Ok.  I'm showing my dumbass but I can't figure out why there isn't a longer bullet option for 6.8spc.

Is it just that no-one makes it or that it's a stupid idea?  Why no heavy grain "ELD" type bullets?  It would seem that the case volume would be superior or at least close to a 6.5G.  What am I missing?




edit:  I may be answering my own post.  Is it where the ogive would contact the neck with the more streamlined bullets?  As in....the case is too long in comparison with the cartridge OAL?

135, 150 and I think even 160 grain bullets are available in .277" diameters. The problem is they won't work from a magazine oal" and velocity will be very slow.

If you own a bolt action you can play with heavier bullets. The 135 SMK's would be the heaviest I would try.

I actually prefer the lightest bullets for 6.8spc and 6.5 Grendel. The higher velocities seem beneficial to me.

It's the case length to mag length relationship. With the 6.8 case being longer than the 6.5, it's handicapped by design because they both need to fit into the same mags.

Long? Berger 270 CAL 170gr EOL Elite  Uses non factory twist barrels....

Most of the GMX from Hornady and the non match or varmint bullets are longer than a normal lead core bullet.  And, require faster twist barrels.

270 has never had to much love

They should have went with .257 or .243 with a 43mm long case, not .277".  D-Tech makes a nice little .257 DTI with a 30° shoulder.

The reasoning for going with .277 was highly flawed as well.




.257" and .277" are the most neglected bore and projectile diameters on the market.  The .277" actually has a lot of great bullets for it for the .270 Winchester, .270 WSM, and .270 Weatherby Magnum where there are no issues with ogive length and COL restrictions (I've been shooting .270 Winchester since 1982, loading for it for many years as well.)

.257" is really a sweet spot between 6mm and 6.5mm, could really do with some love from the bullet industry, as there are no real good modern boat tail projectiles for it other than maybe 2, the Berger 115gr Hunting VLD, and the JLK 108 VLD, seen between a 6mm and 6.5mm below:

simply put,...

because they wouldn't fit in the magazine

both sierra and hornady make .277" 150gr pencils for rounds like .270 winchester

Got it.  Thanks all.

I shoot the 135gr SMK from my .270 Winchester every once in a blue moon.  It's the exact same length as a 6.5mm 120gr Scenar-L, shorter than all of the 130gr 6.5mm except the 130gr Sierra Game King.

It's a decent target bullet actually with a higher BC per Litz at .506 G1, does better than most of the common .308 TGT bullets and has way less ToF compared to .308 Win.

I load it on H4831 at 2847fps avg. from my 22" .270 Winchester Model 70 Featherweight.

The .270 Winchester and WSM configuration is out-classed by the 6.5mm and 7mm cartridges and bullet selection for long range target or hunting, especially looking at short actions.

The problem you'll see quickly is that out of about 40 of the 130gr and higher .277" bullets, maybe 5 of those have a decent BC, which always comes down to the boat tail.  Like the .257" line of projectiles, almost all of the .277" bullets have flat bases, or boat tails that are so marginal, they might as well be flat bases.  This significantly reduces the BC potential of the bullets, but will contribute to better accuracy at 100yds.

.270 has traditionally not been used in a target rifle configuration, and was more of a muzzle velocity speedster from the 1930s with way more bullet weight and energy than the .250-3000 Savage could hope to deliver.  .270 Winchester with a 130gr SP flat base made a nice, flat-shooting plains rifle for those of us out here in the West especially, delivering fast kills on medium game within 300yds, and with a 200yd zero, you have 275yds point blank zero even in 10mph full value wind for 10" vital zone.

With a 140-150gr cup and core bullet, it is more than adequate for large game, having better performance than a .308 muzzle velocity even at 100-125yds.

The 7mm-08 in a short action will give you the same point blank range using a 154gr Hornady SST, with similar energy, but ~150fps slower impact speed at 275yds, but higher RPM due to the twist rate.

Even though I love the .270 Win., have a lot of connection with it from my childhood forward, I have to accept the reality that a little 7mm-08 has more versatility based on the bullet selection and short action rifle length/weight/handling, with a lot less powder consumption, and lower working pressure.

At 275yds, I can still hold center of vital zone and get impact with way more than 1800ft-lbs of energy from both of them, with over 2340fps impact speed from either, so well into the higher end of expansion envelope of common bullets on the market for both bores.

You nailed the answer right there for some .277 projectiles, and then a bunch of people had to jump in and post information for something they don't really know anything about.  If you want to read a good thread with information on loading bullets and exactly how much bullet can be stuffed into a rifle case, go read Defender3's post in the Larue rifle section of the Industry forum on his .260 rifle.  Very long bullets loaded in a .260 case to mag length.
Defender3's thread
Popnfresh iirc has a post about loading 230 grain Bergers to mag length in 308 also in this reloading forum somewhere.

You can do the same thing with a 6.8(or nearly any rifle cartridge for that matter)with lots of longer bullets available for the .270 as has been mentioned.  And if you want factory load data for 130 and 140 grain rounds go to...
Alliant Powder Free PDF
Western Powder free pdf

Most are mag length with a couple longer then mag length.  The problem isn't really bullet length, but bullet weight and what the bullet was designed for versus the velocity you can push it with 25-30 grains of powder in an AR platform.  Heavier bullets designed for a .270 with a muzzle velocity of 3050-3200 fps and a minimum expansion of 1800 fps might work great for the .270 out to 400-500 yards, being pushed by 55-60 grains of powder.  With the 6.8 and 25-30 grains pushing the same round at 2400-2600 fps, they really don't have any useable advantage over the faster lighter bullets.  The same thing applies to the Grendel, it's only wild card in the ring is the Accubond Long Range and it's saving grace is that the minimum expansion is said to be 1300 fps.  A standard 6.5 130 grain Accubond lists 1800 fps minimum with less then a .05 BC advantage to the 130 grain .270 Accubond.   Nosler's Accubond long range for the .270 is 150 grain, 1.39 inches long, and can't be loaded to mag length without case neck/ogive issues.  It has been tried though.

edit tried to fix links, if they don't work search 2016 Western powder pdf, and 2017 alliant powder pdf

I really like the 6.8, I've built 3 this year, and truth be told, I don't think it will ever be a long range cartridge.  It was designed as a cqb rifle and the civilian market has added some great hunting rounds into the market specifically for it.  100 and 110 Accubonds, Nosler 85 grain E tip, Fusion 90 and 115 grains, Hornady 100 grain GMX and 120 gr SST, CBB 105 and 120 mkz, 4-5 Barnes offerings, 90 gr gold dots are supposedly not being made anymore, but still available, lots of good options for medium sized game out to 300 or so yards.  More along the lines of a traditional .243 80-100 grain hunting load but in an AR platform, not especially high bc, but 90 grain Gold dots and Fusions flying out of a 20 inch barrel at over 3000 fps(2820 out of my 14.7 inch barrel) and expanding to over 1/2 an inch.  Just puts out a smile on my face watching the numbers pop up on the chronograph.  If shooting targets at 1000 yards is your intent, look elsewhere.  The guys in Texas shooting hogs have seemed to figure out what the 6.8 is good for.

Before Nosler bought them out, Silver State Armory had a 140  grain load using a Berger VLD for the 6.8 SPC.  As mentioned elsewhere, at a certain point, the standard twist rate isn't fast enough for the longer bullets.