Not arguing but i just wanted to point out again that anyone with access to the interwebs and a balistic app/program can get a pretty decent idea of what the cartridges numbers are. With that info its not hard to figgure out what advantages or disadvantages any cartdidge is likely to provide.
If a person choose for or against thats their decision, but theres really no magic in making an informed decision about a cartridge these days.
Personally i dont care for the .277 bore, and would rather have a 6.5 or 7mm.PRC. Thats mostly based on personal preference with a smidge of practicality/logic tossed in.......not enough to matter mind you, but a bit.
I've alluded to having compared and contrasted alot of popular and obscure cartridges while feeling out a new hunting rifle.
I looked at
alot of different cartridges and loadings. Specifically looking for the best cartridge for western medium sized game.
The 6.8 Western is marginally better than the majority of cartridges. But that's the catch, there's a
bunch of cartridges that work better than "average". Heck, even "average" cartridges work fantastically. Cartridges have been making very incremental increases for a long time. It's not the one I'd pick, but on paper it does look good. I'd rather pick a 6.5 or 7mm cartridge though. (For reference, I considered a 165gr SGK 308win loading as my baseline "average")
Heck, I'm planning on switching my 308win barrel out to a 243Win once I've got all my current 308win supplies used up (thanks
@LoonWulf ). It's not a new whizzbang cartridge, but it's still plenty for coyote, pronghorn and javalina.
The next rifle I buy will probably be a ground up purpose built hunting rifle, as opposed to my current range toy-turned hunting rifle. As such it'll be built either as a long action or a WSM in either a 6.5 or 7mm cartridge. I'm thinking 6.5-06/6.5WSM or 280AI/7WSM.
It's a good cartridge for its intended purpose. But it's an incremental step up from a 270WSM, which is a small step up from a 270win, which is a small step up from a 30-06, which is a small step up from... you get the point. It's also a small step down from a 7mm Rem Mag, which is a small step down from the varied Weatherby cartridges. I'd pick the 6.8W over the 270WSM, and be well served, but theres other cartridges I'd pick first.