6.8 Western introduction(Winchester)

[284winner]

Well it looks like finally a rifle company (Browning/Winchester) will finally be offering a .270 rifle with a fast twist(1:7.5)barrel. Just read about the 6.8 Western. Noticed that 165/170/175 loaded ammo will be available for that cartridge. More than likely with the introduction of this cartridge, other ammunition manufacturers will offer longer heavier bullets and loaded ammo also. For those that have been waiting for a factory .270 rifle with a fast twist barrel and loaded ammunition, it looks like your in luck.

 

[Jason Boersma]

Why not just 27 WSM, not as cool as 6.8 western

 

[MClark]

Other than the 270 Winchester the .277 is a redheaded stepchild.
The calibers flanking it, 6.5 and 7mm, are overrun with cartridges many essentially the same.
Winchester just changed the WSM enough so it would not chamber the new cartridge. Keeping the chamber the same and renaming a cartridge has happened before to correct for twist, 244 to 6mm Remington and 7mm Express to 280 Remington come to mind.

I want a 270-08, yes I have heard all the arguments, get a 7-08 it’s better because.......
But I still want one

another thread on this site,

Winchester modifies the WSM and creates the 6.8 Western

https://saami.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/6.8-Western-Public-Introduction-Orig-2020-11-01.pdf

forum.accurateshooter.com

 

[284winner]

For those that build rifles and reload, a new cartridge doesn't mean much.

 

[dannyjbiggs]

Very interesting (plus along with what I read in the other article). However, to me it is just another form of "churning"! You know...what you don't want your stock broker to do with your account.

Dan

 

[284winner]

Very interesting (plus along with what I read in the other article). However, to me it is just another form of "churning"! You know...what you don't want your stock broker to do with your account.

Dan

Most new cartridges are. Gotta say tho, at least the industry is moving.

 

[whatwind?]

SAUM length WSM case.....interesting

 

[CJ6]

I want a 270-08, yes I have heard all the arguments, get a 7-08 it’s better because.......
But I still want one

The Sig 277 FURY...80,000 psi Short action.

 

[ebb]

Years ago the gun companies would never use a metric caliber designation on a rifle they intended to sell to the American public. Now they do it on purpose.

 

[CJ6]

Years ago the gun companies would never use a metric caliber designation on a rifle they intended to sell to the American public. Now they do it on purpose.

In the 70's we were told that all things in standard were going to be changed to Metric.......50 yrs. later The Ammo industry may just be the first to do that....lol

 

[centershot]

Parent brass is WSM?

 

[martinakl]

Hopefully their business model includes affordable ammo. I can’t help but think that many interesting cartridges failed because they wanted way too much for a box of shells. Probably many other variables like limited rifle selection and on and on.

I kinda think Hornady realized this long ago and offers reasonable prices on loaded ammo, even for their new stuff.

 

[Ranger188]

If nothing else, might bring out some nicer .277 bullets for those
that want one.

 

[NZ_Fclass]

It's a little odd that Winchester have taken this route - but it would seem that their marketing dept are looking for a sector that do not reload. Has there ever been a wildcatter or 1000 yd shooter that decided to build a fast twist 270WSM? Has any manufacturer of projectiles offered 270 long for weight match bullets? And despite all the hype in the video, can we come up with a cartridge that already does everything that they claim? Let me think...7mm WSM, 7mmRem mag, 280 AI, 7mmSAUM ...

 

[martinakl]

It's a little odd that Winchester have taken this route - but it would seem that their marketing dept are looking for a sector that do not reload. Has there ever been a wildcatter or 1000 yd shooter that decided to build a fast twist 270WSM? Has any manufacturer of projectiles offered 270 long for weight match bullets? And despite all the hype in the video, can we come up with a cartridge that already does everything that they claim? Let me think...7mm WSM, 7mmRem mag, 280 AI, 7mmSAUM ...

Valid points on the 7mm WSM, SAUM, and 280AI for those of us who build rifles and roll our own ammo. Otherwise, SAUM and WSM are off the table for the over the counter guy. 280AI has fairly limited production rifles but seems to be catching on at least a little bit. 7mm Mag is plagued with slow twist rates in factory rifles


It’s easy to forget we’re not their target market. We build rifles, we reload, we wildcat and play outside the SAAMI specs.

 

[284winner]

It's a little odd that Winchester have taken this route - but it would seem that their marketing dept are looking for a sector that do not reload. Has there ever been a wildcatter or 1000 yd shooter that decided to build a fast twist 270WSM? Has any manufacturer of projectiles offered 270 long for weight match bullets? And despite all the hype in the video, can we come up with a cartridge that already does everything that they claim? Let me think...7mm WSM, 7mmRem mag, 280 AI, 7mmSAUM ...

The 6.5-284, .260, 6.5 CM could do anything that the new 270 can do with the heaviest offered in that caliber also. It's really because there's a hole in that area that needed filling. There is a demand and even as small as it is, they decided to fill it. What it will do is bring out many more .270 shooters offering better LR bullets and a reason to replace the slow twist barrels. I think it's long overdue. While the need for new 6.5 cartridges isn't necessary, they still keep coming out.

 

[Knotwild]

If Hornady had come up with it - it might succeed. They know how to build the hype and prep things prior to release- not so sure about Winchester. I'm not excited the least bit, or even curious.

 

[284winner]

Not too excited about the 6.8 Western. I'm pretty excited about the heavy 270 bullets though. I don't think the 6.8 western is anything special.

 

[Tom3006]

I was curious what the ballistic advantage was so put this graph together of muzzle energy vs bullet diameter to compare the 6.8 Western against a bunch of other catridges. Each bubble on the graph is the average of a few different loads for each cartridge. I used mostly advertised specs of commercial ammo. And the size of the bubble is proportional to the highest G1 BC in my dataset for that particular cartridge (ie bigger bubble = higher G1 BC). I highlighted the 6.8 Western and the 270 WSM to show the load data I used for those two cartridges in the table below.

 

[martinakl]

I was curious what the ballistic advantage was so put this graph together of muzzle energy vs bullet diameter to compare the 6.8 Western against a bunch of other catridges. Each bubble on the graph is the average of a few different loads for each cartridge. I used mostly advertised specs of commercial ammo. And the size of the bubble is proportional to the highest G1 BC in my dataset for that particular cartridge (ie bigger bubble = higher G1 BC). I highlighted the 6.8 Western and the 270 WSM to show the load data I used for those two cartridges in the table below.
View attachment 1227266

That’s really cool.
The marketing will likely include the mythical powers that can only be harnessed by using a short action. We’ve all seen it before. Better accuracy, faster reloads, lighter rifle.

in my mind it fits a nitch between 6.5 PRC and 300 WSM. With factory ammo, bullet weights between the 6.8 Western and 300 WSM will be really close (150-180gr). 6.8W would likely have the BC advantage for wind and drop at some point. I’m assuming 300 WSM might start out faster (FPS).