When I was trying to decide what caliber I should pick for my newest rifle, I contacted an old friend who is a legend in the shooting world. Ron Spomer is a hunting and shooting writer who has been the host of several outdoors TV shows, written countless books, and currently has a series of shooting videos on YouTube. I don’t think there’s a caliber ever made that he hasn’t shot. He also understands ballistic coefficient, maximum point blank range, rate of twist, and everything else that has anything to do with how a bullet works. And best of all, he has a way of explaining all of it that even I can understand.
Frustratingly, though, he didn’t have an answer for me. He gave me some great information about all the calibers I could choose from, but ultimately he left the choice to me. I guess that’s fair, since it’ll be my rifle. But at the end of the conversation, he dropped a bombshell. He told me if I wasn’t confused enough, I should check out his next video about the relatively new Browning cartridge, the 6.8 Western.
Now I need yet another new rifle. I watched Ron’s video, and the 6.8 Western is impressive. It’s a short-action, fast-twisting, high-pressure bullet with an incredibly high ballistic coefficient and less recoil on average than a .30-06. Sign me up. Granted, I already have a .270, and I love that rifle. I shoot very well with it, and there’s nothing really wrong with it. The 6.8 is the same diameter as a .270.
But it sounds like the 6.8 Western is a new and improved .270. If I were into long-distance shooting, I’d be trotting right down to the gun store right now to get a 6.8 Western.
Thanks for helping me with my caliber choice, Ron. All you really did was get me thinking I need another new gun, too, though.
