308 vs 30-06

[smokey]

In my one and only trip to Africa, I huntrd with a muzzle loader. It was the last of the season, and I was the only hunter. Several of the guides were there closing down the camp and enjoying sundowners. Two things I remember, they bemoaned the disappearance of the 318 WR and forget the magnums, bring a 30-06 with 200gn Partitions for plains game! capt david

strange the 318 is almost exactly the same as a 30/06 i think your p/h had been drinking a lot

 

[smokey]

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.

the only reason we ended up with the 308 is due to a gob shite American major who wanted to make a name for himself otherwise we would have had a British mid size 280 and not be in the process of changing the NATO round again
The FN L1 AI was designed for this round but the American General could not stomach something that was metric and not American the US army at the time wanted the FN

 

[User00025]

Well I never had a 30-06 but I had two .308's, or should I say one was a 7.62. I hated both of them. I much preferred the 7x57 for stalking and favoured the .303 or the .30 cal M1 for close stuff over the 7.62.

 

[palmer_mike]

strange the 318 is almost exactly the same as a 30/06 i think your p/h had been drinking a lot

.318wr hasn’t completely disappeared.......

 

[Grandhubert]

There isn’t much difference until you start hunting animals over a few hundred kilos.

in this case the ability of the 3006 to shoot long heavy Bullets like the 220 grain Nosler partition, 200 grain accubond, 200 grain swift a-frame, 200 grain Barnes TSX, etc at velocities which are 300-400 FPS over a 308 makes a significant difference on game in my opinion.

these bullets elevate the .30 bore into medium bore killing power territory in my experience and I wouldn’t hesitate to hunt anything below the very heaviest of thick skin dangerous game with a such loaded 3006.
A more prosaic advantage is with the possible advent of more general mono metal bullet usage, the bigger engine room of the larger cartridge helps here too.

 

[hunta]

For woodland stalking in the UK where ranges are rarely above 150m and where a handy compact light rifle is an advantage and where a 150g, .308 bullets can be fired at 2600 ft/sec or less, the 308 really takes some beating. Low recoil and minimal meat damage even on small deer but will still drop the largest buck/stag/boar.

 

[chrisbird]

Ive used a 30-06 on antelope and pigs with federal 220 gr. Very effective

 

[Bowland blades]

First, I think the 30-06 is a great cartridge. It's one of the three greatest of all times, along side the 7x57 and 375 H&H. What I don't understand is why so many people consider it so much more powerful than the 308. The 30-06 is about 100fps faster at the muzzle with factory loads and 150fps with max reloads. The chart below is based on information gained from Sierra, Nosler and 308 Winchester Load Data - Nosler

Factory 165grn 308 MV 2700 energy @ 200yds 1900fpe 300yds 1600fpe
factory 165grn 30-06 MV 2800 energy @ 300yds 2000fpe 300yds 1700fpe

Max reloads are a little more in favor of the 30-06 due to differing pressure.

Max reloads 165grn 308 MV 2800 energy @ 200yds 2000fpe 300yds 1700fpe
Max reloads 165grn 30-06 MV 2950 energy @ 200yds 2300fpe 300yds 1900fpe

I've owned both, I kept the 30-06 because of 'Tradition' and the rifle, not ballistics.

capt david

the 06 gets better as the bullet weight rises up more