It appears that there’s a new kid in town:
New Cartridge for 2021: 6.8 Western
Forgive me, but I thought that one of the teaching points we got from all the “short magnum” cartridges of a couple decades ago was that these squashed little cartridge cases can cause feeding problems? Or have there been developments in feeding ramps which I missed and that take these problems away?
Regardless, I can confidently predict that this new thing is doomed to failure, because if serious shooters like me can’t get their hands on their favorite .260 Rem, 6.5x55mm, .270 Win or even 6.5mm Grendel and 7x57mm — actually, cartridges of any description — what makes the Brains Trust [sic] at Winchester think that we’re going to run out and buy a new rifle for a new cartridge that has an uncertain heritage?
Pro tip for the ammo guys: get more existing ammo types into the pipeline first — yeah, I’ve heard your excuses for the shortages, and I only half-buy them — before you start fucking around with exotic new ones.
And frankly, I fail to see how much better the 6.8 Western is going to be than any of the cartridges I listed above — and Chuck Hawks would probably agree with me.
Firearms – even the modern aluminum and plastic abominations – are among the most durable of the durable goods that economists like to talk about. Very few people replace a firearm because its worn out or broken. That’s like breaking a good quality hammer. I have an 85 year old Enfield and a 65 year old “late production” Garand which will never wear out. So the only way to sell new rifles is to invent a new cartridge which has some supposed advantage over some older round. “Our .31 caliber Thumblicker is .01% more effective at ranges between 350 and 355 yards and if you don’t own one right now your personhood (to be politically correct) is in question and you obviously don’t love Jesus or Allah or whoever.” They stop at the Mercedes dealer to price a new car on the way to the bank while we have a rifle that shoots $5.00 a round ammunition if we can find it.
I’ll shortly be in need of “Europellets” for the first time. My current handgun-ammo options include .22 LR, .40 S&W, and .44 Magnum, but now I have parts on order for a Glock 19 lookalike, built around a Polymer80 frame. Prices and availability aren’t looking good at all for 9mm ammo, last time I looked, but I figured it was better to buy now before the Paste-Eater-in-Chief gets a bug up his ass and starts trying to ban guns. Push comes to shove, I can buy components and load my own (only need a die set and a bullet mold).
Yesterday’s events were observed with the purchase of an 80% AR-15 lower. (Took a bit to find a vendor who had them in stock…got mine from 80lowers.com.) I’ll get the other bits that go into it when it’s closer to the time to put it together. I don’t have a jig, but I found a 3D-printable jig on LBRY that ought to work.
I have a Remington 7600 .270 Win that is a safe queen. It a bit much for deer hunting in North GA. It is better hunting Aoudad sheep out in Texas where it can make the 900-1000 yard shots. It has been more than a decade since I did a sheep hunt.
I have an AR carbine in 6.8SPC. I have built multiple AR’s in most of the popular calibers and the 6.8SPC has all of the qualities I want in a mid range rifle. It works well on feral hogs and deer. I have heard of the 6.8SPC referred as 270 lite.
From what I have read on the 6.8 Western, it blends in the to upper range and power of the .270 Win but can send much heavier bullets downrange for distance shots. I could see this in elk or moose country but there are a lot of calibers that fit the bill already. I will stick with my 30-06.
> Pro tip for the ammo guys: get more existing ammo types into the pipeline first
They can’t, and it would barely matter if they did.
“We” are buying all the ammo shipping.
You can’t even find .32 OR .25 ACP in any quantities.