Huntsalotey

I was wanting some feedback on this issue. I have a .308 win. i have had one before. On my first one my first deer kill was about 70 yards and the deer hit the ground at the crack of the gun. i was using Win. Power points. My second deer I shot the first shot. It hit the deer just barely in front of the front shoulder at about 200 yards. The deer walked another 50 yards and stumbled and turned to walk back the direction it came. I shot it the second time and it hit the ground. That shot was in the ribs. I walked away to let it die and upon coming back it had apparently got up and had moved another 50 yards before collapsing and dying. i was somewhat discouraged with the caliber. Yet for some reason, I continue to love a .308. There is something about it that I can't get it out of my head. I traded the gun off for a pistol in the off season and acquired another before hunting season the following year. With that .308 I killed 2 deer. the first one ran over the hill about 50 yards and expired. it was one shot. The second one took one shot and moved about 15 yards and expired. Then this year(which I cant completely blame on caliber) i shot 1 deer with it at about 100 yards. It hit the ground kicking and got up and walked. I shot it 2 more times without it going down before It expired. The first shot hit it in the jaw. The second in the ribs and the last in the heart. I checked my scope that evening as I was using handloads of Sierra Spitzers. Regular bullets, and the gun was hitting about 8 inches to the left at 25 yards. I had not bumped the scope or gun so I have replaced that scope now with a good quality scope.
The only comparison I have is in those hunting seasons I have also killed deer in each season with my 30-06. Every deer has been one shot kills and every deer hit the ground where they were shot and never moved. All kills with the 30-06 have been with Remington Core Lokts. Again, regular soft points.
Now for the kicker, I am still most intrigued with the .308win. and if I was to buy another rifle it would be in this caliber I think because there is something about it that has my attention even when it doesn't seem to be giving me the results I want.
Can you all chime in with your experience in relation to the killing power or effects that you know of from the .308 compared to the 30-06. All and in the .308 I have used 150 grain bullets exclusively and with the '06 I have used 165 grain bullets exclusively. Thanks for your help.

Whitey

Cisco

I can't really compare the two from personal experience but I can't see these two peforming all that differently. It just could be that you are "luckier" with the
.30-06. I know you talked about some of the shot locations with the .308, what about the shot locations of the .30-06. Are the shots generally all pass throughs or not? What was the status of the animals vitals once you did recover and gut them, did you inspect exactly what the bullet hit and the damage it did?

Huntsalotey

Yes I inspected the shots and their placement. It is kinda unfair because alot of the kills with the .308 were not good vital shots. Like the last one this year. It was first shot in the jaw, second in ribs and last in the heart. And all kills that I can recall with the 30-06 were textbook heart or lung shots that put the deer down on first shot. It would seem that the '06 kicking more would make it harder to shoot accurately, but the .308 has been the one that has been inconsistent. Part of the kills reason was the scope being off as I said I found out and replaced the scope with a Nikon, which is alot better quality than the others I was using.
Heres the catch, with the '06 I have shot Rem. core lokts exclusively. With the .308, I have handloaded over the past year looking for a combination that was accurate, and for the whole year preceeding this hunting season I consistently shot 1 inch groups or less at 100 yards. A few of these were 10 shot groups from my Winchester model 70. Older model from the 70's. It has a claw on the side with a plunger also. I have had other people that are reloading buddies beg to buy this .308 because of its accuracy. But all until hunting season.
I again, just can't get the .308 caliber out of my head. Its as if it has been very sporadic in kill situations, but I still retain all the confidence in the world in this caliber anyway. I am much more intrigued with it than the '06. Maybe it is because of my handloading and knowing how it consistently over the year shot so accurate. Don't know.

Briman

Used them both, me nor the deer could tell the difference. The extra 100 fps you get with the '06 translates into deeper penetration of the bullet into the ground, stumps, trees etc after it passes through a thin skinned narrow bodied animal such as a deer.

bigbulls

Sounds to me that your .308 has performed flawlessly. According to your post every time you put one in the chest the deer died within 50 yards. What more could you ask of a cartridge? I don't see what the problem is.

James B

Having killed a bunch of deer with both calibers I can assure you that there is almost no difference in the killing power of the 308 and 30-06. This would hold even more true on any shots under 300 yards. With deer weight bullets 150-180 gr the velocity is so close that the difference would be impossible to see. With bullets heavier than 180 grains and ranges past 300 yards then the 30-06 will outstep the 308. Even then though the difference with a good hit by both rifles would make no practicle difference. I shot 40 deer or so with the 308 and never had one go more than a few yards. Twenty or so with the 30-06 gave the same results. With good shot placement and a good bullets all of the 300 Mags, the 30-06 and the 308 will yield exactly the same results out to 300 yards or so. A dead deer. or elk or moose.

frizzellr

There is no noticable difference in the killing power of a 308 Win and a 30-06 Springfield with deer type loads. The 30-06 is arguably better with heavier bullets but that is a topic for a different thread. This year I killed two deer ten minutes apart. Both were the same distance, relatively same size and weight, and both shot in the same location with the same rifle and same load. Both were broadside shots and both bullets entered right behind the shoulder and exited leaving a golfball sized hole. One deer dropped and one deer made it about 40 yards. Both deer had jelly for lungs. So how did one make it 40 yards? Who knows. Deer are tougher than most people give them credit for I guess. You are not going to drop them in their tracks every time no matter what you shoot nor where you "place the shot". Did my cartridge choice or bullet fail on that second deer? Not in the least. Would I prefer the deer drop in its tracks? You bet, but it just don't happen every time.

DANTHEHUNTER

If you shot 100 deer each bullet would preform different . There are a lot of variables in every shot . I am always happy with a 50 yard or less run.

mauser06

i killed with both the 308 and 3006 as well......first deer was with a 308....hit it at about 50 yards or so....i shot hollowpoints mostly....thats what i hit it with...a 168gr hpbt...a match load snipers use....i hit it a few inches behind the shoulder a bit higher then the middle of the chest...the deer did a sideways flip in the air no lie....its legs were above it while it was in the air upsidedown and its legs ended up facing away from me....dead in the air...never kicked or took a breath or anything.....i shot 5 deer with the 3006....none made it past 60yds....the only one to go 60yds was a button buck i shot my second year...i blew his lungs out the other side.....exit hole the size of my fist....i shot him at 10FEET or less...i could stabbed him with a knife if i lunged at him....he made it down the mountain tunning into a boulder then a tree...then ran flat into another boulder and died....he had no lungs and maybe no heart i cant remember about the heart.....but most of the lungs did fall out the exit hole....i dont know how he made it that far....that was with the 180psp corelokts......the next one was running broadside at 40yds...shot her out of the air and she dropped like a brick....then next one was broadside at about 30yds..shot him but hit forward but he was slightly facing me so i broke the opposite shoulder....only got one lung....he went 20 yards without using his front legs because i broke one and was really close to the other one....the, 2 were both with the 168gr HPBTS like i killed the 308 deer with....the next one was at about 20yards broadside.....shot her right in the heart....nothing else touched....just a hole right in the middle of the heart....well..what i found of the heart anyway...she made it about 50 yards running into many trees on the way...an older guy not with us but hunting near us watched her running and came over and about died when he seen where i was when i shot her......he said it was crazy how many trees she ran right into....the next one was at about 100yds broadside...dropped rear end first and never kicked or moved.....them 2 were with sierra spbts 165 gr federal high energys.....what do i like better?? they both kill equally well.....you have to place them good like all bullets and use a good bullet that will do its job....thats why i like premium ammo that is designed to do what i want it to do....my dad uses nosler ballistic tips in his 3006....i like how they perform as well.....my bullets cost more then the normal corelockts or powerpoints....but i didnt like corelokts....i wont get into that though....i have no proof they didnt do their jobs....just great assumption.....but bullets and placement are key....i can deer hunt with a 22 if i wanted....just have to place them well and use a good bullet design to do such a thing....and the fact they i can hit a deers eyeball at 50yds with my 22 easily lets me say such a thing....i have great confidance if i was without a deer rifle i could use my 22lr.....i shot it alot...i was in a rifle club at school and thats all i ever used to take to camp with me and plink away with....i got good....but if you dont like the way the 308 performs try diffrent bullets.......ive never in my life seen a deer flip sideways from a bullet hiting it..and neither has the guy that took me that morning...and he hunted since he could hunt...and hes atleast 40....good luck....i love both calibers....but my mausers chambered in 3006............

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