New 7MM PRC will it kill the 6.8 Western?

[horsemen61]

Hello all,

I pose a number of questions to the group Hornady Just announced today iirc the New 7MM PRC on Paper to me it makes perfect sense between the much bigger 300 PRC and the smaller 6.5 PRC so the question is

Will The 7MM PRC Kill the 6.8 Western?
I think yes it will In due time

Is the 6.8 Western a flop?
IMHO yes it is a Flop it just didn’t seem to catch on is it a bad cartridge no per se I just don’t think it’s here to stay

Why does it seem that Hornady does a better job marketing their New Cartridges better than others*?

I Feel Like The Big Red H does a proper Cartridge Rollout while the others don’t I heard today 22 firearms Manufactures Are Already making 7MM PRC stuff including Savage and Ruger


*Others being such as Federal (.224 Valkyrie)
Winchester (6.8 Western), If the Midwest hadn’t allowed straightwall cartridges would the .350 legend made it?

I Feel That Federal rushed the Valkyrie to market with the wrong twist rate

Winchester announces New Cartridges but then you have to wait months to get them I waited almost 7 Months to buy my first box of .350 Legend


So I ask what say you?

 

[Phaedrus/69]

I've seen ammo in the store for 6.8 W but so far never seen a rifle chambered for it. Do they exist at all yet?

 

[troy fairweather]

The 6.8 was doa, the tikka guys are going to love the 7 prc been looking for a magnum tikka myself.

 

[Varminterror]

Winchester has been a hollow shell with a puppeteer playing a name game for a long time already - AND they’ve wholly focused themselves into hunting firearms, despite obvious market decline in that space, and significant transition to recreational tactical and precision shooting.

Hornady does a fantastic job of marketing - not just advertising, but MARKETING. They develop fantastic and lasting relationships with shooters through sponsorships of events and through delivering innovative products to realize market utility against real desires - so when someone sees a new product from the company they already buy, it’s welcomed like an old friend.

So when I see these two new magnum hunting cartridges on the market which fill a niche I have need to be filled, one company is a foreigner, while the other is already a trusted friend.

But, in reality, “success” in this particular niche isn’t measured by becoming the highest selling domestic non-223 cartridge, but rather simply earning a sustaining seat at the table. There are over 3,000 future firearms owners born every day in America, and some portion of those WILL become hunters. With the decline of hunting in the last few generations, fathers and grandfathers haven’t been passing down their old hunting rifles - because they didn’t hunt - and even if they did, they likely shot some light-for-caliber bullet with a slow twist sold on the premise of “flat trajectory” rather than actual ballistic science… so sons and daughters aren’t using heirloom rifles afield, and the room for rounds like this is wide open…

Will either or both persist? Eh, probably for as long as pertinent. Did WSM’s persist? Did RUM’s? RSAUM’s? Ruger Compact Magnums? Weatherby magnums? Are belted mags really still relevant? Yes - guys are still building rifles chambered for any and all of these, and even more wildcats based on all of them.

Very, very few “obscure and obsolete cartridges” actually slip into obsolescence. These won’t either.

 

[JeeperCreeper]

7 PRC will kill 6.8 Western, in my opinion.

I considered a 6.8 until I caught rumors of 7 PRC. I actually was going to go with 6.5 PRC over 6.8, but the 7 is even better for my needs, especially since I have a 6.5 Creedmoor.

Hornady has good cartridge support as it isn't also a rifle manufacturer which can limit competition.

Winchester makes ammo and cartridges. It's the only brand to pick up 6.8. if it's competition doesn't pick it up, it can looking supply which will keep others adopting, snuffing out demand.

But let's not forget some of Hornady's dead rounds of recent years... 338 RCM, 300 RCM, 376 Steyr, etc

 

[WisBorn]

I think the 6.8 Western will have a short life. The question is how will the new military cartridge do? The 270 win would have never become as popular as it has without a push from Jack.

The PRC cartridges will be here to stay. The bigger question will it be all the PRC's or only the 6.5? The 300 & 7mm PRC have cartridges to compete against that are close in performance. I'm not going to run and replace my 7rm with a PRC. If I was going to buy a new 300 does the PRC give me a notable advantage over the 300WM or 300wsm?

 

[JDeere]

I'm a 7mm fan and enjoy the ballistics and wide bullet selection. Does anyone remember the 7mm STW? It will all come down to how well it is marketed just like the 6.5.

 

[12Bravo20]

The only problem I see is if Hornady is the sole producer of the ammo, it could be hard to get. IMHO, that is what is keeping 6mm ARC from really taking off.

 

[mshootnit]

Dizzying array of new whizbang cartridges for paper punchers. They seem to come and go like snowflakes and you certainly cannot update your rifle inventory fast enough to keep up. Shame when the ammo store has to pick and choose what cartridges to carry instead of more loadings for traditional cartridges.

 

[WisBorn]

Dizzying array of new whizbang cartridges for paper punchers. They seem to come and go like snowflakes and you certainly cannot update your rifle inventory fast enough to keep up. Shame when the ammo store has to pick and choose what cartridges to carry instead of more loadings for traditional cartridges.

I think you need to look at the reality of improvements that are driven by Rifle and Ammo producers. Yes wildcatters have developed many of our good cartridges like 7mm-08 and 25-06 are two of them. Now some would consider them traditional cartridges, but they are not that old. If it wasn't for hunters and shooters wanting something new or improved we would all be carrying 45-70 loaded with black powder and lead bullets. Marketing and ammo development improves all of our cartridges even the old ones.

 

[mgmorden]

I don't think either will necessarily survive long term.

It's not because they are bad (face it - all "new" rifle cartridges are just tweaking the case shape a little more to make it have more or less capacity and make the bullet go faster or slower), but there's a chicken and egg problem that any potential new cartridge has to overcome before it becomes a commonly used one: people don't want to buy something uncommon, and anything uncommon has to be bought before it can BE common.

Some cartridges for whatever reason overcome this. The VAST majority don't and get relegated to handloaders and a few enthusiasts. The only one I've seen really blow up (metaphorically ) in recent years is 6.5 Creedmoor. .350 Legend will likely hang in there but its too early to tell. My assumption for anything new though is that until proven otherwise, it'll have faded into memory within 10-12 years. You'll still be able to get ammo for it by jumping through some hoops (eg online ordering or handloading) but you won't find a box on the shelf at Walmart.

 

[12Bravo20]

I just received an email from Savage Arms and it looks like they are onboard with this caliber.

 

[JeeperCreeper]

Wildcard: 277 fury

I think the 7 PRC takes out the 6.8 Western.

But will it have the staying power of the .277 if it's adopted on a large military scale (ala 308 and 5.56).

Especially if they start releasing the super high pressure stuff, not the 7-08 power stuff.

I think the PRC is a different role, but just something I've been thinking about.

 

[troy fairweather]

I'm a 7mm fan and enjoy the ballistics and wide bullet selection. Does anyone remember the 7mm STW? It will all come down to how well it is marketed just like the 6.5.

What kinda killed the stw was a action long enough to shoot anything much heavier then a 162. I have a reamer just waiting for when I find a action with a long mag to make use of the stw powder capacity.

 

[troy fairweather]

Wildcard: 277 fury

I think the 7 PRC takes out the 6.8 Western.

But will it have the staying power of the .277 if it's adopted on a large military scale (ala 308 and 5.56).

Especially if they start releasing the super high pressure stuff, not the 7-08 power stuff.

I think the PRC is a different role, but just something I've been thinking about.

The 277 is just a 270-08 and I don't see ammo companies selling the high pressure stuff the military is using.

 

[SKILCZ]

I've seen ammo in the store for 6.8 W but so far never seen a rifle chambered for it. Do they exist at all yet?

I think it was a collaboration between Winchester and Browning, so yes, I think they both make rifles chambered in it.

 

[Varminterror]

I think it was a collaboration between Winchester and Browning, so yes, I think they both make rifles chambered in it.

Um… is that kinda like your right hand collaborating with your left to tie your shoes?

Same company.

 

[marksman13]

As much as any cartridge can die in this modern era, the 6.8 Western is already dead. It was D.O.A. It’s not an indictment of the cartridge. It’s just fine as a hunting cartridge, but it just never really took off. Has Winchester had a truly successful cartridge since the 300 Win Mag was introduced in 1963?

Hornady is the top dog in cartridge development. They dump tons of money and time into R&D and marketing. I owned a 300 PRC for a little bit and it is a great cartridge. If I wasn’t so heavily invested in 300 Win Mag already, I would have kept it. I’ve resisted the 6.5 PRC simply because I already have so many other 6.5s in the safe. But, this 7mm PRC honestly has my attention. I’m thinking really hard about selling off a few rifles to buy a Seekins Havak in 7 PRC. We’ll see.

 

[12Bravo20]

Hopefully Hornady will make this new round more available or other companies will start loading it too.

That is the issue with 6mm ARC right now, Hornady is the only manufacturer producing it. I have yet to find any 6mm ARC ammo locally.

 

[marksman13]

Hopefully Hornady will make this new round more available or other companies will start loading it too.

That is the issue with 6mm ARC right now, Hornady is the only manufacturer producing it. I have yet to find any 6mm ARC ammo locally.

The biggest local FFL in my area is a Hornady direct dealer and they have a couple pallets worth of 6mm ARC. It’s not cheap, but it’s plentiful.

 

[12Bravo20]

The biggest local FFL in my area is a Hornady direct dealer and they have a couple pallets worth of 6mm ARC. It’s not cheap, but it’s plentiful.

I guess not enough people here in Missouri are shooting it. No one is stocking it on shelves. Graf and Sons is 20 minutes from me, Midway USA is an hour away, and I have several Academy Sports, two Bass Pro Shops, and a Cabela's all within an hour drive. Plus all of the mom and pop gunshots around and no one has 6mm ARC ammo. The only one that has any 6mm ARC is Midway. But I either have to make a two hour round trip drive or pay for shipping.

Hopefully the availability of the new 7mm PRC will be better.

 

[troy fairweather]

I picked up a few boxes of 6arc a few days ago local, $27 for 105 $28 for 108 had about 20 left in the shelf, I'll get more next time out.

 

[12Bravo20]

I picked up a few boxes of 6arc a few days ago local, $27 for 105 $28 for 108 had about 20 left in the shelf, I'll get more next time out.

The cheapest I can find for the 108Gr ammo is $39.99 from a reputable online retailer. Yes some of the sellers on ammoseek.com are cheaper but have shoddy reputations that I just don't trust.. And of course my 6 ARC build prefers the 108Gr stuff best.

 

[rabid wombat]

Hornady does a fantastic job of marketing - not just advertising, but MARKETING.

Anyone who can look at the ancient 30-30 and kick off the LeveRevolution…has a pretty good sense of marketing and what will sell. The PRC series seems to be a solid offering. It goes to the ‘family’ concept that the ## Nosler is going after.

 

[AJC1]

6.8 was doa because it was launched into a covid market. Timing matters. The 7 is joining an already established family of cartridges. Im not jumping but i do find it interesting. Its compition is the saum, rum and 284, which is well established. Ill wait and see.