308 vs 30-06

[Woodsmoke]

if you want to make life easy for yourself then what you need is a "common as muck" cartridge that you can get ammo or components for

I knew a bloke once who was adamant that the world desperately needed the 5mm smc and that he could load it to give 5000fps!

I haven't heard or seen of him since. He's probably lying on a range somewhere with his bolt through his forehead

 

[Jagare]

I load .308 with .165grn Norma Oryx for a M/V of 778m/S. I have shot moose where that bullet has broken both shoulders and exited out the other side.
I've shot red and fallow with the same bullet and again very dead deer. If i loaded the 165grn Oryx in a .30.06 i would without a doubt get the same result. So If i shoot GMX full boar loads or get a extra 500ftib, how much deader will the deer be?
I also load a practice, target, 147grn fmj round that only does 741M/S. Do i need any more power to punch holes in paper?

 

[Heym SR20]

The 30-06 was never a general issue military calibre in the U.K., the 308 was.

In the US sporterised Springfields were widely used. Here it was the 303 calibres sporterised Enfields.

The 308 is more accurate and a bit more powerful that the 303, so when it became the military standard it was widely accepted as a sporting cartridge, especially when the deer acts made the 6.5x54 Mannlicher and 303’s obsolete. The 308 has been adopted as the standard calibre by the Forestry Commision in England.

In Scotland where we are shooting on the open hill the 270 is probably the standard calibre, with the 243 not far behind, especially for use on hinds.

In the US many already the 30-06, so why drop to 308? You also have bigger Elk and Bears where the extra thump of 30-06 may have a bit of difference.

 

[mchughcb]

I load .308 with .165grn Norma Oryx for a M/V of 778m/S. I have shot moose where that bullet has broken both shoulders and exited out the other side.
I've shot red and fallow with the same bullet and again very dead deer. If i loaded the 165grn Oryx in a .30.06 i would without a doubt get the same result. So If i shoot GMX full boar loads or get a extra 500ftib, how much deader will the deer be?
I also load a practice, target, 147grn fmj round that only does 741M/S. Do i need any more power to punch holes in paper?

What range was the moose?

 

[Uncle Buck]

I think the reason we like it so much is that it is easy to feed - we are right at the end of the supply chain with pretty restrictive firearms laws and a very small market for ammo etc. compared to somewhere like the USA so if you want to make life easy for yourself then what you need is a "common as muck" cartridge that you can get ammo or components for. The 308 is pretty much as close to that in the UK so if you are interested in stalking or shooting but, perhaps, have very little interest in guns, reloading, ammo and so on then the 308 is the obvious choice. Clearly someone who makes reloading or an interest in guns and ammo part of their "hobby" is going to be willing to put time into getting components or ammo and so less common cartridges can provide extra interest for them but for those who just want to get out at deer, or shoot a few targets, there is certainly no negatives with the 308.

I like your thinking caorach you nailed it. Myself l don't think any deer / boar would tell the difference between
308 vs 30-06 it would be just as dead.

 

[Jagare]

What range was the moose?

Sub hundred Mtrs, like most of our game is shot here. But i doubt very much if there would have been any different outcome if the moose had been 150 mtrs away. I shot a moose at about an even 100 mtrs with the 7x57R. Norma Oryx Through the shoulders. The moose took about three steps before Falling over. If choosing between the .308 or the 30.06 i can't see a extra couple of hundred ft/ps will make a great deal of difference at normal stalking ranges.
The 30.06 or .308 will kill any game in Europe and most thing apart from DG abroad. Its just a matter of personal choice.

 

[Motul1974]

I did meet a guy once who asked for a .308 on his application but the FEO said "Oh no no dear boy, thats FAR too big. If you need a .30 cal then you must have a .30-06".

After maintaining a quietly impassive face and silently thinking all his Christmasses had come at once he asked why.

The FEO said "Well .308 of an inch is bigger than .3006 of an inch..."

So now he has a .30.-06.

Never mind the misunderstanding between the two loads I think the fact that they were debating over .0074 of an inch, which is about 0.2mm or the thickness of two pieces of paper, is unbelievable.

Funny, the exact same thing happened to me with a 'supposedly' experienced and ex-response FEO.

I couldn't help myself.....I explained the truth behind it!

 

[njc110381]

For a light stalking rifle a .308 is great. In the UK the bullets a .308 is good with are ample. Take those weights up over 180gr though for tougher game and the .30-06 starts to shine. Given that the .30-06 doesn't struggle with light bullets but the .308 does struggle a bit with heavy ones, that to me shows which one has the broader ability.

 

[gixer1]

Love my 06, nice recoil and extremely versatile with the range of bullet weights you can use.

regards,
Gixer

 

[6pt-sika]

Hey I’m an American so I’m bound to be 30-06 , 308 and John Wayne ! But you’d be wrong on two counts , I’m fine with John Wayne and I have rifles chambered for both rounds but I’d rather have some sort of 6.5mm or 7mm .

 

[harrygrey382]

One thing I don’t understand is the desperation by some people for short actions. The weight difference between a medium 308 suited action and a full 30-06 length action has got to be negligible at best, likewise the length of bolt throw when cycling - how is it anything but placebo?

Also, the cartridge taper off the 30-06 is designed smooth feeding in a CRF bolt action, the 308 was designed for an auto feeder.

Actual ballistics are close enough to generally not worry too much about

 

[njc110381]

One thing I don’t understand is the desperation by some people for short actions. The weight difference between a medium 308 suited action and a full 30-06 length action has got to be negligible at best, likewise the length of bolt throw when cycling - how is it anything but placebo?

Also, the cartridge taper off the 30-06 is designed smooth feeding in a CRF bolt action, the 308 was designed for an auto feeder.

Actual ballistics are close enough to generally not worry too much about

A negligible weight reduction is still a weight reduction. Then there's a reduced powder charge being cheaper, easier on barrels and offering slightly less recoil. People look for efficiency. Not that I care, I'm well in the .30-06 action length team with a 6.5x55 and .35 Whelen! I might change the 6.5 soon because I've got the itch again. If I do I'll probably get a .25-06.

 

[harrygrey382]

A negligible weight reduction is still a weight reduction. Then there's a reduced powder charge being cheaper, easier on barrels and offering slightly less recoil. People look for efficiency.

yeah 30-06 uses more powder even for the same velocity- that’s about it’s sole downside I reckon. I wonder what the difference in recoil would be in the same weight rifle, barrel length, bullet weight, powder type and bullet velocity would be - I suspect it wouldn’t be much...

As to the weight between med and long action, I doubt it’d be worth anything - a bit like hollowing out the bolt knob

 

[alberta boy]

I own and use both on pretty much everything . With 180 gr bullets , there isn't much to choose between . With heavier bullets , like a 220 gr , the 308 loses ground . How important that is , I'm not sure . With newer bullet designs , a 180 gr will do all I need . If you're using old school cup and core bullets , the 220 gr round nose will penetrate a lot of flesh and bone . A friend of mine is a biologist in the North West Territories , most carry 30/06s loaded with traditional cup and core 220 gr RNs ( you don't see much high end ammo up north ) for protection against Polars , they work . Before anyone asks , most don't carry 375 H&H and similiar large game rifles because they're too heavy , expensive and , in the Arctic especially , hard to feed . On a related note , the majority of the Inuit guys I know still use Lee Enfields to shoot everything from Walrus and Polars down through Seals and Caribou . From a realistic standpoint , I'd lump the 303 Brit in with the 308 and the 06 , with shots under 200 yrds and similiar bullets. I've shot a fair number of animals with all three over the years , can't say I've seen much difference between any of them in the field .

AB

 

[Konnari]

.308 Win vs. .30-06 — Match Results May Surprise You « Daily Bulletin

The .308 Winchester, a shortened version of the .30-06, has almost completely replaced the .30-06 in NRA competition. The .308 is required for Palma shooting, so it is also used by many Palma competitors in other long-range and mid-range prone matches.

bulletin.accurateshooter.com

 

[Edinburgh Rifles]

They both feed just fine, I would t say the 06 has any advantage there

When homeloaded you can get a lot more out of a 22”-24” barrelled rifle shooting 165-200gr using the 06 case.
The .308 is so efficient in the 130-155gr range though the factory offerings are not noticeably different between the cartridges

For me the beauty of the 308 is in short barrelled (20” or below) stalking rifles pushing lighter bullets (130-145gr) at velocities would expect from a .270.

I am getting close to 3000fps from a 136gr bullet and a 20” barrel.
Makes for a very pointy and portable rifle

 

[JabaliHunter]

.308 is just extremely versatile. It’s available just about everywhere on the planet; and there’s nothing that walks on this planet that you couldn’t effectively hunt with it.

For me, the argument about which shoots 180gr or 200gr bullets best is moot, because with modern bullets I don’t think there is anything that you could kill with a 180 or 200 that you couldn’t also kill just as emphatically with a 165, especially a TSX type bullet.

That is not to say that the .30-06 is not versatile, but a .308 is generally lighter and recoils less, but does the same job.

All that said, it’s a shame the .303 isn’t more popular

 

[welshwarrior]

I have both and the only real world difference is one is a bit longer than the other, the deer boar plains game etc don’t know the difference.

 

[Utectok]

Really 30 06 vs 308 come on guys talk about mountain out of a mole hill! Pick one that one will be the best for sure lol

 

[badbob]

Well the U.S.A. saw two world wars through with the 30 06. So it's easy to see why it's popular.
50 years later the NATO round was developed. So it must be better ???? The .308w is certainly neat and accurate. It's good in the short actioned rifles too .It,s my favourite.