7prc just slayed the 6.8 Western

[amassi]

For the 6.8 Westie you can get the 165 LRAB and the 175 Gamechanger in factory ammo. Barnes makes the 155 LRX for the Western also. Retumbo and RS Magnum are good powders for the Western which I have plenty of.

The best you will be able to do for factory ammo in the 7 PRC is the 180 eld. If hand loading the 7 PRC for a Tikka action, the 180 eld is about as heavy as you will be able to go as well. The 180 hybrid is “iffy” in a 3.56” AICS mag.

The ballistics between the 6.8 Western and the 7 PRC are so close I don’t think it is worth mentioning. I suppose if you can load 190-195 low drag heavies in the 7 PRC there would be performance gains. I give the nod to the 6.8 Western because it is a more efficient powder burner and has less recoil in a short action cartridge.

You could make all of those points about the 6.5 prc
More efficient, less recoil, ballistics so close, runs great on retumbo and magnum et el


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[bmart2622]

^^^^^^ Mic drop!!!!!

 

[gerry35]

You could make all of those points about the 6.5 prc
More efficient, less recoil, ballistics so close, runs great on retumbo and magnum et el


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That's true as well, I guess you just pick the one you like and go with it. Having shot my 6.8 Western a few times now it definitely has mild recoil. Thought about both the 6.5 PRC and 7 PRC but went with the 6.8 since it combines the best of both in my opinion. Besides I have lot's of 270 cal bullets to burn up and we have a 260 and 6.5x55 to shoot our pile of 6.5mm bullets.

 

[gerry35]

^^^^^^ Mic drop!!!!!

Not really. I'm sure some 6mm fan could make a similar argument compared to a 6.5 PRC. Just pick the one you want and rock on.

 

[ericmcd]

I remember being told by my grandpa many years ago something to the effect of "fishing lures are designed to catch fishermen, not to catch fish"
Just one of the many life lessons I learned as a kid fishing with dad and grandpa.

 

[Gila]

The title of this thread is a misnomer in and of itself! Those who are proponents of “the cartridge that should not be named” sure are defensive. Nothing to defend with the 6.8 Western. I forgot to mention Berger’s .277 bullet, the 170 EOL with a whomping BC of 662.

 

[bmart2622]

Not really. I'm sure some 6mm fan could make a similar argument compared to a 6.5 PRC. Just pick the one you want and rock on.

You could make that argument anywhere...gotta draw the line somewhere. For starters the 7 PRC blows the 6.8 Western out of the water and so does the 6.5 PRC, which is the smallest I would go for a do all Western big game rifle. Thats the cool thing about my opinion, its not debatable.

 

[bmart2622]

The title of this thread is a misnomer in and of itself! Those who are proponents of “the cartridge that should not be named” sure are defensive. Nothing to defend with the 6.8 Western. I forgot to mention Berger’s .277 bullet, the 170 EOL with a whomping BC of 662.

How about a 180gr Eldm with a BC of 796!!!

 

[BCsteve]

I thought all Roksliders knew by now that anything above a .223 with 77gr TMK's was way overkill!!

 

[Sled]

This thread makes me happy. My favorite cartridge was the 270wsm. Anything that puts nail in the coffin of the 6.8 western is great in my book.

That said I agree with some of the early posters in this thread that said we bring these new cartridges and conseqent shortages on ourselves. The manufacturers can only keep up with so many at a time.

All things considered, when I rechamber any rifles I'll likely stick with Hornady because they seem to have figured out the recipe.

 

[flyguyskt]

So the 270WSM.... the seemingly forgotten or abandoned round... will put the HURT on the 7prc... my 270wsm will push the 165 NABLR to 3200fps before I start to see pressure signs.. and will hold a 1.25" group with the 1:10 twist. . the PRC on the same day was producing 2750 with 185 ELDX... hmm for $400 you re-barrel to a 1:8 twist for complete stability. those velocities were taken on the new Garmin, which I LOVE.

 

[gerry35]

You could make that argument anywhere...gotta draw the line somewhere. For starters the 7 PRC blows the 6.8 Western out of the water and so does the 6.5 PRC, which is the smallest I would go for a do all Western big game rifle. Thats the cool thing about my opinion, its not debatable.

The 300 PRC blows the 7 PRC out of the water, and so on down the line. The 6.5 PRC is definitely good but is less powerful than the 6.8 Western. How much real world difference in killing power there is between the 6.5 PRC, 6.8 Western and 7 PRC is probably not much. The 7 PRC doesn't shoot my pile of 277 bullets so it does no good to me.

 

[gerry35]

How about a 180gr Eldm with a BC of 796!!!

Not picking on you but I've seen this before from others and you brought it up so for the sake of discussion I have this question. Why does Hornady not produce a 270 cal 170-175 gr ELD-M and X when there has been massive demand for them to do so? Or stop brass manufacturers from jumping on board? I think it comes down to the ego of their management.

 

[Balderdash]

Not picking on you but I've seen this before from others and you brought it up so for the sake of discussion I have this question. Why does Hornady not produce a 270 cal 170-175 gr ELD-M and X when there has been massive demand for them to do so? Or stop brass manufacturers from jumping on board? I think it comes down to the ego of their management.

I would disagree. Successful companies make what there is demand for. If there is a sudden surge in 6.8W popularity, high end aftermarket brass and a greater bullet selection will follow.

Such as it is, the 6.8W was up against a very popular size (6.5) with a large, well established bullet selection and a very, very close cartridge (6.5 PRC) that proceeded it and had gained a sizable foothold. Functionally, there's going to be very little discernable difference in efficacy between a 6.5 PRC and a 6.8W, so what is going to spur brass and bullet companies to produce parallel product lines that will, to certain extents, take business away from what they're already producing?

The 6.8W is a good round that will certainly do the job, but I doubt its destined to be any sort of competition round, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's a struggle to find much product support outside of Win/Browning.

I wish it well, but someday you can maybe look for supplies for it next to those for 325 WSM, 25 WSSM, 356 W, 376 Styer, 30 TC, etc, etc.

 

[Gila]

Not picking on you but I've seen this before from others and you brought it up so for the sake of discussion I have this question. Why does Hornady not produce a 270 cal 170-175 gr ELD-M and X when there has been massive demand for them to do so? Or stop brass manufacturers from jumping on board? I think it comes down to the ego of their management.

And of course the danger of losing their market share for their PRCs. They won’t make brass for the 6.8 Western or even dies. I wouldn’t buy their brass in any caliber and their dies are crap anyway. My .284 does like the ELDs though. Now that’s a sweet little 7mm worth mentioning. Anyone that shoots it knows what I am talking about. The 6.8 Western is what the 270 WSM would have been had the low drag heavies been around in 2003.

 

[gerry35]

I would disagree. Successful companies make what there is demand for. If there is a sudden surge in 6.8W popularity, high end aftermarket brass and a greater bullet selection will follow.

Such as it is, the 6.8W was up against a very popular size (6.5) with a large, well established bullet selection and a very, very close cartridge (6.5 PRC) that proceeded it and had gained a sizable foothold. Functionally, there's going to be very little discernable difference in efficacy between a 6.5 PRC and a 6.8W, so what is going to spur brass and bullet companies to produce parallel product lines that will, to certain extents, take business away from what they're already producing?

The 6.8W is a good round that will certainly do the job, but I doubt its destined to be any sort of competition round, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's a struggle to find much product support outside of Win/Browning.

I hear you and agree somewhat with what you say. There is a lot of demand for good brass and I'm expecting it to come next year. Hornady has way to much control over what happens in the industry, I wish someone else would step up and challenge them. Maybe if Winchester had numerous influencers and YouTube celebrities on board it would work better. How many of these guys magically had 7 PRC brass and guns before the public had them? Do you think they would ever give much coverage to a good cartridge from someone else that isn't a "sponsor" of theirs?

Anyways there's enough room for a 6.5 PRC, 6.8 Western and 7 PRC to all be successful in the long run. Over all everything is trending to more efficient rounds in fast twist barrels.

 

[Balderdash]

I hear you and agree somewhat with what you say. There is a lot of demand for good brass and I'm expecting it to come next year. Hornady has way to much control over what happens in the industry, I wish someone else would step up and challenge them. Maybe if Winchester had numerous influencers and YouTube celebrities on board it would work better. How many of these guys magically had 7 PRC brass and guns before the public had them? Do you think they would ever give much coverage to a good cartridge from someone else that isn't a "sponsor" of theirs?

Anyways there's enough room for a 6.5 PRC, 6.8 Western and 7 PRC to all be successful in the long run. Over all everything is trending to more efficient rounds in fast twist barrels.

Rut Daniels hunts with a Browning in all of his videos. If the triggers gold . . .

 

[Lou270]

Sierra, Nosler, Barnes, Berger all make heavy for cal fast twist bullets for the 6.8W. Not to mention the boutique guys like hammer, badlands, etc. Federal has announced they are doing a heavy .277 but never seen it. Christensen arms, fierce, seekins all offer off the shelf rifles in 6.8W on top of Browing/Win So dont see point of others not jumpimg on comment as most have “parallel product lines”. That is what drives margins not selling the same bulk cheap stuff. Hornady is really the only one not offering heavy 270 offerings. As for rifles both Win and Browning brands are top 5 sellers. No need to rely on some other company to produce rifles for them. That is why Hornady has to go line up support and Win/Browning does not. Do not see why that is hard to understand.

As far as brass, agree the 6.8W will not be one of the first rounds the boutique guys pick up. It is not marketed as a competion round. The vast majority of people who shoot PRC use “crappy” Hornady brass. Those using the high end ADG, etc are minority and it is there for PRC since Hornady pushes it and makes some nice ammo/bullets for that. Definitely a nice to have but people did ok for a long time before high end brass took the work out of prep. I would certainly buy a bunch of premium brass for 6.8 as hate prep as much as next guy

Lou

 

[Balderdash]

Sierra, Nosler, Barnes, Berger all make heavy for cal fast twist bullets for the 6.8W. Not to mention the boutique guys like hammer, badlands, etc. Federal has announced they are doing a heavy .277 but never seen it. Christensen arms, fierce, seekins all offer off the shelf rifles in 6.8W on top of Browing/Win So dont see point of others not jumpimg on comment as most have “parallel product lines”. That is what drives margins not selling the same bulk cheap stuff. Hornady is really the only one not offering heavy 270 offerings. As for rifles both Win and Browning brands are top 5 sellers. No need to rely on some other company to produce rifles for them. That is why Hornady has to go line up support and Win/Browning does not. Do not see why that is hard to understand.

As far as brass, agree the 6.8W will not be one of the first rounds the boutique guys pick up. It is not marketed as a competion round. The vast majority of people who shoot PRC use “crappy” Hornady brass. Those using the high end ADG, etc are minority and it is there for PRC since Hornady pushes it and makes some nice ammo/bullets for that. Definitely a nice to have but people did ok for a long time before high end brass took the work out of prep. I would certainly buy a bunch of premium brass for 6.8 as hate prep as much as next guy

Lou

I don't mention aftermarket or higher end brass availability as a necessity for use of one cartridge over another; instead, its more as a barometer for which cartridges will likely be around long term vs which ones will wither and become difficult to obtain components and ammo for after a decade or two.

I've been through this progression several times with several different cartridges. If you love a cartridge for whatever reason, more power to you; I use plenty of now obsolete cartridges that I still like and plan to continue running as long as I can keep feeding them. But don't delude yourself into thinking that a cartridge thats not supported by several manufacturing sources and /or has high volume uses besides hunting, ie competitive shooting or military, is generally going to stick around for very long after it did its main job of selling more new rifles.

 

[bmart2622]

Not picking on you but I've seen this before from others and you brought it up so for the sake of discussion I have this question. Why does Hornady not produce a 270 cal 170-175 gr ELD-M and X when there has been massive demand for them to do so? Or stop brass manufacturers from jumping on board? I think it comes down to the ego of their management.

Because they are making PRC components that actually sell and will be relevant in a couple years. Hornady is a business, if they thought there was money to be made producing and selling 6.8W components they would do it.