When Did The 308 Win Become Trash?

[Anonymous]

He removed my comments on a FB post once, because he had 3 or 4 articles in a row titles like 6.5 for elk? 308 vs 30-06. I told him those questions were clickbait and he was just asking hot button questions to drive traffic to his site.

Yeah- it's something of a struggle for most gun writers to stay relevant and a lot of web traffic leads to a whole bunch of articles written as "this v. that".

For instance, I read one by another writher that went "7-08 v .308". I've used them both quite a bit and neither I or the critters that I shot could tell the difference. Most of that is just churning electrons for profit. The internet is a river of information a mile wide...and an inch deep.

 

[Rem Jim]

I have always liked the little 308 Win cartridge - my Newest buy is a Ruger GSS Rifle and i installed a Bushnell Red Dot on it . Very Fast to come up and Point and get off a shot ! Horn 150 SST and 165 SST Handloads ahead of H4895 shoot quite accurately . RJ

 

[tddeangelo]

My daughter just turned 17. She shot her first deer with her late great-grandfather's 257 Roberts.

Then, as her left eye was dominant, I got her a lefty M70 in 7mmWSM and loaded her reduced loads. She killed two bucks with that rifle.

Then her eye dominance shifted and she is now right eye dominant. Last fall she used my pre64 30-06 to kill a buck and a doe in the same day.

In the off-season, I bought her a Model 70 fwt in 308 Winchester. Rifle season here opens this coming Saturday. If she knocks one down, that'll make the 4th rifle she's used to kill whitetails in her short career, but this is the one she'll be on for a bit now. I have it shooting around 1.5" at 100 with a 165gr Partition doing just over 2700fps. Light, handy, and plenty of punch for our whitetails. I'm anxious to see her knock some down with it!

I purposely turned down other similar rifles (M70 fwt's) that were in other less common chamberings. I wanted her to have something that wasn't reliant upon me pulling a press handle. While I intend to do so for her for a long time to come, I also know that some day she will need to feed that rifle without her old man around to do it for her. She's not a reloader, which is fine, but then she needs something easy to get ammo for.

The 308 Winchester, to me, seems perfect for her needs.

I'll hopefully have some pics of her with some venison soon....

 

[DrMike]

Sounds as if you made a solid choice, Tom. I'm certain she'll do just fine, so long as the deer cooperate.

 

[tddeangelo]

Well, they didn't. She saw a few, but nothing was even remotely in a good shooting position/situation for her. She's a frustrated kiddo tonight. Moreso because I and two others killed does today, and one hunter also whacked a coyote, too.

No hunting here on Sunday, but she can hunt the morning on Monday. Some snow is supposed to be on the ground then, which should help visibility. She has to quit at noon, though, so hoping she gets her chance early on.

 

[DrMike]

Ah, yes, one of the greatest and hardest lessons we each have to learn--we are hunting and not killing. I'm pulling for her on Monday. I pray she connects with a fine specimen.

 

[tddeangelo]

Thanks DrMike. We have ice all over everything right now, which could make things difficult tomorrow. It's above freezing slightly now and supposed to stay that way, so I'm hoping our ladder stands are usable in the morning. I have options if not, but she is really wanting to get to a certain stand, so hopefully it'll work out.

I will hopefully have one more instance of a successful use of a 308 Winchester in the morning!

 

[35 Whelen]

While the little .308 is a fine and proven cartridge,
This comparison that has been argued around the campfires for years, of .308 vs 30/06 has always centered around comparing a 60,000 psi factory 308 loading to a 45,000 psi 30/06 loading......
So not to take anything away from the little .308, it is a great round. But in all fairness, when they are both loaded to EQUAL preasures there is a considerable difference.
Case n Point : PJ Gunner listed above his load for 165gr bullets out of his Model 70 w 22" barrel, and he got 2610fps and that sounds spot on to us for a .308.
However I have shot JOC's loading of 52grs of 4064 behind the 165gr bullets for over 40 years now with an avg velocity of just over 2900fps, from our 30;06 Model 70s with 22" barrels.
As far as I know **300fps**, at the same bullet weight; is a "significant difference". However, if your NOT a handloader, than all the arguments of the .308 are valid. And it is true
Using factory ammo, a standard .308 is nearly the same ;as the very" underloaded factory 30/06 load". So when the gloves are off; it still comes down to 'case capacity' and once again " Bigger is Better" ........ Ask anyone. :mrgreen:
Cheers
E
Ps. Sorry in advance if this is " pizzin in anyones Cheerios" :lol:

 

[Guy Miner]

I have it shooting around 1.5" at 100 with a 165gr Partition doing just over 2700fps. Light, handy, and plenty of punch for our whitetails. I'm anxious to see her knock some down with it!

A 165 Partition at 2700 fps will do nicely for most game, not just whitetail!

Best of luck!

Guy

 

[Guy Miner]

E - yes - there are some great loads for the 30-06, and I find no fault in that cartridge. Have a good 308, and a good 30-06 avail to me. The 30-06 easily out-paces the 308 Win.

With Hodgdon's H4350 loads, I'm at 2970 fps with 165 gr Nosler Ballistic Tips, 24" Rem 700 30-06. I can't come close to that with my 308 Win, which also has a 24" barrel.

But I still have use for the 308 Win, which is also a fine cartridge. I've probably shot the 308 Win more than all my other centerfire hunting cartridges combined. Exception being the 223/5.56...

Regards, Guy

 

[coop22250]

Yup 30-06 will always outpace the 308. But I still like the 308 better, I don’t even try to justify it as there is no justification. I just like it. I have a brand new, unfired 30-06 in a box. While my 308’s are fired non stop. I like about 25-2700 FPS, heavy PT. At those speeds I don’t recover, so I don’t really need more speed.

I have probably 2000 brass from the range, I hate AR-10’s but they sure are nice for brass picking!

It’s like the 223. It’s so un-sexy compared to all the bigger faster newer ones. But I still shoot a 223 with 52gr HPBT out of my VSSF.

 

[35 Whelen]

Yes the .308 is a great little round Guy. It is a proven performer for sure. Interesting load my uncle used a .308 on deer with stellar sucess, even when poorly hit he still had good luck with it. Lots of fellas found out with 180gr bullets it will pass thru a deer sized game easily, with little shock getting transfered into the deer.
He decided to try 150gr bullets designed for the 30/30 with the flat noses. His theory was that the jacket thickness was much thinner for the 30/30s reduced velocitys. When over driven at .308 velocitys
He found those bullets would expand much more rapidly than the standard bullets did. He found they killed deer with amazing results. Most of the time the bullet stayed in the animal usually found under the skin on opposite side, transfering ALL of the energy directly into the animal. He started get lots of " instant kills" and touted the merits of the little .308 to the end of his days......... Hard to argue with sucess.

 

[cloverleaf]

Yes the .308 is a great little round Guy. It is a proven performer for sure. Interesting load my uncle used a .308 on deer with stellar sucess, even when poorly hit he still had good luck with it. Lots of fellas found out with 180gr bullets it will pass thru a deer sized game easily, with little shock getting transfered into the deer.
He decided to try 150gr bullets designed for the 30/30 with the flat noses. His theory was that the jacket thickness was much thinner for the 30/30s reduced velocitys. When over driven at .308 velocitys
He found those bullets would expand much more rapidly than the standard bullets did. He found they killed deer with amazing results. Most of the time the bullet stayed in the animal usually found under the skin on opposite side, transfering ALL of the energy directly into the animal. He started get lots of " instant kills" and touted the merits of the little .308 to the end of his days......... Hard to argue with sucess.

My father said the same thing about 130 gr Speers out of his 7Mag @ 2800fps. rarely two holes and deer always fell down. Your uncle may have shared wisdom and I believe Guy has loaded som 150gr "killers" for the 308 for a friend some years ago..... CL