6.8 Western instead of 7mm Rem Mag?

[cuttingedge]

Earlier in the year I was looking for a new rifle. I really wanted to buy a 6.8 Western, but rifles and ammo were scarce, so I opted for a 7 mag. Fast forward to present and that has changed a bit. I'm seeing ammo in stock and a couple more manufacturers have jumped on the bandwagon and are offering 6.8 W now.

My current rifle is a Winchester XPR 7 mag, and it is really accurate with ELD-X 162gr. I know from a ballistics perspective, the 2 are pretty close, but I just would really like to have the 6.8 Western.

From those who have owned a 6.8 Western, what are your thoughts on this. The ammo I have seen in stock is about $5 less than what I am paying for the 7mm.

I typically have purpose specific gun choices like the .223 wylde for SHTF and such, 6mm ARC for deer sized game and varmints, 450 Bushmaster just because it's 450 Bushmaster, and the 7 mag for longer range and bigger game work. If I get the 6.8 Western it will most likely be another XPR, as it will do what I need and I don't have to have the most expensive rifle to be satisfied. Honestly, my XPR is more accurate than my Hells Canyon 6.5 PRC was.

What do you think? Ditch the 7 mag and go with the gun I really wanted in the beginning? Keep it and add the 6.8 Western? I kinda feel like the 2 would be doing about the same duty and I wouldn't need both.

 

[muzz]

Keep what you have. It’s been around for years for a reason. There is nothing wrong with the 7mag.

 

[hereinaz]

Get what you like if you have the money.

Otherwise, there not a significant difference for practical purposes IMO. How many boxes of ammo at $5.00 a pop to make a difference in money based on your yearly shooting?

There is more 6.8 Western today, but I would prefer a 7 mag or 6.5 PRC for ammo availability going forward.

 

[Lou270]

Life is too short to not hunt with what you want. Get the 6.8W. It is an outstanding round. I have 2 and both are very accurate with factory ammo, at least the 165 ablr and 175 tgk loads. I have not tried others. Ammo and bullets have been available. New brass has not been available anytime recently that I have seen but I have not seen much brass for anything. The 6.8 has superb ballistics and down range energy for moderate recoil in a compact package.

Lou

 

[wyosam]

The 6.8w sits in a very large pile of cartridges that from a hunting standpoint all do the same damn thing. Get it if you want it, but don’t expect it (or anything else) to do something that dozens of other cartridges won’t do functionally the same.


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[Mountainrancher]

If moneys not an issue get the 6.8. It’s a cool cartridge and at the end of the day most cartridges are so similar ballistically that no animal will ever tell the difference in what shot it. So when I comes down to it the only choice that matters is what you think is cool. And me personally I think the 6.8 western is cool as all get out and I’m glad I own one. Also really like the xpr rifles I’ve had one for years now and love it.

 

[Unckebob]

If moneys not an issue get the 6.8. It’s a cool cartridge and at the end of the day most cartridges are so similar ballistically that no animal will ever tell the difference in what shot it. So when I comes down to it the only choice that matters is what you think is cool. And me personally I think the 6.8 western is cool as all get out and I’m glad I own one. Also really like the xpr rifles I’ve had one for years now and love it.

I built a 280AI, but now wish I had gone with the short action 6.5W. Now, my rifle is heavier than it could be because of the long action.

Buy 5 boxes of ammo - 100 shots
Creat 100 fire formed cases & get approximated 500-1000 shots.

Repeat a few times and a shooter would never run out of ammo in their lifetime.

 

[Leaf Litter]

Love my 6.8, but I reload so I'm not limited in ammo choices. The 170 eol and 145 ELD-X have both been easy to load and shoot wonderfully. I just grabbed some N570 to try with 170 EOL and 165 ABLR. 160 HHT intrigues me as well for a general purpose hunting bullet.

Buy the 6.8W if you're itching for a fun new round. Keep the boring 7RM (I kid, I kid) if you just want an effective hunting gun and don't want to spend money.

 

[TaperPin]

The difference in performance is so small you and the animal wouldn’t be able to tell which is which if you had identical rifles and you didn’t look at the cartridge.

Your current rifle shoots good - sell it and you only have a 50/50 chance the new gun will. From a practical standpoint odds are you’ll end up with worse shooting rifle of equal performance.

Ive sold plenty of good rifles and replaced them with crappy ones, so I‘m not one to say don’t do it.

 

[jscott8542]

Love my 6.8, but I reload so I'm not limited in ammo choices. The 170 eol and 145 ELD-X have both been easy to load and shoot wonderfully. I just grabbed some N570 to try with 170 EOL and 165 ABLR. 160 HHT intrigues me as well for a general purpose hunting bullet.

Buy the 6.8W if you're itching for a fun new round. Keep the boring 7RM (I kid, I kid) if you just want an effective hunting gun and don't want to spend money.

Would you be interested in selling any reloaded ammo?

 

[7LRM]

Why not go for a 7 PRC?

 

[prm]

Buy a 6.8. Wanting one is all the reason you need.

 

[Leaf Litter]

Would you be interested in selling any reloaded ammo?

I don't have enough brass to be selling it.

 

[cuttingedge]

Well, I ordered a 6.8 Western Winchester XPR with the FDE permakote barrel and action and the Strata stock. It will deliver Monday but the lib/commies in Colorado passed the 3 day waiting period so I won't get it until Thursday (minor rant). It's the twin to my 7 mag, which I think I'm gonna keep. If the 6.8 is as accurate as my 7mm, I will be tickled. I have an older Leupold VXII 3-9x50 I'm going to put on it for my upcoming whitetail hunt. Pretty excited to get my hands on it.

 

[Gila]

My 7mm is a 284 Win that I built on an old tikka action that came off of a .270 win rifle. That T3 was My favorite rifle. I have had a fascination with the .270 ever since I was a kid. The 284 win is easy to love and I am getting 280AI performance out of it. It shoots like a dream. But since the 6.8 Western came out I have wanted one. It is designed to shoot the long sleek, and heavy high BC bullets. The best part is that it is a short action cartridge with long action ballistics.

The cartridge has been off to a slow start because of the timing of when it was introduced. But it is building momentum because more rifle manufacturers are making rifles in that cartridge and new ammo is coming out. It is difficult to find brass and ammunition selection is somewhat limited because the supply is behind the increased demand. But that will change when they catch up to demand. Hornady refuses to support the 6.8 Western. They won’t even make brass or reloading dies. I think that speaks volumes of how competitive the 6.8 Western actually is compared with Hornady’s new 7 PRC.

I have decided to build a 6.8 Western on a Tikka T3x action. Most of the parts for the rifle show up Monday. I too have selected Strata for the stock color. I should have the rifle put together and shooting in about a month. I have an old VXII in 3x9x42 that I have shot for decades and it has never lost zero or let me down. In fact the scope has been dead on every time. I am going to put a different scope on my 6.8 West though. I think you are going to like your new rifle a lot. Report back here how it shoots…

 

[Leaf Litter]

My 7mm is a 284 Win that I built on an old tikka action that came off of a .270 win rifle. That T3 was My favorite rifle. I have had a fascination with the .270 ever since I was a kid. The 284 win is easy to love and I am getting 280AI performance out of it. It shoots like a dream. But since the 6.8 Western came out I have wanted one. It is designed to shoot the long sleek, and heavy high BC bullets. The best part is that it is a short action cartridge with long action ballistics.

The cartridge has been off to a slow start because of the timing of when it was introduced. But it is building momentum because more rifle manufacturers are making rifles in that cartridge and new ammo is coming out. It is difficult to find brass and ammunition selection is somewhat limited because the supply is behind the increased demand. But that will change when they catch up to demand. Hornady refuses to support the 6.8 Western. They won’t even make brass or reloading dies. I think that speaks volumes of how competitive the 6.8 Western actually is compared with Hornady’s new 7 PRC.

I have decided to build a 6.8 Western on a Tikka T3x action. Most of the parts for the rifle show up Monday. I too have selected Strata for the stock color. I should have the rifle put together and shooting in about a month. I have an old VXII in 3x9x42 that I have shot for decades and it has never lost zero or let me down. In fact the scope has been dead on every time. I am going to put a different scope on my 6.8 West though. I think you are going to like your new rifle a lot. Report back here how it shoots…

The sour grapes fom Hornady is hilarious to me. Hornady’s brass and bullets are no better than Winchester anyway so it's no big loss other than a .277 ELD-M option for a cheap match bullet, but I have Bergers for that.

 

[Gila]

That’s about right…who wants their brass anyway? Anybody using the Redding S-type dies for the 6.8 West? I am going Redding for all of my dies. The Hornady dies just don’t cut it. The quality is in the dirt as far as I’m concerned.

 

[Pilsner]

The 6.8w sits in a very large pile of cartridges that from a hunting standpoint all do the same damn thing. Get it if you want it, but don’t expect it (or anything else) to do something that dozens of other cartridges won’t do functionally the same.


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This is a fact that I hope my wife never figures out!

 

[shotoutofacannon]

I and my whol hunting group have switched over to 6.8 westerns. It is in my opinion the best hunting cartrige currently available. It is basically the highly thought of 7 saum but with factory ammo. The downside is the much of the factory ammo is low quality and long term support is unknown. I would say get one. It will be lighter and recoil less than you7 7mm because it is a short action. But in the long run you may have to reload to keep feeding it.

 

[mtnbiker208]

hopefully the 6.8 does not go the way of the 270wsm. i can't find ammo for the 270wsm. 6.8 is basically the same thing, but for heavy for caliber bullets.