6.8 Western

[silasbowhunter]

Who’s built one? I’m thinking of planning a build. Tikka action, 1-8T 20” Carbon barrel blank that I’ll have a local guy chamber for me, either a Mesa precision, or McMillan. Planning on shooting factory for awhile til I get reloading. Thoughts? Suggestions?


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[wnelson14]

Sounds like a good idea to me I always see ammo in stock with no rifles, this round has low rifle factory support so building is your best option. Seems like an awesome round.
I feel like with 6.5 and now 7prc this round will slowly go away with the rifle support behind it. I might be wrong.

 

[Unckebob]

Sounds like a good idea to me I always see ammo in stock with no rifles, this round has low rifle factory support so building is your best option. Seems like an awesome round.
I feel like with 6.5 and now 7prc this round will slowly go away with the rifle support behind it. I might be wrong.

I think you are right. Unless a factory rifle is made by Browning/Winchester, it won't be in 6.8Western.

 

[Lou270]

Christensen Arms and Fierce both offering 6.8W now. Not on their websites yet but showing up on dealers websites. Saw a Fierce Rival on Gunbroker the other day as well. So that is non-Win/Browning option

Lou

 

[Unckebob]

Christensen Arms and Fierce both offering 6.8W now. Not on their websites yet but showing up on dealers websites. Saw a Fierce Rival on Gunbroker the other day as well. So that is non-Win/Browning option

Lou

Interesting, I did not know that.

Before I committed to one, I would want to see Ruger Americans, Savage Axus and 110's, and Tikkas on sale chambered in the cartridge. Until that happens, I don't think there will be enough demand to trigger other ammo makers to offer their version.

 

[westcoasthunter]

I build a 20” 1-8t 6.8 western on a tikka action, shoots the factory 162 copper impacts at 2885 fps. He shot this buck at 508 yards in the neck.. . He loves that rifle. Have a video of the kill shot buck can’t upload it

 

[silasbowhunter]

I build a 20” 1-8t 6.8 western on a tikka action, shoots the factory 162 copper impacts at 2885 fps. He shot this buck at 508 yards in the neck.. . He loves that rifle. Have a video of the kill shot buck can’t upload itView attachment 463094

Looks exactly like what I want to build. Seems like it would be a sweeeet suppressor host! Thanks for the reply!


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[westcoasthunter]

Looks exactly like what I want to build. Seems like it would be a sweeeet suppressor host! Thanks for the reply!


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It’s pretty awesome over all rifle , I think after season I’m going to load up some 117 hammer hunter, 126 hammers and 156 hammers to see what kinda velocity I get with the 20” barrel

 

[silasbowhunter]

It’s pretty awesome over all rifle , I think after season I’m going to load up some 117 hammer hunter, 126 hammers and 156 hammers to see what kinda velocity I get with the 20” barrel

That wittle be sweet! Post back here or start a thread when you do!


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[TBoschma]

This is the third animal I have shot with my 6.8 this year, honestly i am a nerd and love the .277 chamberings I killed my first deer with a 270 win my first sheep with the 270 WSM and now here I am running around with a 6.8 W.

I still want to play with different bullets and really hope there is more support for this caliber

 

[Gila]

The 6.8 W has awesome potential as an all around great hunting cartridge IMHO. Tikka will probably lag the pack, waiting to see if it takes off. On the other hand, I see the 7 PRC going by the way of the dodo because the cartridge doesn’t really offer a huge improvement over the 7 SAUM. Another black mark against the 7 PRC is that it is a long action cartridge. The WSMs didn’t really go anywhere and seem to be dying a slow death for some reason. Maybe because the major gun makers jumped the gun and chambered the WSMs.

The 270 WSM was too anemic to gain much, if any, acceptance. The 300 WSM was the only cartridge of the three WSMs that gained some acceptance. However the 300 win mag is a tough act to follow, and now we have the 30 Nosler. The 325 WSM didn’t go anywhere. We have the 338 win mag, 340 Weatherby mag and RUM and a few others. Now we have the awesome 33 Nosler as well. I believe the 6.8 West fills a niche within the hunting world and seems to do it very well.

 

[bmart2622]

The 6.8 western is a cool cartridge but there is zero chance it outlasts the 7 PRC. The 7 PRC already had way more traction and support than the 6.8 ever did

 

[Gila]

Unless the “big 4” chamber their rifles for the 7 PRC it will go by the way of the dodo. That is inevitable. I will only shoot Tikkas. I could be wrong, but I seriously doubt that Sako/Tikka will ever chamber for the 7 PRC. I think they might have been burned by the WSMs and are not too quick to repeat their mistake. I know they won’t change the twist on the 300 WSM which is too slow for heavy bullets. They did go to 1:10” twist with their 300 win mag a couple of years ago which is why I bought one back then. I don’t know how successful Tikka has been with the 6.5 PRC, but chambering for the 7 PRC doesn’t make good business sense to me.

The 6.8 West has everything a Western hunter needs and wants. The cartridge was designed for hunting, not for the competitive sports. I think the 6.8 Western has it all, and will eventually become more popular than the 270 Winchester and that is saying something. We will just have to wait and see over time what will happen with the 7 PRC. Since the unveiling of the 6.8 Western it has been tremendously successful. I don’t see anything on the horizon that will change that.

 

[Buzby]

The 6.8 W has awesome potential as an all around great hunting cartridge IMHO. Tikka will probably lag the pack, waiting to see if it takes off. On the other hand, I see the 7 PRC going by the way of the dodo because the cartridge doesn’t really offer a huge improvement over the 7 SAUM. Another black mark against the 7 PRC is that it is a long action cartridge. The WSMs didn’t really go anywhere and seem to be dying a slow death for some reason. Maybe because the major gun makers jumped the gun and chambered the WSMs.

The 270 WSM was too anemic to gain much, if any, acceptance. The 300 WSM was the only cartridge of the three WSMs that gained some acceptance. However the 300 win mag is a tough act to follow, and now we have the 30 Nosler. The 325 WSM didn’t go anywhere. We have the 338 win mag, 340 Weatherby mag and RUM and a few others. Now we have the awesome 33 Nosler as well. I believe the 6.8 West fills a niche within the hunting world and seems to do it very well.

The thing the 7prc will have over the 7saum is factory support. Go try and find a factory rifle or box of 7saum on a shelf anywhere. 7saum is dead outside of hand loaders.

 

[Gila]

The thing the 7prc will have over the 7saum is factory support. Go try and find a factory rifle or box of 7saum on a shelf anywhere. 7saum is dead outside of hand loaders.

I seriously doubt Hornady will not be able to keep up with the demand for 7 PRC ammunition. If you are not going to handload why own a 7 PRC?

Plenty of ammo out there for the 7mm rem mag, 28 Nosler, 7’08. Looking beyond the ammo shortage that is.

I see that Savage will chamber for the 7 PRC by the end of the year. The other three of the big 4, probably won’t chamber for it any time soon. Will, Remington, Browning, Federal, Nosler chamber for it? Time will tell. Hunters are happy with what the 6.8 Western has to offer. That support and adoption has been very positive. I just don’t see it happening with the 7 PRC.

 

[bmart2622]

Unless the “big 4” chamber their rifles for the 7 PRC it will go by the way of the dodo. That is inevitable. I will only shoot Tikkas. I could be wrong, but I seriously doubt that Sako/Tikka will ever chamber for the 7 PRC. I think they might have been burned by the WSMs and are not too quick to repeat their mistake. I know they won’t change the twist on the 300 WSM which is too slow for heavy bullets. They did go to 1:10” twist with their 300 win mag a couple of years ago which is why I bought one back then. I don’t know how successful Tikka has been with the 6.5 PRC, but chambering for the 7 PRC doesn’t make good business sense to me.

The 6.8 West has everything a Western hunter needs and wants. The cartridge was designed for hunting, not for the competitive sports. I think the 6.8 Western has it all, and will eventually become more popular than the 270 Winchester and that is saying something. We will just have to wait and see over time what will happen with the 7 PRC. Since the unveiling of the 6.8 Western it has been tremendously successful. I don’t see anything on the horizon that will change that.

Theres like 20 some gun makers on board to chamber rifles in the PRC. You can get. 6.8 in 2

 

[bmart2622]

You cant buy a factory 7 mag with the proper barrel twist and throat to shoot heavy, high BC bullets with factory ammo shooting 180gr bullets at 3000fps out of a 24" barrel with a non belted magnum case burning less powder and having lower recoil than a traditional 7 mag. Thats the void the 7 PRC fills

 

[bmart2622]

I seriously doubt Hornady will not be able to keep up with the demand for 7 PRC ammunition. If you are not going to handload why own a 7 PRC?

Plenty of ammo out there for the 7mm rem mag, 28 Nosler, 7’08. Looking beyond the ammo shortage that is.

I see that Savage will chamber for the 7 PRC by the end of the year. The other three of the big 4, probably won’t chamber for it any time soon. Will, Remington, Browning, Federal, Nosler chamber for it? Time will tell. Hunters are happy with what the 6.8 Western has to offer. That support and adoption has been very positive. I just don’t see it happening with the 7 PRC.

Excuse me I was incorrect, there are actually 27 different makers on board to chamber rifles in 7mm PRC

 

[Gila]

You cant buy a factory 7 mag with the proper barrel twist and throat to shoot heavy, high BC bullets with factory ammo shooting 180gr bullets at 3000fps out of a 24" barrel with a non belted magnum case burning less powder and having lower recoil than a traditional 7 mag. Thats the void the 7 PRC fills

I certainly wouldn’t label it a void that is filled. Capabilities that some hunters may want but most hunters do not think they need, which they don’t. If you don’t handload, you won’t be able get the best capability out of the 7 PRC and that levels out the playing field. The 6.8 Western ammo is available just about anywhere and you won’t be limited in capability by factory ammo. The 6.8 Western just gets better with handloading. If you want a powerhouse, the 7 rem mag has done just fine and isn’t going anywhere.

 

[bmart2622]

You need to do some research on the 7 PRC. The PRC is long range capable right out of the box with factory ammo, its literally built for the guy who doesnt want to have a custom built and doesnt want to or have the mean to handload. Nearly 3000 fps out of a 24" factory barrel shooting 180gr factory ammo... sounds pretty promising to a lot of guys. A factory 7mm Rem mag can not do what a factory PRC can do, its just the facts!! Ive seen 1 6.8 rifle and 0 boxes of bullets in my town over the last 18 months.