308....why

[jay83196]

I'm getting a new bolt action rifle and I'm debating on what caliber to get, somebody suggested a 308 , I've always heard good things about 308 and its very popular round. In looking over the ballistics both the 270 & 30-06 out perform the 308. Bullet price is similiar so is availability and selection. I can't see any benefit in a 308 over these other caliber except maybe less recoil? Am I missing something why get a 308, I'm looking for a good all around mn caliber (have 300 yd options and hunt in thick woods at times). My options in this gun are 270, 30-06, 308, and 7-08. I was planning on the 308 until I did my research but now I'm not so sure.

Thoughts?

[monstermoose78]

I would go with a 30-06 more bullet weights options. Carries more then enough power to 300 yards. I know with the 180 grain nosler partitions I shoot I am 1.8 inches high at 100 dead on at 200 yards and 8 inches low at 300 yards. So if I hold on the back of a deer at 300 yards my bullet will hit about dead center of the chest.

[jay83196]

Thanks

[monstermoose78]

if you dont like the kick of the 30-06 get one with a muzzle break. I have browning a-bolt with the boss

[nsnutter]

I have a savage 110 in .270 that is a sub-minute gun.

There is a good chance my next build will be either an ar or a custom bolt gun with a r700 action chambered in .308. I like the idea of using a NATO. round simply for the availability, however if you're planning in hunting with it, a 30-06 or.270 will serve your purposes quite well.

[jay83196]

I agree 270 and 30-06 are good choices, I mean no disrespect but I don't get why anybody buy 308 over them? Is there significant less recoil, not that much in 270, 06 anyway. I wanted to get 308 as I have other guns in 270, 06 but I looked up 308, hard to buy over 270/30-06 I see no benefit to 308....recoil?

Thanks

[candiru]

I dug up the July '07 issue of F&S where Petzal talks about recoil. They have a little chart there. The 308 is listed at 18ft lbs of recoil. The 270 came in at 21 ft lbs, and the '06 was at 24 ft lbs. The '06 was also a half pound heavier. I would consider a one-third reduction in recoil to be significant. I know my 308 is comfortable for me to shoot at the range. Recoil affects people differently. I have become more sensitive to it as I have gotten older.

As far as ballistics goes, I just looked at a chart. The 308 is only about 100-200 fps. slower than the '06 with the same bullet. At 300yds the 308 is only about an inch lower than the '06. Your point of aim would be identical. I really don't think the animal on the receiving end would know the difference.

With todays better bullets a person does not need to use heavier bullets like people use to. The modern ones hold together and penetrate real well. You can use the same bullets for deer or moose and not have to adjust your scope.

In a 308 you can have a shorter action that will in turn make a lighter rifle. This makes a difference for some people and some situations.

To me it is more about shot placement than the extra power behind the bullet when it gets there. I do this by having a gun that I am comfortable shooting, reloading, and time at the range.

Use what you want and are happy with. I am content with my 308 and am dining on moose steaks this winter. If I was starting over again I would seriously consider a 7mm-08.

[fishuhalik]

I'm not a fan of .308s for my own use because, if you look at raw ballistic data, they aren't very impressive. The reason the military uses them in med-long range sniping is twofold: widely available, standardized ammo and CONSISTENCY. There is a mess of rounds that are much flatter shooting, but with current optics with ballistic turrets, drop doesn't really matter. What matters more is factors that can't really be calculated, like wind drift or flight stability, which are 2 things the .308 handles very, very well. In my case, since I don't have the time or $ to shoot the thousands and thousands of rounds that snipers shoot, I need a round that is flatter shooting so I have a little more leeway with my dope.

[Eric Wettschreck]

I have both a 308 and a 7.62, very similar guns. Yes, fishahaulic is correct in the 308 is a very popular sniper rifle, for a reason.

If you want to reach out and touch something at say, 4-500+ yards many of todays modern rifles will do this with a good shooter behind the trigger. The advantage the 308 has is what fishahaulic talked aboot. Factors many hunters don't take into consideration like spin drift and multiple wind directions are huge at long range, and both the 308 and 7.62 seem to handle them better. Plus, my 308 is like an 870 in that you can drop it, roll it around in the mud, start it on fire, drive over it, smash it with a hammer, then pick it up and it shoots.

Added bonus, my 308 doesn't break my shoulder nearly as much as an 06 does. When I was 18 that didn't matter. Now that I'm pushing mid to late 40's it comes into play.

Not trying to talk anyone into or out of anything. If you're looking for a rifle, shoot a bunch of different ones and buy the one that suits you best.

[shortfatguy]

Best of both worlds. 300 WSM. Ballistically equal to a 300 win mag but in a short light rifle like a 308. Any where from the muzzle to over 320 yards there is no need for hold over.

[jay83196]

I appreciate all info, I have a 270, 30-06 already and wanted something different in a cheaper gun model (getting savage axis) I can take on my 4 wheeler etc and not worry about beating it up. Just felt like was down grading into a 308 from my 270/30-06, but less recoil sounds nice and it isn't that much less energy I guess.

[hockeybc69]

Stay away from an Axis in my opinion....

You can get the Model 110/111 for pretty reasonable(not a lot more than an Axis), and have a much better shooting gun.

I love my .308. In my eyes, a good shooting gun, is a good shooting gun. Just gotta get do "know em".

[Archerysniper]

I wouldnt look at a .308 as down gradeing it's a upgrade in my book. And I have a couple 06 and 270 but my .308 is where my bread is buttered.

[jay83196]

Up grade how? Why use it over your other guns? Everything about it reads to perform less. Comfort in shooting?

[Whoaru99]

I can understand getting a "beater" rifle, what I don't understand is getting a 3rd/different caliber that is scant different than the ones you already have.

If recoil is a factor then I think I'd get a .270 beater if not, then the 06 (which, by the way, you can get a managed recoil load or two for).

Again, I don't really see the logic in getting a 3rd caliber of more or less the same performance as you already have, from a practical standpoint anyway.

[jay83196]

Recoil isn't a factor my original thought was I hear a lot of good things about 308, I don't have one to compare my 270, 06 too. I was thinking about getting a 308 when I did some research on it and the only plus I found was it has less recoil. I don't have a problem with the recoil from my 06, so for me I dont see any benefit to getting a 308 vs another 06, or 270. I simply posted this topic because so many people use 308 and prefer it to the 30-06 and I didn't understand why, unless I was missing something and I was/am curious why someone would say 308 is a better round of the 3. With the exception of less recoil it under performs to the 270 and 30-06. I realize the whole chevy vs ford thing, everybody has a personal favorite, but with this you can look at the ballistics and its clear which is the better bullet performance wise, that includes spin drift the 06 has less spindrift because of the higher velocity/energy the bullet travels. The ballistic coefficients is he same because 308 and 30-06 shoot the same bullet.

[JackPineGuy]

In my hummble opinion i think the .308 is one of the best whitetail cartridges out there! Idk tho ive taken whitetails with .32 special and .38 special, so hey there all good.

[jay83196]

Why is it, and do you think better than 270, 30-06?

[JackPineGuy]

im sorry i guess i should just said .308 is my favorite cartridge out there. I do favor over the .06's and the 270 just because i think it has less recoil and i just like the short action rifles. that being said i use ta own a .270 im not even sure what manufacturer, it was old, had a basic black synthetic stock, maybe it was a mossberg or savage it was 15 years ago idk but anyway my uncle gave it me for helping him do some landscape work for a weekend. That .270 for whatever reason kicked more then any 30-06 or .300 win, man it was a tank to0 heavy, but ill tell ya what had the nicest bolt, super lose, and it was just a greeeeeeat gun. i shot maybe a half a dozen deer with it over about a five year span untill someone robbed my apartment and stole it

[JackPineGuy]

after that i shot a B.A.R in 30-06 which was a great gun to but very very fussy on ammo. i also shot an .06 rem pump carbine that was great. so id say it what ever caliber u like best. but in the last 5 years i converted fully to .308. i just shoot better with it at the range and like the results its had on deer. i dont care what ballistics charts say for me the proof is in the pudding. but hey my dads shot more deer then anyone ive ever mey and he wouldent use anything but an .06 or 12 gauge slug

[jay83196]

Thanks for feedback...

[Borch]

Jay,

Things is that performance wise you're splitting hairs. All the cartidges mentioned by you originally will kill anything you can hunt in the usa very effectively with the right bullet. It comes down to personal preference. I've killed deer with the .30-06, .308, 7mm-08, muzzle loader and archery. All deer went down quickly, All calibers mentioned will take game further than most hunters are able to shoot consistently.

I also enjoy hunting with different guns. So some years I may carry a different gun each outing and not feel under gunned.

Good Luck in making your choice.

[jay83196]

I understand the calibers I mentioned will all do the job and are similiar. I was only curious what advantage 308 had or why somebody would buy gun in that caliber over 30-06 but it sounds like recoil big part of it. Mostly curious before I made my decision.

Thanks

[hockeybc69]

Quote:

I was only curious what advantage 308 had or why somebody would buy gun in that caliber over 30-06 but it sounds like recoil big part of it.

For me, it wasnt anything other than I wanted to add another caliber/gun to my gun cabinet. Like Borch said, I find myself grabbing a different gun to bring in the woods to change things up.... If thats the right words.

[swamptiger]

Take a look at the new Ruger American before you buy. Has all the features of the more expensive Savages at a little more money than the Axis.. Looks a lot like the Axis, but a better gun, imop.. It's only 6 1/4 lbs. so recoil will be more pronounced in the larger cartridges.

[paceman]

Good questions Jay. I have wondered the same things as you. Looks like the main reasons folks are chosing the 308 over the 30-06 and 270 are less recoil and lighter gun. My old charts show that the 06 is simply faster which equals less drop and more energy at target. Not saying the 308 is a bad gun or anything. Both guns will kill just about anything on this planet.

[Gordie]

I used to feel the same way about the .308, until I did the research from a militry point of view. I am and will always be a solid fan of the 30-06 but when the research came back I had to own a .308 and I wouldnt trade it for anything but another. This round will do everything that I need it to do and if I wanna get fancy and shoot a long distance I know with some tweaking to the bullet it can be done no problem. I also know that I can do the same with the -06 only a bit more power and recoil.

If you are into reloading then any choice of the guns you have are great and if your not reloading bullets then IMO the 06 is the most versitile gun on the market in terms of ammo from a jacketed .52 grain .223 bullet to a 220 grain 30 cal bullet.

The 30-06 is a do-all rifle.

[jay83196]

From a military standpoint ?? It feeds faster because its shorter, less recoil ....if your firing a full auto in the jungle that is an advantage, deer hunting using a bolt action or most other hunting rifles its not , so were back to ballistics and its slightly below other comparable bullets so again why 308? Less recoil is only reason I can see.

[Gordie]

Thatsa not what I'm talking about look at the milatary specs when it comes to reloads for the .308 and look at the distance they shoot them as well and I'm not talking about the full autos. They shoot some impressive down range shots with a .308.

I will alsways say the 06 is a better choice of guns but don't count out the .308 it will get the job done, look at some sniper examples to see your data.

[jay83196]

I'm not doubting they make long distant shots, my point is the 270/30-06 are slightly better suited to make them because they are faster, flatter shooting, more energy same ballistic coefficient, better against the wind. Im not trying to bash on the 308, I simply was wondering why I should get one over these other two, and I think less recoil with similiar performance is the answer to why.