Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
Articles
Latest reviews
Author list
Classifieds
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles and first posts only
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Forums
Hunting
Long Range Hunting & Shooting
308 vs 30-06 and other rounds? WHY is a 308 better?!?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="RBrowning" data-source="post: 389066" data-attributes="member: 412"><p>I just spent a little time looking at various web sights comparing the ammo and rifles that are commercially available in both calibers.</p><p></p><p>First the ammo. At Federal you can buy both with 168gr SMK and the 308 is listed at 2650 FPS while the 30-06 is listed at 2700. But if you look at a hunting load of 180gr Partitions the 308 is getting 2570 while the 30-06 is still listed at 2700FPS. This makes me thing that the match 30-06 is down loaded to maintain a preordained velocity requirement.</p><p></p><p>When I looked at rifles I found that Remington doesn't list weights so I left them out. But a Browning X-bolt 308 is 1 ounce less than a 30-06 in the same model. A Savage model 14/114 are both listed at 7 lb. 8 oz. A Tika T3 Lite are both listed at 6lb. 3oz. The Browning 30-06 is listed at 1" longer while the Savage is 3/4" and the Tika are listed at the same length.</p><p></p><p>So if 1" of overall rifle length, or 1 ounce of weight is going to break your ability to hike from your truck to your shooting position, by all means, go with the 308.</p><p></p><p>If recoil is your issue and you want to shoot a given weight bullet, go with the heavier rifle to help absorb the energy so your shoulder doesn't have to. If you want to shoot the 168 gr SMK, then the 1 ounce heavier 30-06 may make up for the 50 FPS velocity difference. Or get a recoil pad.</p><p></p><p>If you want to shoot heavier bullets to get better BC benefits at longer ranges, you are probably better off with the 30-06.</p><p></p><p>As far as the reason the military chose the 308 over the 30-06, I have always read that it was the weight and volume that the solders had to carry. 200 rounds of 308 will weigh less and take up less space that 200 rounds of 30-06. I've never carried 200 rounds out for a days hunt. Even on a prairie dog shoot I went back to the truck after each case to get more. So this isn't a real issue to me and I really question that it would be for any hunter.</p><p></p><p>Historically more records have been set with the 308 than the 30-06. Do you think that in the 50 years of lag between one and the other any variable changed that would give the second cartridge an advantage that the first did not get? Do you think maybe that the consistency of the components are better today than they were 104 years ago? Do you think that the shooters have learned a few techniques in the past 40 years that weren't around a century ago? Or maybe the design and manufacturing processes have evolved just a tad here and there over time? Unless you have the resources to do a controlled test, you really can't say that one cartridge is better, just that something changed over time.</p><p></p><p>There is a ton of ballistic info available on both, but more on the 308 because it is the current military round of choice. If you want to shoot heavier bullets the 30-06 will give you a slight advantage. If you want to be TakTaKool buy a 308. If you want a round that your grand kids can shoot thousands of STANDARD velocity rounds out of, it doesn't really matter which you get, they both work just fine.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="RBrowning, post: 389066, member: 412"] I just spent a little time looking at various web sights comparing the ammo and rifles that are commercially available in both calibers. First the ammo. At Federal you can buy both with 168gr SMK and the 308 is listed at 2650 FPS while the 30-06 is listed at 2700. But if you look at a hunting load of 180gr Partitions the 308 is getting 2570 while the 30-06 is still listed at 2700FPS. This makes me thing that the match 30-06 is down loaded to maintain a preordained velocity requirement. When I looked at rifles I found that Remington doesn't list weights so I left them out. But a Browning X-bolt 308 is 1 ounce less than a 30-06 in the same model. A Savage model 14/114 are both listed at 7 lb. 8 oz. A Tika T3 Lite are both listed at 6lb. 3oz. The Browning 30-06 is listed at 1" longer while the Savage is 3/4" and the Tika are listed at the same length. So if 1" of overall rifle length, or 1 ounce of weight is going to break your ability to hike from your truck to your shooting position, by all means, go with the 308. If recoil is your issue and you want to shoot a given weight bullet, go with the heavier rifle to help absorb the energy so your shoulder doesn't have to. If you want to shoot the 168 gr SMK, then the 1 ounce heavier 30-06 may make up for the 50 FPS velocity difference. Or get a recoil pad. If you want to shoot heavier bullets to get better BC benefits at longer ranges, you are probably better off with the 30-06. As far as the reason the military chose the 308 over the 30-06, I have always read that it was the weight and volume that the solders had to carry. 200 rounds of 308 will weigh less and take up less space that 200 rounds of 30-06. I've never carried 200 rounds out for a days hunt. Even on a prairie dog shoot I went back to the truck after each case to get more. So this isn't a real issue to me and I really question that it would be for any hunter. Historically more records have been set with the 308 than the 30-06. Do you think that in the 50 years of lag between one and the other any variable changed that would give the second cartridge an advantage that the first did not get? Do you think maybe that the consistency of the components are better today than they were 104 years ago? Do you think that the shooters have learned a few techniques in the past 40 years that weren't around a century ago? Or maybe the design and manufacturing processes have evolved just a tad here and there over time? Unless you have the resources to do a controlled test, you really can't say that one cartridge is better, just that something changed over time. There is a ton of ballistic info available on both, but more on the 308 because it is the current military round of choice. If you want to shoot heavier bullets the 30-06 will give you a slight advantage. If you want to be TakTaKool buy a 308. If you want a round that your grand kids can shoot thousands of STANDARD velocity rounds out of, it doesn't really matter which you get, they both work just fine. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Hunting
Long Range Hunting & Shooting
308 vs 30-06 and other rounds? WHY is a 308 better?!?
Top