7mm Rem Mag VS 6.8 Western

[Wild Monkey]

Strictly from a Hunting perspective. How do these two Cartridges compare? What can the Western do that my 7mm Rem Mag cannot? I looked up the BC on the bullets that I see for sale in loaded ammo and they are not comparable to the 7mm at all. I was lead to believe they were all high BC .277 pills. This left me scratching me head.

 

[can1010]

one is not any better than the other. the slight difference in BC is only a couple clicks on your turret and if your not turning turrets then the target is close enough and BC dont matter so decide whether you want long or short action and buy the one that best fits you and your shooting style and be happy

 

[Northkill]

Strictly from a Hunting perspective. How do these two Cartridges compare? What can the Western do that my 7mm Rem Mag cannot? I looked up the BC on the bullets that I see for sale in loaded ammo and they are not comparable to the 7mm at all. I was lead to believe they were all high BC .277 pills. This left me scratching me head.

There are some good BC 277 options out there, but pretty much what can1010 says... Might be able to get the 6.8 Western to perform and handle in a lighter/smaller platform a little easier, but in the end the difference is finer than a frog's hair.

Now if you could get the 140 BD Super Bulldozers to run good in a 6.8 W, that I could see being some fun.

 

[DoneNOut]

What can the Western do that my 7mm Rem Mag cannot?

Not a daggum thing!

 

[Northkill]

Not a daggum thing!

Should be able to push the good ole 7 RM ahead of the 6.8 W. More case volume - scads of high BC heavy options...

 

[DoneNOut]

Should be able to push the good ole 7 RM ahead of the 6.8 W. More case volume - scads of high BC heavy options...

Absolutely

 

[Trm82]

Any off the 7 rems I've owned will push a 175 to 3050 on the top end.
Not sure the western would get there !!

 

[can1010]

case capacity is pretty close 78 for the western and 82 rem mag. both have quality bullets in the 140-175 class and both have accuracy nodes in the 2900-3000 fps range so until someone talks to a deer and they told them that they wont die because the bullet was .277 and they roll over with feet in the air with .284, both are so close that they are almost identical

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

They are basically ballistic twins for the most part I would think. However, the 7mm should slightly edge it out in the bigger bullets. I'm pushing a 180 eld-m at 3053 fps in a 26in barrel currently from my 7mm mag. I'd hate to believe a 6.8 western is going to keep up with that! I domt know much about the 6.8.

 

[Traveling Man]

From a purely hunting perspective, nothing but the story is yet to be written from a ballistic perspective for the 6.8 Western due to it's recent release. 3 or 4 years from now we should have more data to really judge this round.

 

[ntsqd]

If you truly desire a "real" 7mm in that class of performance it seems to me that there are existing options that have history and a track record. Easiest would be the .270 Roy, followed by the 270 WSM. Even a 7RM necked down to .277 wildcat has likely been built many times and would have known results. I don't normally argue against new developmwents, but the 6.8 W seems like the answer to a question that no one (except marketing) asked.

 

[Dentite]

There are some good BC 277 options out there, but pretty much what can1010 says... Might be able to get the 6.8 Western to perform and handle in a lighter/smaller platform a little easier, but in the end the difference is finer than a frog's hair.

Now if you could get the 140 BD Super Bulldozers to run good in a 6.8 W, that I could see being some fun.

And that, I think is the beauty. More efficient than some existing options, short action for more compactness, and guns with faster twist to stabilize the longer heavier high BC bullets.

I think when a lot of a new cartridges come out, it's easy to say "what's the point, my X does the same thing or better". IMO it's great that people and companies are trying to be innovative and the more options, the better.

And if some of the new cartridges of today were the "old" cartridges and some of the old cartridges were introduced as new cartridges, they would be laughed at as inefficient, with pointless features such as a belt, etc.

 

[ntsqd]

The belt originally had a valid purpose.

Then marketing connected the belt to being a 'Magnum' and created the illusion that the belt added case head strength that was necessary for a case to be considered a 'Magnum'. Then no cartridge that wanted to be a 'Magnum' could go without the belt.
It has been continued in spite of being useless in most rifles because marketing created the need in consumers.

Now 60+ years later marketing has "educated" we consumers and we (finally!) see no need for the belt in a bolt action. With that kind of industry marketing track record the 6.5 Creedmoor is going to be with us for a very long time.....

 

[Hand Skills]

There is one thing the 6.8 Western has over the 7mm rem mag - it can run in a short action.

From a 'performance' standpoint, the 6.8 Western is basically a 270 win on a short action.

The real benefit is fast twists for heavy bullets. That is something all 6.8 westerns will have that not all 7mm RM's have either. Many are 1-9.5"

270WSM is closer to the 7mm RM. Especially if both are on a long action. Twisted fast and throated for heavies, both will pull ahead of the 6.8 Western, which is, for all intents and purposes, a 6.8 SAUM...