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Rogue Summit Hunter: 6.8 Western Ethical Hunter Challenge

Post by Cory Ross

Feb 11 2025

Eric Cortina is a staple in the precision rifle world. His obsessive pursuit of accuracy has made him an icon of the sport. From this, his various techniques, gear, and challenges have shaped the landscape of the modern-day precision rifleman. (For more information on him and his company, check out Cortina Precision). Cortina's Ethical Hunter Challenge is simple—it's a cold bore shot taken from 500 yards at a 5" gong. While straightforward, this challenge tasks hunters who wish to take ethical shots at game from great distances. Rogue Summit Hunter, an ardent western big game hunter, sees the value in Cortina's challenge. Rogue Summit Hunter, a fan and expert on the 6.8 Western cartridge (developed by the Olin Corp., which is the parent of Browning and Winchester Ammunition), has dedicated his channel to the 6.8 Western cartridge and his love of big game hunting.

For the challenge, Rogue Summit Hunter uses his custom 6.8 Western rifle. The rifle is built around a Defiant anTi-X action set in an MDT HNT26 chassis. The barrel is from Carbon Six and was cut to 20". As for the accouterments, the rifle has a Leupold Mark 4HD optic mounted on it and a Gunwerks 6IX suppressor affixed to the muzzle. For the load, he is pushing a Berger 170gr. EOL at 2700 fps. Impressive for a short barrel. The challenge is set up similarly to what Cortina calls for, except that the gong size is 4". Despite time spent in the mountain, including several tumbles, and without confirming zero in weeks, Rogue Summit Hunter wanted to test his mettle and the rifle's ability in real-world conditions. The Ethical Hunter Challenge creates a stressful environment that reflects a hunting scenario. Check out his channel to see the outcome of the challenge and to find out more about the 6.8 Western cartridge and Western hunting.

Besides the Erik Cortina Ethical Hunter Challenge, Rogue Summit Hunter has also successfully completed Texas Plinking's 1 MOA challenge at 1000 yards!

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