6.8 Western

[jhutch3313]

This is more of a general ammo question rather than reloading however I do believe it applies to both. Is the 6.8 Western the next best thing? Or just another new caliber that is going to fizzle out. I have been doing a lot of research and comparing to the 270wsm and the newer of the two 6.5prc and I do see the enticement of using a heavier bullet, but is it worth the trouble with ammo selection and availably compared to calibers that are already out there? Would love to hear everyone's opinion.

 

[Steel head]

A bit shorter case than 270WSM and the new 170 EOL Bullet certainly wouldn’t be a slouch.

 

[jhutch3313]

A bit shorter case than 270WSM and the new 170 EOL Bullet certainly wouldn’t be a slouch.

Yeah I saw that, the shoulder angle is different too, a few articles I read were selling the caliber as improved upon toward long range shooter parameters, but it seems more marketed as a hunting round.

 

[wpeach1912]

A new 270 caliber round doesn’t make sense when 7mm exists in my opinion. 7 Sherman short or 7 saum seem to do the same thing especially if it is marketed towards hunting. Larger bullet diameter, higher S.D.s, and more bullet selection with 7mm

 

[spife7980]

A new 270 caliber round doesn’t make sense when 7mm exists in my opinion. 7 Sherman short or 7 saum seem to do the same thing especially if it is marketed towards hunting. Larger bullet diameter, higher S.D.s, and more bullet selection with 7mm

But less whoop ass

 

[myronman3]

i am as big a 270 fan as anyone....but this one is a complete yawner. anyone that buys one better buy a pile of ammo/brass with it. watched this with the wssm line....what a joke that turned out to be. if i had a dime for everyone that approached me at a gun show and asked if i was interested in buying their wssm.....

 

[Openingday]

I had Mile high build me a 270win with a 1:8 throated for the 170 EOL a few years ago. Shoots great! Here’s the issue as I see it. When I tried to get load data from the bullet manufacturers they couldn’t give it to me. They are all SAAMI controlled. As such, they were not able to do any ballistics testing with the 170 EOL or the 165 ABLR or any other available LR Bullets as the SAAMI spec for 270 twist is 1:10 (which won’t stabilize high BC long Bullets) and cartridge dimensions are also limited by the spec. The advantage to the 6.8 Western is now the 270 guys can get ballistics data for LR Bullets. For me this is essential because the energy I can generate with my custom 270win allows me to carry 1800ft lbs out to over 600 yds. Many feel that 1800 is the limit for taking an elk humanely. That can be argued with bullet placement by precision shooters like me, but nevertheless having SAAMI data for .277 LR loads will be very beneficial. It gives an option for the very large 270 win crowd to get more involved in LR precision shooting with increased energy to boot for hunting, and that’s a good thing.

 

[jhutch3313]

I had Mile high build me a 270win with a 1:8 throated for the 170 EOL a few years ago. Shoots great! Here’s the issue as I see it. When I tried to get load data from the bullet manufacturers they couldn’t give it to me. They are all SAAMI controlled. As such, they were not able to do any ballistics testing with the 170 EOL or the 165 ABLR or any other available LR Bullets as the SAAMI spec for 270 twist is 1:10 (which won’t stabilize high BC long Bullets) and cartridge dimensions are also limited by the spec. The advantage to the 6.8 Western is now the 270 guys can get ballistics data for LR Bullets. For me this is essential because the energy I can generate with my custom 270win allows me to carry 1800ft lbs out to over 600 yds. Many feel that 1800 is the limit for taking an elk humanely. That can be argued with bullet placement by precision shooters like me, but nevertheless having SAAMI data for .277 LR loads will be very beneficial. It gives an option for the very large 270 win crowd to get more involved in LR precision shooting with increased energy to boot for hunting, and that’s a good thing.

That's a great perspective of the new round for sure, I totally get wanting load data for what you're shooting and it sounds like you were ahead of the ball with the 1:8 twist with the 270 cal. My question to you is, are you considering using the 6.8 western? or do you just benefit from the load data with your current set up beings they are pretty similar as it is.