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.