I keep seeing on YouTube that it’s not just that no one but Winchester makes brass for 6.8 Western but also that Winchester brass is of terrible quality.
(1) If competing or very long range hunting, I can see where inconsistent brass might be an issue. For the vast majority of hunters, who need to get 1-ish MOA within 400-ish yards, is it really a problem?
(2) I guess my question is somewhat academic… I just looked on the Winchester website. They don’t even list 6.8 Western in their catalog of new, unprimed rifle cases. Cases | Winchester Ammunition
In summary:
(1) Is Winchester brass really so bad that the average hand loader couldn’t get 1MOA results in filed conditions?
(2) Anyone care to venture a guess as to why Winchester (and Browning) seem to want to kill their own cartridge, which would be a very promising choice but for want of manufacturer support?
For the life of me cannot figure out what Winchester and Browning were thinking when they brought this cartridge out. But it seems like they weren’t thinking much at all.
Horrible timing both with the pandemic crunch as well as the upcoming release of the 7prc. But then just absolutely no support for this thing at all.
Poor brass quality is going to affect case capacity variability and brass life more than accuracy. You might see a higher spread on your velocities over a chrono than brass from one of the better manufacturers. Poor brass quality is a non-issue for their factory ammunition and that’s what most people are using anyway.
I don’t think that the cartridge is inherently bad but I don’t think it has a future as .277 Fury should do everything it can do in the same caliber, but better.
For now it’s just Winchester selling brass, but soon enough ADG will be as well. I’ve heard varying dates on when it’ll be available. Dates ranging from the end of this month all the way to the beginning of 2025, but it will be available. Several online stores have already listed it for sale in anticipation.
In regards to your other question. Yes, you can absolutely shoot great groups with Winchester brass. Just to give you an idea, last weekend I was trying out a new bullet/powder combo and shot a 15-shot pressure test that spanned 9 grains of powder with these results. Just be consistent with your case prep and you’ll be happy.
