Another reason the .308 is so cool !

[tjRoberts]

I just cleaned my kimber .308.
I had fired about 40 rounds since the last bench type cleaning. (I use a bore snake at the range.)
Among the 40 or so rounds I fired were bullets from 3 makers including the infomas bore fowling barnes.
I cleaned using the excelent barnes copper solvent, and there was no blue on a single patch.
The barnes bullets I fired were 168 grain and probably scooting along at roughly 2700 FPS give or take 50.
That speed is enough to get excelent terminal performance on game out to about 300 yards.
Now the rage over the last several years has been more speed, more speed & did I mention more speed?
So many of us amature riflemen, have been bitten by the latest thing craze that we have led our selvs to believe, that if only we can get enough powder behind the bullet and enough extra marks on the cross hairs of our scope , we will improve our odds in the game field.
But the fact is, the majority of us live in cities and don't get enough chances to shoot that we have any buisness shooting game at 500 yards.
Now I know lots of us have done ,it.
I own a lazer range finder a 7mm STW and a .257 weatherby mag, and I hope to get out into the country this summer and see how good I am with the .257 .
But you know what.
Odds are, the next 10 game animals I shoot will be within about 100 to 200 yards. most closer.
So, my little 6LB easy to carry easy to load for .308s with about half the powder as my magnums , will be perfect for the job.
This is no knock ony you guys who either through millitary experience or what ever other cercumstace has allowed you the opertunity to make a really good shot of, yourself.
But fact is I probably shoot 3 to 500 rounds a year , and thats not enough to make me into another carlos hathcock.
With a huge variety of 30 caiber bullets.And The ease with witch one can gain reasonable proficiancy with the cartridge, if you are hunting north american game other then big bears, The .308 is all you need.
I realize there are better rounds for Antilope, beacuse they are so often shot at long range and in windy condidtions, But a good 125 grain bullet pushed to 3100 fps is certanly not a bad choice either.
While in the same rifle, a good 165 or 180 grain Partition , fired within about 300 yards and hitting a moose or an elk
behind the shoulder will do just great.
And since I am having a real bad time with my back , I don't need the recoil of my .338 win or my 45/70 right now.
And that makes me glad my safe holds 3 excelent rifles chamberd for the wonderfull .308 winchestr. !!
...tj3006

 

[FOTIS]

Efficiency at its finest!

 

[longwinters]

My hunting rifles are 7m-08, 308 and 280. I doubt I will ever hunt elk, although would with any of these calibers with todays bullets, and will never hunt big bear. Hey, I like velocity and I like heavy bullets but I don't need them for anything I hunt.

At the same time I like to read about all the good guys on here that like the boomers. Makes me smile when I read what they shoot with them and I enjoy hearing about their hunts.

Long

 

[JD338]

The 308 Win is a great round, a big stick in a small bundle. :wink:

JD338

 

[257 Ackley]

LW-
I'm with you! I used to shoot the big mags for things as small as deer, but have figured out that it is a lot nicer after a range session with my 7.08. .260 or 257 than any of the thumpers. With bullets bing what they are today, there isn't as much of a need for big bores for most of the North American big game. By the way, the caliber that got me started reloading 25 years ago was .280. The only loaded ammo at that time was the Remington 165 grain core-lokts that were down-loaded for the semi-autos they made.

 

[tjRoberts]

Somewhat interesting to see no dissagreement yet.
.257 Ackley,
If you notice my call sign is tjRoberts. I have 2 Roberts and 1 ackley.
Boy is that ever a fun round. I,m not yet sure if the Ackley version is much of a gain but I sure like the way a loaded cartridge looks with a balistic tip sitting on top.
I have had a few rifles chamberd for the .280 and 1 for .280 AI and for whatever reason could not get them to shoot strait.
My .280 AI was on a model 70 Rebarreld with a featherweight countour, and I swear for reasons I will never understand, that thing had an unbelievable kick when compared to other rifles.
I have a stock 7mmstw model 70 that weighed about 1LB more, and using a 160 grain acubond over RL-22 the 280AI Kicked way more than the stw. The componants were the same except about 40% more of ther same powder in the STW. No Idea why.
I,ll stick to my excelent Ruger #1A in 7X57 for non magnum 7s.
I know the .280 is a great round but I have had enough of it...tj3006

 

[JD338]

My .280 AI was on a model 70 Rebarreld with a featherweight countour, and I swear for reasons I will never understand, that thing had an unbelievable kick when compared to other rifles.
I have a stock 7mmstw model 70 that weighed about 1LB more, and using a 160 grain acubond over RL-22 the 280AI Kicked way more than the stw. The componants were the same except about 40% more of ther same powder in the STW. No Idea why.
I,ll stick to my excelent Ruger #1A in 7X57 for non magnum 7s.
I know the .280 is a great round but I have had enough of it...tj3006

Compare the stocks, my guess is that there is a difference between the two.
Stock design and fit can make a big difference in recoil.

JD338

 

[YoteSmoker]

There's an excellent in-depth article on load tests/accuracy in the latest Handloader magazine. I doned my timney trigger and safety off my 308 to my buddy for his interarms 06 for elk season. Interesting this post came out today because I aim to put my 308 back together tonight!!

 

[257 Ackley]

LW-
I'm with you! I used to shoot the big mags for things as small as deer, but have figured out that it is a lot nicer after a range session with my 7.08. .260 or 257 than any of the thumpers. With bullets bing what they are today, there isn't as much of a need for big bores for most of the North American big game. By the way, the caliber that got me started reloading 25 years ago was .280. The only loaded ammo at that time was the Remington 165 grain core-lokts that were down-loaded for the semi-autos they made.

 

[Guy Miner]

The .308 Win is truly a great cartridge. Easy to load, easy to shoot. Easy on barrels. It's just plain easy. Works on stuff from varmints to elk. Great piece of gear, everybody ought to have one. Or two. Or.... :grin:

 

[coyotetrapper]

If I could ask on your cleaning procedure have you ever tried JB compund after you have gotten clean patches with you bore snake? If you where to runa few patches down with a rod I think you would be amazed at the carbon you would find!

The .308 is an old stand by, but the .260 is right there with it and also outdoes it at further distance by a tad over all.

The new creedmor is also a close cloan of the .308 and also performs a shade better, many are finding out that with a little tweaking even this style and shape can be made a little better,.

I do agree the largest thing I own is a 25/06 and if/when I buy another rifle it will be a .260 medium/heavy barrel. That would cover about anything I would hunt in the lower 48. Also the BC ratings of those .260 bullets make them an efficant caliber to.

I have a 22-250, .243 and a 25/06 they all have a place and they all perform well. Can't wait until nolser comes out with the 25/06 brass! Other wise they cover the rest of what I have and when I do get a .260 I will have that covered with nosler stuff as well.

 

[SakoSteve270wsm]

My next rifle will be a 308 . Just not sure which one . Will say made in Finland on the barrel however .

 

[tjRoberts]

JD 338,
That is a reasonable consideration about the stock, but both were standard model 70 classic stocks. I got the barrel beacuse my smith had it on hand after rebarreling a customers rifle from I think 06.
The guy said he could,nt stand the recoil of the .280 AI and went back to the 06.
I said thats crazy ! And bought the nice 23 in douglass barrel with dies and brass for a good price.
I do not have any Idea why but the darn thing kicked worse than my slightly heavier model 70s in both th 7mmstw mentioned before and a .338 win mag.
The smith never shot it and though we were both crazy.
As to to .260 is a good round too, but only.for really open country would I prefer it to the .308 and then not for Elk or such.
BCs an stuff are usfull information but inside the ranges most of us should be shooting at game and good spirepoint slug should be fine.
If you think thees 6.5 bullets out perform the 30, s you are using a different criteeria, me shoot the deer deer dies quick don't need to chase him.
Bullet worked great.
...tj3006
...tj3006

 

[old #7]

I can't resist chiming in on the 280 vs 30-06 subject.
Two of my favorites at the moment are my 280ai and the 30-06ai.
I think the 280ai out performes the 06.
As far as recoil goes they are pretty close.
I have noticed over the years that different calibers kick in different fasions. My 280ai seems to have a straight linear recoil while my 06 lifts the muzzle up a bit. The scope on the 243 wssm that I had always found a way to show me love on the nose but never bothered the shoulder.
Of course velocity, bullet weight and recoil are all related. Any increase in bullet weight or velocity will always result in more recoil.

I did like your opening piece on the 308. It has me thinking that I "need" one in the family.

 

[257 Ackley]

TJRoberts -
You are so right about the way those Ackley's look stuffed with those pretty blue tips! I only have white tips stuffed in mine right now, but they both look good.

Speaking of the old 7X57, most of the newer shooters don't realize what a great round it is. I have an old French mauser that was sporterized back in the 60's and shot my first black bear with it as a kid. The problem is finding a way to the front of the gun safe to get a chance to get used. I'm not sure if it is in front or behind my dad's model 94, which hasn't seen the woods for about 15 years .

Whoever developed the .308 cartridge was an absolute genious when you think about how efficient it is and what great calibers it has spawned. I have every one of them except for the 338 Federal.

 

[tjen]

Like most people reason out I started my rifle collection by deturming what is the cartridge that will cover any reasonable range I may hunt in the future. So the 270win was my fist real big game rig.

I wouldn't do that today if I started all over. The 308win in a 20" barrel bolt gun with a 1.75-6 scope would be my first because it would do +90% of any hunting I have done. Than a 270win with a 2.5-8 scope and so on for specific need rifle riggs.

Thou I don't have a 308win I have ben using the 358win/35rem/35whelen for many of the same reasons and 2200 to 2700fps MZ works very fine.

I have never been over bored for deer just over velocitied at times. I still love the 270win just don't need its range most of the time. Same for the Short mag Caze their great when actualy needed.

 

[nomosendero]

I have far more rifles than I should I guess, but I really am enjoying my M700VS in 308. Only my RRA24"Varmiter AR is more fun to shoot. I am trying the New Nos 168BT, but I havn't found it's sweet spot yet perhaps or maybe my 308 doesn't like them. It loves the 168V-Max though with Varget, CCI BR Primers & LC Match brass.

 

[tjRoberts]

Yes that 168 grain CT bullets is one i would like to try.
if you want to go colerfull on your .257 ackley rounds, go with a 100 or a 115 B Tip. The 110 acubond and through a 117 grain SST from hornady in the mix.
Red white and blue. Looks really cool.
So far my Kimber has not done as well with 165 grain bullets.
I have had some decent groups with a 165 grain Hornady and Varget, and I think I will concentrate on a 165 grain load for that .308 in the next couple weeks.
Both my winchester .308s shoot grat with 165 grain bullets so foe Elk hunting I might end up pulling one of them off.
...tj3006

 

[Ridgerunner665]

I've been shooting more ammo than I could actually afford for nearly 30 years now (several thousand rounds a year)...In that time I've tried a several different calibers, but I always came right back to where I started...with a 308.

It has never failed me...NEVER (at ranges from a few feet out to 800 yards)

 

[bullet]

Great cartridge the 308 and my first accurate rifle when I was in my early 20's and it was a Sako 308. I like all the cartridges I have owned. Now that said, I will shoot a deer at 30yards or less and out to 400 (and I practice) with most of what I own. I will also shoot a deer at 30yds or less and out to 500 with my 257Wby or 300Wby and have killed a deer out to 618 with my 300Wby. It is not what kills a deer at any distance, it is what you want to use when you are doing it that can kill them. Shoot what you like, feels good to you, fits you, and that you have confidence in shooting because you have practiced a lot and know the rifle you are using.

After all these years of shooting I am convinced that 90 plus percent of the hunters I have personally known can not place a shot well in the field at 200yds and more under field conditions simply because they either don't have the talent, ability or for most of them it comes down to shooting and practicing. Now 90 percent of those whom I have personally known will not admit or believe that they can not place shots well at 200yds or more and many times exaggerate the distance they have killed something or just flat guessed wrong while wanting it to be a long shot.

But still, I say use what ever you like, they all do a good job with the right bullet, in the right place with lots of shooting familiarity and practice, know your rifle and what it will really do. I like the 30-06 much better than the 308 for many reasons which have been debated and run in the ground and I like them both. I say shoot whatever you want to that can get the job done under the conditions or even use more than needed if that is what you like.