New SAAMI cartridge - 6.8 Westerner

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Gtscotty

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I was poking around the SAAMI website and noticed a new cartridge I hadn't heard of before on the "New Cartridges" page.

6.8 West 1.JPG
https://saami.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/6.8-Western-Public-Introduction-Orig-2020-11-01.pdf

It looks like a stumpy .270 WSM with the salient changes appearing to be:

- Same head and shoulder diameter, but shoulder is pushed back ~0.080.
- Load OAL is also 0.080 shorter, better to fit heavy bullets at short action lenght.
- 8 twist barrel
- Reference load is a 175gr bullet at 2,840 fps.

Who knows if anyone serious is backing it or planning to make so-chambered factory rifles (probably not) but it sounds like an interesting fast twist/heavy bullet evolution of the .270 WSM. I wonder if any mainstream bullet makers are really planning on coming out with these 175gr .277 bullets?

In related news, it looks like the 6.5 Weatherby RPM was SAAMI standardized in September as well.
https://saami.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/6.5-WBY-RPM-Public-Introduction-Orig-2020-09-27.pdf
 
270 caliber has kinda fallen by the wayside for 6.5mm and 7mm.

Wonder the reason for 270 considering 6.5 and 7 have better heavy bullets selection.

Agreed, I would have used a 7mm bore on this cartridge. It’s got a steeper shoulder 35* versus 20* and a broader cartridge at 0.5550 versus 0.4714. As compared to the 7mm08

Sounds very interesting if it were in 7mm, at least as far as I think. But I’m sure the 270 guys will be happy for a short action. Pretty good velocity on a 175gr they are promoting, would be curious to know what bullet they are using.
 
So it's a 270WSM with the creedmoor treatment?

Interesting cartridge, but I don't see the advantage over 7WSM since it'll run similar bullets to similar speeds. I'm sure someone is making heavy for caliber VLD bullets in 277, but EVERYONE is making them in 260 and 284 already.

I'm sure there's about 15 guys out there salivating over this though. In which case, I'm glad for them, but it's not for me.
 
270 caliber has kinda fallen by the wayside for 6.5mm and 7mm.

Wonder the reason for 270 considering 6.5 and 7 have better heavy bullets selection.

.277 heavy bullet selection has lagged behind for sure, but with a few faster twist .277 cartridges coming out like this, the 27 Nosler and .277 Fury, it does seem like a few more heavy .277 bullets have been coming out (Matrix 155gr, 165gr, and 175gr, Berger 170gr EOL, Nosler 165gr ABLR).

btw, I didn't know that Matrix made a 175gr bullet when I first saw the cartridge specs, but I'm guessing that might be the 175gr bullet referenced? I don't know of any others.

So it's a 270WSM with the creedmoor treatment?

Interesting cartridge, but I don't see the advantage over 7WSM since it'll run similar bullets to similar speeds. I'm sure someone is making heavy for caliber VLD bullets in 277, but EVERYONE is making them in 260 and 284 already.

I'm sure there's about 15 guys out there salivating over this though. In which case, I'm glad for them, but it's not for me.

Lol, that was my thought as well, its basically a 270 WSM modernized with the Creedmoor treatment.

7mm does seem like the obvious choice for caliber, but on the other hand, for whatever reason the .270 WSM has had more staying power demand-wise in factory rifles and ammo than the 7mm WSM had.
 
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7mm does seem like the obvious choice for caliber, but on the other hand, for whatever reason the .270 WSM has had more staying power demand-wise in factory rifles and ammo than the 7mm WSM had.

Which I always thought was odd.

It seems the market dictated they'd rather have a short action 270win than a longer range cartridge. With the poor BC 277cal bullets you don't really stretch the usable range, you still have just as poor wind drift. I think the 7WSM is the superior of the two cartridges, but is by far the least popular.
 
Early on the 7wsm was very popular, probably not as much as the 300wsm. Then the first Winchester ammo shortage, after that they didn't promote the 7wsm like the other wsm's.
 
the 270 wsm is has a one in ten twist rate so a new one in eight cartridge makes sense for the heavy bullets. the quest for long range accuracy is getting pretty intense. i'm sure there are plenty of eager "beta testers" out there waiting for this new creedmor.

murf
 
270 caliber has kinda fallen by the wayside for 6.5mm and 7mm.

Wonder the reason for 270 considering 6.5 and 7 have better heavy bullets selection.

Because of the Military adoption of the caliber, and the higher ( > 1:8.5) twist rates... it's now the "flavor of the year."

And that a > 165 gr .277 won't be a performer...?

... is absurd.

ABLR-270-165gr-Bullet-info-for-website.jpg
Great bullet wt. (velocity/recoil/game), Great BC (external ballistics), Great SD (terminal ballistics).

What's not to love?
(unless, of course, you are already heavily invested in the over-hyped/marketed 6.5 extravaganzo)

:D




GR
 
Not really surprising. Folks have been ragging on the lack of .277 bullet selection (notably high BC heavy for caliber ones) for quite awhile now. Of course there was also a lack of enhanced leade rifles to shoot them as well. Its just the natural progress (or something) of things. Im still waiting for SAAMI approval of the highly useless thing of necking down a .308 to .277. It seems like they forgot that one along the way.
 
Can anyone take a best guess at what the parent brass will be?

Alot of these newer cartridges are non starters for me because I like to stack brass deep. I don't mind converting, or having mismatched headstamps/cartridges, but sometimes even the parent cartridges are unobtamium (WSSM anyone?)
 
Because of the Military adoption of the caliber, and the higher ( > 1:8.5) twist rates... it's now the "flavor of the year."
The cynic in me says that they chose 270 caliber deliberately because there were (effectively) no off the shelf solutions available.

And that a > 165 gr .277 won't be a performer...?

... is absurd.
I never said such a thing wouldn't. As your image shows, the ink isn't even dry on the boxes for those bullets. What options existed over the last 10 years?

Great bullet wt. (velocity/recoil/game), Great BC (external ballistics), Great SD (terminal ballistics).
Same can be said with the 6.5mm and 7mm offerings. 270 is catching up to what has been available for decades in 6.5 and 7. Wopiee. Welcome to the club. Bathroom is down the hall on the left.

What's not to love?
(unless, of course, you are already heavily invested in the over-hyped/marketed 6.5 extravaganzo)
It's not that there is nothing to love. It's that it offers nothing new and comes with downsides, like brass and bullet availability. I'm not looking at it and saying it's bad. I'm looking at it and going "Meh".

As for me, I'm 6.5x55 fan long before the Creed Circus came along.
 
Well that's interesting, I could see an M70 Featherweight SS in 6.8 Western being fun, especially with those new 165gr ABLRs.

It very well could be the new "Excalibur" cartridge.
(That is, if I wasn't, of course, already so heavily invested in the over-hyped/marketed .270 WCF/150 gr. extravaganzo)

:D




GR
 
I find it interesting they chose to market it with the metric designation, a good move if you ask me.

The cartridge is near as matters identical to their .270 WSM.

Given Remington's lesson, the further away they can otherwise distinguish it... the better.

Can't really see needing both - so I can also see replacement as well.

...and leave ole .270 WCF alone in the stable w/ the moniker.




GR
 
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