Westerner
I've always been a cartridge guy, and read the "Rifleman" article with some interest as well. The Western seems to offer a very versatile and powerful cartridge with wide application. But, being a conservative rifleman type, I view new cartridges with a great deal of skepticism. The alphabet soup of cartridges introduced not that long ago, the WSM, WSSM, SPC's, the Ultramags, all have played out to be little more than flash in the pans. They sold some new rifles, but they did not stick, and I do not see any in the field in my area. The The 6.5CM seems here to stay, time will tell about its brethren offspring CM's, as well as the ARC's, the Valkyrie, the Legend, and others I suppose.
Simply put, I cannot use what the 6.8Western offers. Primarily because I am a (south) Eastern hunter. Being of average middle class status at best, I will not be booking hunts across the country or around the globe to shoot beasts larger and more exotic than a whitetail, and if I'm lucky, some hogs. I suspect ( and everyday chaps just like me) represent 75% (or more) of the hunting and shooting fraternity. For us everyday folks, we shoot deer and hogs at distances well under 200 yds, typically well under 100, and just do not need to take advantage of the flat trajectory and heavy bullet the Western offers. The old guard rifles we already have serve just fine.
I say none of this to discredit the 6.8Western. I just suspect that what it offers will only truly benefit a small percentage of shooters. Whether the appeal of a new cartridge will offset that niche and allow the Western to thrive remains to be seen.