Is there somebody who is able to give me more information on the history/type of hunting done /similar calibers of the 6.5x68.

Here's a good article from Chuck Hawkes

http://www.chuckhawks.com/6-5x68S.htm

Comparable to 6.5 Rem Mag & 264 Win Mag with handloads.

Some ballistic charts

http://aussiehunter.org/calibres/6-5x68-schuler/

CoyoteKiller

Thank you kindly, I appreciate the reply.It seems this caliber if few and far between ownerships. Is this rifle more common in Europe? I think in South Africa where hunting grounds are usually in bushveld areas this caliber in not really called for. Although the highveld, Khalahari and Karoo areas will lend them excellently to the use of a 6.5x68 fast, far and flat shooting rifle.

Hi Gert,

Please take this with a healthy teaspoon of cynism; my favorite commuication form ....

From the Chuck Hawks commentary noted above:

quote:

The 6.5x68 is widely reloaded in Europe, and reloading information can be found in the Dynamit Nobel and RWS manuals.

In an adult life of hunting & shooting in The Fatherland I've known 1 (count 'em) hunter who owned a 6.5x68 Blaser R93 barrel (still offered in their current catalog) and he lived in Switzerland. He didn't have anything positive to contribute concerning this cartridge. Mike claimed it was a noted barrel burner, the cases after the initial loading had "doughnuts" at the neck/shoulder junction that had to be reamed prior to the next loading and both ammo & brass cases were "more" difficult to obtain.

RWS is the only case & ammunition provider and their factory ammunition/brass cases ought to be traded in the commodity section South African Stock Exchange, their prices are IMO outrageous. In all my years of lurking about gunshop counters I've seen 1 package of RWS 6.5x68 brass for sale.

Now having noted what my Buddy Mikee (sadly deceased, Bless him) said about his barrel I did some research on a coupla German Hunting/Shooting Forums this afternoon and apparently this cartridge engenders a real Love/Hate following.

Well, here's the (you want Pork Chops, not Steak) glitch; Yeah, it has good statistics going for it and 6.5mm bullets are known for their good B.C.'s & S.D's which are a real plus when the bullet arrives (at distance, too) but despite all that I'd offer up a 25-06 Remington, 270 Winchester, as easy(ier) to facilitate in RSA or with a step level increase of logistic complexity; perhaps the .257 Weatherby Magnum or 264 Winchester Magnums as alot more of the same Good Joy with a not too overly complicated supply chain.

I can understand the Karoo benefits as Springbok culling and other hunting there can certainly realize the benefits of a long range enabled cartridge/rifle combo and I'm all for the Whatever Floats your Boat Syndrome so if exotic is what's desired; go for it as the stats are quite immpressive and also it's claim to fame as a long(er) range, flat shooting cartridge.

A plain old .270 win offers almost identical performance with far better availability of rifles and ammunition.

Gerry
Thank you kindly for the reply.Your excellent explanation really gave me the knowledge and perspective I seek to be able to make a decision regarding this caliber. I think your reply covered all the aspects I pondered about regarding the 6.5x68 caliber.It seems in this case too much gun , really is too much gun. I would rather then scale down and see if I can get a old 7x64 Mauser to do some restoring on and use it for open space-hunting. Since I like the old calibers with some history attached to them, like you said "whatever floats my boat". If I look at the four rifles in my possession, .308 Israeli Mauser, 8x57JS Mauser, .375 H&H Magnum Coggswell & Harrison and a .404 Jeffery with a big history from the 1930 era it only seems fit to get a 7x57 Mauser with an illustrious history behind it and use it.

I would imagine this big case would give similar performance to the 264 Winchester Magnum. Have had some 8x68 ammo in my possession, gave it away to someone looking for 6.5x68 cases. As other posters have said the ammo is hard to come by and expensive, not the ideal cartridge to have in your country where it seems not so easy to obtain a lot of ammo and reloading stuff.

Gert,

Glad to have been able to share my perspective regarding the 6.5x68.

My hunting Buddy uses a Blaser R8 257 Weatherby Magnum (20X scope) with 100 gr. Swift Scirocco II's and myself a Blaser R93 25-06 Remington (16X scope). We did some distance culling last year for Springbok & Ostriches on a Namibian farm bordering the Kalahari and both cartridges performed to perfection at 300-400+ meters, we were really pleased with the results, using a hold on the nose and plunk 'em in the forehead trick on the Springbok. Doping the wind was the real challenge.

Yours an interesting battery and yes, understand the considertion for a flat-shooting caartridge.

The 7x64 is IMO the European version of the 270 Winchester. The 7x64 far more poular here in Germany than the 270 Winchester which has lots of appeal in the UK & Austria than Germany. It will though, with the right bullets do Yoeman's work at distance, too.

Have fun with your selection.

quote:

Gerry

Thank you eagle27 kjjm4 Gerry,

It is really interesting to see other perspectives about certain calibers, but most hunters will concur regarding what is relevant and practical and what is seen as impractical due to availability of brass and bullets, on the end of the day what really matters is the availability of the costs and availability of the brass and bullets of the specific caliber.

my penny, 6.5x68 is a caliber not so good as the major brother, the 8x68.

6.5x68 is limited to light bullets at very high velocity, while the big bro carries heavy bullets at high velocities.

Don't have the x 68 but I'm pretty happy with my x65 RWS. In my M03 the 6.5x65RWS is the light the 340 Wby the medium and for now the 416 REM the Heavy. Great optics to match and I feel pretty comfortable on most anything.

Looks like you have a gap for a small cal. a 6,5*57,6,5*55,6,5*65 or .257roberts would fill they all fit in mausers.

I think I will turn my attention to the 8x68 , I think maybe it is the equivalent of the 300 H&H Belted Magnum ? I would prefer to stay with the Mauser brand, not that other brands are inferior but mainly because I like the older Mauser rifles more. All the Mauser rifles I have currently are old rifles. I still need some input regarding this caliber if possible?

I have a 7.62 Israeli Mauser, a 8x57 JS Mauser, a .375 H&H Magnum Cogswell & Harrison Mauser action and a .404 Jeffery K98 Mauser action. Maybe a 8x68 Mauser will fit in just fine.???

Looking at load data, the 8x68mm is not too far off from 338 Winmag ballistics. I always thought that the 6.5x68mm and 8x68mm would make a nice matched set.

A Steyr Mannlicher M was imported into Australia quite some time ago in this calibre. The owner had two scopes for it. Both Nickel Supra's (?). A 4x32 for close work and a 3-12x56 (?).

He used RWS factory ammo which I know is imported into RSA. The 8.2gram (127 grain) cone point would be perfect for Springbok, and was intended for long range alpine shooting at Chamois etc. in europe. He also had a lighter round, around 90 (?) grains. A varmint round at 6.5x68 velocities. Think Dassies vaporising in a mist of blood.

If that is the Mauser '98 for sale in Cape Town make sure you check it feeds and shoots ok before buying it. I believe the 6.5x68 will need a modified magazine well.

I notice a lot of positive feedback regarding the .338 caliber, maybe it is due to the 338 caliber that kept the 8x68/6.5x68 on the background. I will first see if I can build the 8x68 to use for longer flat shooting distances on springbuck, blesbuck and Gemsbuck. I don't want to buy any more rifles, from now on it needs to be build if I want to have another caliber.Thank you kindly for your time and input regarding this caliber, it really is appreciated.

I have a 6.5x68 rifle built by Voere on a 98 action. Had to special order the RWS brass but that was no big deal. Case capacity is very similar to the 264 Win (6.5x68 is a couple grs more capacity)and performance is similar.Only the slowest powders were consistant with IMR 7828 being the best,in my rifle. Nosler 125 gr Partitions and 129 gr Hornady's were the only bullets that held together. I used it on a couple Montana pronghorns and a whitetail.My rifle does not group bullets heavier than the 129 gr. I am in the process of working up some loads with the Barnes 100gr TTSX bullet. This may be the best bullet for this calibre.