I am interested in the 6.8 western and I am wondering if there is different cartridge I should be looking at for hunting at 500 yards to 50 yards
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A few I’d look at would be: 7 prc, 6.5 prc, 7 mag, 300 win mag, 280AI, 300prc.
The big question is, what animals are on the menu?
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What about the 6.5-300 Weatherby? The animals are antelope to moose and elk including bear.
John McAdam has a really informative Blog and Podcast that goes over caliber comparisons and such.
This was his write up on the 6.8 Western.
6.8 Western: Ultimate Guide To The New Cartridge From Winchester & Browning - Big Game Hunting Blog
Hunting what or what part of the country?
Mostly the north west Alaska, Montana, Idaho, Etc.
My concern is lack of ammo, seems like only Winchester/Browning is supporting.
Second that. I was really interested in the 6.8 Western too. It seems like it could be the optimized version of the 270 WSM with a faster twist to stabilize higher bc bullets. At this point though, I am also concerned about factory support and ammo availability. I recently started reloading, so ammo is less a concern, but like you said only Winchester/Browning are supporting which is limiting. Speaking of Winchester and Browning, except for the initial launch, they haven’t helped much with marketing and support. If I saw some other ammo manufacturers start producing brass and developing heavier .277 cal projectices I would definitely feel better about getting a 6.8 Western rifle.
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If you’re reloading I wouldn’t think twice. As of right now you have these options for projectiles.
- 160-175gr
- Sierra
- Nosler
- Hammer
- Berger
- Gold Country
If you want to try 150-155gr bullets
- Speer
- Hornady
- Gold Country
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Given where you live, I’d probably look at the 300 PRC, a 338 of some variety, a 35 Whelan, a 9.3x62 Mauser, or a 375 H&H/Ruger since the likelihood of coming across a grizzly bear is much higher than other parts of the country… a 7mm PRC is definitely the “smallest” cartridge that I’d consider.
I live in California, so we are restricted to lead free projectiles for hunting. Eventually I do plan on moving out of state, but for various reasons, right now, I am rather tied here. Barnes has a 150 grain TSX. Two questions. Because of the excellent weight retention in the mono-metal projectiles is it correct to think the 150 grain TSX will perform like a heavier lead core projectile. Have you heard about anyone developing a heavier mono-metal projectile in .277?
I haven’t used these yet, but I did just place an order for 50. They are very highly recommended by a lot of hunters over on https://www.longrangehunting.com/
Interesting. Let us know how they do. I am trying to decide between a 6.8 Western and a 300 WSM.