I realize the inception of the 6.8 western was probably mid Trump slump and winchester was thinking they can't let hornady release a pile of cartridges unanswered. Now it just seems a bit frustrating. Dusty ammo sitting there at sportsman's, while we clamor and fight for slow powder and primers like it's the last chopper out of Vietnam.

Northkill said:

What velocity is it able to push with the 156 HH?

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2.945 COL
20 thousandths off
H4350
Winchester brass
Labradar
54-2854
55-2877
56-2909
57-2976
58-3015
59-3075
60-3106
61-3176 light ejector mark
62-3188 light ejector mark
Settled at 60.5 @ 3130

Excellent. Thanks

Northkill said:

Excellent. Thanks

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FWIW Factory 175s avg 2806 out of mine

And the .270 TH (Win) with 1:8tw, 5R, 27" Light Palma, 700LA, nearly touched 3300 with 156HH and RL26. Final load a measly 3200fps at .4MOA. The old girl can hold its own with new fangled 6.8 wannabes. But its not name catchy unless you say .270 Thors Hammer!!

tknuts103 said:

I have a feeling the 7 PRC will have the same availability and price as the 6.5 PRC. Is that offered in anything good but the 143 ELD-X? Unless you are a reloaded it is a horrible choice in my opinion. Not being a smart ***. Seriously asking if they offer anything decent for factory hunting rounds. I only know one person with a 6.5 PRC

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Berger offers factory ammo:
6.5 PRC 156 Grain Extreme Outer Limits (EOL) Elite Hunter Rifle Ammunition

Spor*****s Warehouse has the following 6.5 PRC on their website:
Barnes 127 LRX
Barnes 130 LRX
Browning Long Range Pro Hunter 130
Federal Premium Trophy Copper 120
Federal Premium 130 TA
Federal Fusion 140 SP
Hornady 143 ELD-X
Hornady 147 ELD-M
Norma 143 BBT
Nosler 120 TPFMJ
Nosler 140 AccuBond
Nosler 142 Long Range AccuBond
Remington 145 OTMBT
Winchester Match 140 BTHP
Winchester 142 AccuBond

Choice Ammunition has the following offerings:
Choice Ammunition 120 Barns TTSX
Choice Ammunition 127 Barns LRX
Choice Ammunition 130 Barns TSX
Choice Ammunition 130 Berger VLC Hunting
Choice Ammunition 130 Nosler Accubond
Choice Ammunition 140 Barns BT Match Burner
Choice Ammunition 140 Berger VLD Hunting
Choice Ammunition 140 Hornady ELD-M
Choice Ammunition 140 Nosler Accubond
Choice Ammunition 143 Hornady ELD-X
Choice Ammunition 145 Barns BT Match Burner
Choice Ammunition 147 Hornady 147 ELD-M
Choice Ammunition 156 Berger EOL Elite Hunter

This is not a complete list by any means. Lots of choices for the 6.5 PRC!

7.62 Gunner said:

Trust me I'm not even a little excited about the 7 prc, I really dislike what hornady did with all the prcs.
But making a 270 with 4-5 grains less capacity than a 270 wsm, and marrying yourself to a very limited selection of heavy high bc bullets is even dumber.

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Complaining about too much BC? Seriously, who wants to deliberately choose lesser BC projectiles for the longish shots encountered while hunting "western" areas? Any gun that comes out these days that doesn't have room for and isn't twisted and throated for heavies is doomed and, quite frankly, a sign that the manufacturer hasn't been keeping up with new developments and industry trends.

And, if a 130 grn .277 bullet that disproportionately looses steam at 300+ turns your crank, the 270 wsm is still pretty widely available.

PredatorSlayer45 said:

Just buy a Winchester 270 short mag and change the twist. Same thing. All marketing and people fell for it

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Sounds way easier and cheaper than just buying a 6.8 W off the shelf if you want to send properly stabilized, high BC .277 bullets.

It's a similar scenario to the 260 - 6.5 CM progression. Instead of buying a readily available 6.5 CM and a bunch of readily available ammo, all one had to do is get a fast twist barrel for their 260, carve some out of the mag box and bottom of the action, and not have the option of shooting factory ammo. Imagine all these rubes that fell for the 6.5 CM marketing!

Starbuck said:

Sounds way easier and cheaper than just buying a 6.8 W off the shelf if you want to send properly stabilized, high BC .277 bullets.

It's a similar scenario to the 260 - 6.5 CM progression. Instead of buying a readily available 6.5 CM and a bunch of readily available ammo, all one had to do is get a fast twist barrel for their 260, carve some out of the mag box and bottom of the action, and not have the option of shooting factory ammo. Imagine all these rubes that fell for the 6.5 CM marketing!

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Nailed it and the majority of the blame falls on the big gun manufacturers. Up until I believe 2018, Browning and Winchester never offered variant twists. I could be wrong, but I've never seen them

VenatusDominus said:

Berger offers factory ammo:
6.5 PRC 156 Grain Extreme Outer Limits (EOL) Elite Hunter Rifle Ammunition

Spor*****s Warehouse has the following 6.5 PRC on their website:
Barnes 127 LRX
Barnes 130 LRX
Browning Long Range Pro Hunter 130
Federal Premium Trophy Copper 120
Federal Premium 130 TA
Federal Fusion 140 SP
Hornady 143 ELD-X
Hornady 147 ELD-M
Norma 143 BBT
Nosler 120 TPFMJ
Nosler 140 AccuBond
Nosler 142 Long Range AccuBond
Remington 145 OTMBT
Winchester Match 140 BTHP
Winchester 142 AccuBond

Choice Ammunition has the following offerings:
Choice Ammunition 120 Barns TTSX
Choice Ammunition 127 Barns LRX
Choice Ammunition 130 Barns TSX
Choice Ammunition 130 Berger VLC Hunting
Choice Ammunition 130 Nosler Accubond
Choice Ammunition 140 Barns BT Match Burner
Choice Ammunition 140 Berger VLD Hunting
Choice Ammunition 140 Hornady ELD-M
Choice Ammunition 140 Nosler Accubond
Choice Ammunition 143 Hornady ELD-X
Choice Ammunition 145 Barns BT Match Burner
Choice Ammunition 147 Hornady 147 ELD-M
Choice Ammunition 156 Berger EOL Elite Hunter

This is not a complete list by any means. Lots of choices for the 6.5 PRC!

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Oh wow and these are not just the bullet for reloading, correct?