Love my 6.8 Western.Went on a hunting trip down to my old stomping grounds in the Blue Ridge mountains this past fall.Love the hitting power of this caliber.Very hard hitting.

Those are Dead

Nice to see you back Bruce T, My son just won a 6.8 western.
Looks like good eating there!

Interesting cartridge !

Meh.
Ain't no deader then if shot with a plain old .270

Good to see you back.

I always said the same thing.The 5 point buck I rushed the shot a little.Instead of hitting it behind the shoulder I hit it back and gut shot it.Instead of a long tracking job which would have happened with the same hit with my 270 that deer only went about 40 yards and piled up dead.When I went to gut it out the whole insides were jelly.I am some impressed with the 6.8 westerns hitting power after seeing it in person.Also about the same recoil as a 30-06.Very impressed.Thanks.Good to be back.

Good hunt !

Thank you

Don't need killing power for a gutt shot deer. It's the BULLET that matters.

Sorry, I don't mean to argue but these new " latest n greatest" cartridge thread drive me nutts!.


Especially in a wooded environment where close range is the norm.


That cartridge didn't do ONE smidgen better then any old cartridge would have done given same shot placement using comparitable bullets.

Sure caught my eye when it first came out.

Had a hunter with one of those this last year. Gut shot elk still resulted in a tracking job. Gut shot mule deer didn't go far, but took him a bit to die. Hunter was about played out from a big hike when he made the shot. Walked up on the muley still alive and had to go back and get the hunter, but he was dead by the time the hunter got there.

Good cartridge, but if the hunters do their job it makes mine a lot easier.

For sure.Its all about bullet placement.I sure try and most of the time make a good shot but it does not happen Everytime.

bucksnbears I have never seen a bullet with that much hitting power to be gut shot and have everything just turned to jelly inside like that.

No it does not. I've made bad shots myself, probably more than I'd like to admit. But as a guide I've seen lots of bad shots.

I always say I'd rather have a hunter shooting a marginal caliber that they shoot well than a larger cartridge they aren't comfortable with but I would like them to shoot as large of a caliber as they are comfortable with, because it allows a little more margin of error.

Agreed.My 6.8 Western has no more recoil then a 30-06

its a repurposed 270 wsm with a fast twist to shoot heavier modern bullets, nothing more, nothing less. cartridge has nothing to do with it, its thee bullet.

Must be the bullet because I owned a 270 wsm and it did not do what the 6.8 western is doing.

bullet placement

Bullets contribute the largest amount of the terminal performance. Probably was shooting a highly fragile bullet.
6.8 is designed for longer range performance and likely was loaded with a bullet to expand at lower velocities.

All I know was both bucks went 40 yards or less with one bad shot and one hitting one lung.Three does went right down.I forget it was either a 170 or 170 grain bullet loaded by browning.

Tip em' over with a high shoulder low spine shot

That will do it also but what really got my attention was I never ever had a gut shot deer only go 40 yards and when it dropped it was dead,no kicking no nothing.Usualy the deer will be on its side.This deer dropped straight down onto its belly dead.I try to make good shots but things happen sometimes.Branch,deer moves just as you shoot ect.The two of the does were hit right behind the front shoulder and went right over.One doe was hit a little high and went right over.

You are shooting a cartridge that has the capability of being a moderate range or more elk cartridge on hundred something pound deer.

Yep and doing a awesome job of it.Will also use this gun out west and up here for moose as well.

years and years ago my go to bullet for deer in the 270 was a hornady 110 gr hp, a varmint bullet but you put one anywhere in front of the hams and they just wadded up like a wet dishrag, have learned a lot since.