emtrescue6

I hunted exclusively with a .308 for years (Savage 99) and still use it from time to time. I have what is known as a shopping problem when it comes to rifles (or so my wife says) so I have used a variety of calibers over the years, my current go-to rifle for deer is my 270 WSM (I love it!)...that being said, I own 5 .308's (Just bought a Win Model 88 in .308 from a desperate seller for $285...and it is a 1956...hehe) if I had to sell everything and could only keep one rifle? It would be one of the 308's that would remain. The .308 has many advantages over the (puke)'06...accuracy, weight, short action, recoil...to name a few.

nysmoker

I loved the 06... love my 270..... my 308 is my new love.That cartrige will do everything I need and for my needs will probly do it better than the 270 or the 06...That said I hunted with 760 pump 06 and model 700 in 06 for better than 20 years . Got a smoking deal on a 270 winchester barrel for my pro hunter so I messed around with it .... great gun if you hunt open grounds ... big farm fields power lines or gas lines.... not so good in brush... but the 308 does it all with less recoil than the 06 and bullets dont decinigrate on bone or from hitting a twig like the 270.... yea I know its the bullet.....not having that conversation ..I honestly like the 308 for my type of hunting.300 mags ... why????? 270 short mag why again ???? why spend twice the money for ammo .Honestly 06 surplus ammo is way harder to find than 308 these days. Short action verses long on a deer rifle ... not even a concern for deer hunting ... maybe if i was hunting lions in africa ....big tuskers or black death...

Alsatian

I can't tell the difference in recoil between shooting my .25-06 and my .30-06, particularly in the field, shooting at a game animal, probably with several layers of garments on even in Oklahoma in November deer season. Weight difference? How much weight are we talking about? Could a hunter tell the difference in the weight? Accuracy? Could the average or even the 90th percentile hunter shoot well enough in the field to take advantage of the greater accuracy said to be inherent in the .308?

Again, I've got no objection to a kalaidescope of cartridges. I've got no objection to anyone liking the .308. My comments are all directed to the question ".308 is clearly superior so why aren't there more .308s in the field than .30-06s?" I see no distinguishing superiority of the .308 -- meaning a difference a real-world hunter can tell in the field (thought experiment -- have a blind folder hunter carry two rifles made by the same manufacturer, one chambered in .308, one chambered in .30-06 -- and see if they can distinguish the two rifles based on weight or recoil). My point is that if a hunter is making a choice between two rifles -- one a .308 and the other the .30-06 -- for hunting whitetail deer in the Southeast, I see no solid case for definitely preferring the .308 over the .30-06. Thus, by my way of thinking, it is not at all surprising that there are not more .308s than .30-06s used in the southeast. Your .308 has a 1/4" less distance to jerk the bolt? My .30-06 has more widely available ammunition and less expensive for same quality ammunition, my .30-06 is available in more rifle models.

I don't have a big issue with folks liking the .308, I just don't see why it is a surprise to find the .30-06 more widely used than the .308.

Alsatian

Is surplus ammo consistent and accurate? I don't know, I've never used it. Does it come in appropriate hunting bullets?

emtrescue6

Where can one purchase said ammo for a '06 that is both higher quality and cheaper than that for a 308? I'd like to see proof of that...never seen '06 ammo anywhere cheaper than that for a 308. Also, I reload, so I have every option available to my 308, and then some, than you can buy for your '06.

Answer...yes, given both rifles in the same make/model...I could easily tell you the difference based on recoil and bold movement. My brother has a '06 in a Rem 700 BDL...I have Rem 700 BDL's in 308, 270 and 7mm...the '06 and 7mm recoil a great deal more than the 308 and 270...enough so they are uncomfortable to shoot more than a couple times.

Cypress32

From the peope I have talked to when I was looking to get a .308 I was told they are better for killing people. Which is why all snipers use them.

Woodsman88

I can easily tell a very distinguishable difference in the amount of recoil from my 06 compared to my 308. As far as ammo the prices are really close. I got a box of corelokts yesterday for $17 in 06 which is a great deal. But at the same time, the 308 box was the same price. I have never seen 06 ammo cheaper than 308.

homers brother

I think I'd reconsider the credibility of your sources.

The reason so many snipers use a .308 (7.62x51) is because it's a standard NATO chambering.

The reason so many trunk monkeys use a .308 (M240) is because a TOW or 25mm are often overkill when hunting Toyota Prado SUVs in downtown Baghdad.

Cypress32

M240 is basically just a newer version of the old M60 right? didnt know they shot .308s. SAWs(249s) shoot basically .223 rounds though dont they?

SecondChance

As was the 30-06(7.62x57) till NATO adopted the 308 for lighter weight of ammo in bulk. Was all they had in 'Nam. Havent heard the trunk monkey tag in a minute!!!!

Yes Cypress, the M60 uses 308 and 249 uses 223 ammo.
And the 308 does show a more inheritable accuracy over the 30-06 for the type of work it is fashioned for. Thats why we and other Law Enforcement agencies use/used the 308 over the '06, for which we are now many going to the 338 Lapua.