.308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

I have been reading alot of the posts on the .308
It seams alot of guys say its too big for deer .why?load it down 150gr.or now they even have low recoil 125 gr. thats still better than a 30/30.

Or its too small for larger game but they like the 7mm-08 or .260. when you can fire a 180 gr. /165gr. in a .308. whats up ??

RE: .308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

308 is fine for deer and many people use this caliber to hunt larger. It's really a short action version of the 30/06 which alot of people use for deer including myself. I wouldn't hesitate to use it for larger game either.

RE: .308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

There's nothing wrong with the .308 for deer and even bigger animials with proper bullets and at reasomable ranges.

The 150 grain bullet for deer is perfect!!

Drilling Man

RE: .308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

The .308 is fine for deer and also fine for elk and other big game.

The advent of a lot of new premium bullets just makes it even better as the advantage the .30-06 had over it was it's ability to handle larger bullets is now a very minor advantage.

It's not a back seat driver to any .30 cal IMO for big game and that includes African plains game.

For deer buy a box of 150 grain corelokts or power points or even sure shocks and go hunting. If you reload the Hornady interlocks are as good as it gets and as good as is needed for deer,

If one is hunting something much larger the 165 grain bullets in the North Fork, TBBC, SAF, Barnes is all that's needed.

You're not a second class citizen with a .308 Winchester and you can sit around a campfire with the guys with their .300 RUMs and know that their advantage is largely emotional and hot air.

RE: .308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

also alot of guy want to use their 7mm.08..260's ,270....on elk with a smaller bullet. but dont use a .308 (too small):(

RE: .308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

308,
Nicebore diameter, bullet wise.
Dandy for deer and one of my favorite centerfires for target shooting (PALMA's too).

Otherwise,
Kinda dinky in the casevolume department, especially if you want to stuff them with some of the larger mono-metal bullets like Barnes TSX which are longer for their weight compared to lead-core bullets and will extend well down into your powder column on a 308.

For bigger (and/or farther)game, I'll take cartridgeswith the bigger case capacities (and velocities)in a New York minute. You can load the bigger ones down if you decide you "like slow",on the other hand,you can't load the little ones up to any degree if you later decide you want more performance.

For bigger game, 800 fps between 308 and 300 RUM with 180 grainers (Barnes 3, Optimum Load Powders correspondingly, max loads for each). Much larger operating envelope. That is a little more than just hot air and emotion;though it IS quite emotional for the game animal.

Energy, Momentum, Shock, Penetration; ouch, ouch, ouch, and ouch.

RE: .308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

I don't know about that since I haven't seen any on this board. Well maybe one, but he uses a 243 Win for elephants. Oh, and then there used to be this other guy who would rather use buckshot for everything.

RE: .308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

also, the claims about the .308,(too big for deer)
what do they think,its a cannon?
to me its seams do be a very good all around cal.not too big for deer or too small for elk.some do it better, but i dont think a .308 with 165 or 180gr. too small for elk ,or a .308 with 150 gr. too big for deer.but i dont claim to be an expert.

RE: .308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

If one sat down and drew up a design for the perfect deer rifle, He would end up with the 308 or something very close to it. To me its right in the middle of the perfect class. Out to 300 yards it gives up nothing to the 30 cal magnums as a deer rifle. It will deliever 2000 lb of ME @ 300 yards. If one can't kill a big game animal with that then maybe hunting ain't their game.

RE: .308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

.308 is fine with the right bullets.

RE: .308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

.308 is a great caliber, and with the broad selection of bullets you can just about cover anything, coyotes-elk anyway;)

RE: .308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

I think the biggest problem with the .308 is that when you hold it up next to a .300 RUM - or even a 30/06 - it looks pretty dinky. This probably goes on every year in elk camp around the campfire - leaving the .308 shooter feeling shortchanged and stature challenged. The performance is actually pretty good - particularly with 165 grain bullets, and within its effective range. Out to about 250 - 300 yards with a premium 165 gr. pill, the .308 is an very effective and reliable game getter. The average marksman has no business shooting beyond these distances.

You all have probably noticed that .308 Winchesters dominate the sniper rifle calibers. This is no small coicidence. One of those inherently accurate calibers that is not real fussy about loads, and is not real temperature sensitive about holding zero. Recoil is about at the upper limit of what most shooters can tolerate for extended shooting sessions. One of the greatest all around calibers ever developed . . . .

RE: .308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

The .308 is too small for water buffalo and too big for chipmunks.
A .300 magnum/wsm/rum doesn't do anything that the .308 does within typical hunting distances except put more kinetic energy into the ground, trees, and brush behind the deer.
I use one for hunting deer.

RE: .308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

There's a reason why my wife calls H1 Hummers driven by city dwelling men as 'penis mobiles':D

RE: .308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

A .308 win is only about 100 fps slower than a 30-06 so there is nothing an 06 can do that a .308 win can't. No game animal can tell the difference and I have personally taken game from deer to moose with mine.

RE: .308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

Sidenote: This thread has wound its way in and out of elk hunting, hence my interest.

Get in a 40 mph collision with that H1 with your Toyota Corolla and I'm thinking his penis is going to be faring quite a bit better than yours.


Elk bullets work about the same way, heavier premium bulletsat medium to high speeds are just devastating --- a point not lost in the "elk poll."
:D:D:D

RE: .308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

A lady of the evening once took a customer to her room. After a fashion the madam of the house heard laughing coming from the room and investigated and to her surprise her employee was laughing at her customer's tattoo on his love tool. It said "MIGHTY"

The madam insister her employee get to business and satisfy the customer and left the room to allow for privacy.

After a while the Madam heard screaming and terror coming from the room and again inspected the premises and when she asked what the problem was her employee informed her that when the customer got the wrinkles out of that "thing" it really said "Massachusettesinstituteoftechnology"

Armed with this analogy one could really say that the .308 has the tattoo of "MIGHTY" on it

RE: .308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

I knew it, size DOES matter! Damn!!:D

RE: .308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

:DA 308 can take down any animal in North America as long as you can place the bullet in the right spot. And yes a 150gr bullet is perfect for deer and it can kill elk and moose too but if you are uncertian go to the 180gr.And a 308 is no where close too small for anything, like you can kill elk and moose with a bow can't you? so I would think a 308 can do the job just perfect.

RE: .308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

Vapo,

That was a funny one, I hope it survives the moderator's gaze.... More applicable to a "short mag" story perhaps, but funny nonetheless.

Once we stretch out that 308, what cartridge do you think it will magically turn into? No belt so maybe a 300 Dakota or a 300 RUM, if we swell it a bit maybe a 325 WSM! Hope it doesn'tstretch the brass too thin so as not to be ableto handle the pressure. Best bring more powder and more bullet if one does stretch it.

[BTW, Still trying to figure how the mighty fellow got the "G" ahead of the "H" and the "T" behind the "H", but most folks don't pay much attention to the details, so it still works --- great joke.]

RE: .308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

THE QUESTION WAS THE .308 NOT BEING TOO SMALL FOR LARGER THEN DEER SIZE GAME. WE KNOW THERE ARE BIGGER ,MORE POWERFULL CAL.
BUT IT CAN DO THE JOB.BETTER THAN OTHERS (7MM-08.260...)THAT SOME BRING ELK HUNTING.
AND AS FOR THE ONES THAT SAY THE .308 IS TOO BIG FOR DEER (MAYBE THE SAME GUYS).AND THE .243 IS TOO SMALL?MAYBE ITS ALL OVERDONE.IF I HAD JUST TWO RIFLES .308/06 AND .243/6MM .

RE: .308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

Roskoe. You hit it right on the head. The 308 domonates the 500 meter Silhouette game as well. When it comes to deer, no rifle that I have ever used has delievered more dead in their tracks kills than the 308. Its a very effective round and until you get to the 200 grain and heavier bullets, It will match the 30-06 almost to the inch pound. The 165 grain bullet at 2700 fps is absolutely lethal on big game. It really shines with the 190 grain BTHP and BTSP as well. I used to load them for silhouette shooting but found them excellent medicine for moose and bears as well. Only the 6.5x55 has impressed me as much as the what the 308 delievers in its small package.

RE: .308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

Some things aren't meant to be read in detail..... If we all did that no one would ever get married.

RE: .308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

what ever!!!! the .300 RUM smokes the .308 with any grain bullet and i am a huge fan of the .308.

RE: .308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

Only on paper and in print.....I much prefer venison on the grill, those gun rags don't taste good at all.

RE: .308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

IMO the .308 is the best all around rifle. If given only one caliber, it'd be my #1 choice. The last deer and antelope I shot with my .308 dropped in it's tracks. It depends a lot on the bullet.

RE: .308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

Use a .308 with any bullet weight you want for deer. A 180 grain will have absolutely no noticable difference than the 150 for a normal killing shot. In fact, the velocity difference (the 180 will fly a little slower) might actually make it a better choice at shorter ranges. I use 180 grain in my '06 for everything from whitetail to moose. I'd use 165, but the 180 shoots tighter. Bottom line though is that the holes from my bullet look exactly the same in the chest-shot whitetail as my nephew's 7mm 08 with a much lighter bullet. Of course, we're just looking, not measuring with a micrometer! There's no such thing as overkill when it comes to bullet weight, imho. Use the one that shoots best in your .308.

RE: .308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

not just paper and print... also in the field. look, i'm not downing the .308. i have one. i use it most of the time, in fact its my favorite rifle now. i dont understand gun rags and tasting them...? my deer last was shot with my .300 rum. no meat was ruined.

RE: .308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

When it comes to deer, No rifle regardless of how much powder it burns up will kill a deer any faster or deader that the 308. I have used the 300 Weatherby, 300 Win Mag, the 308 and 30-06. Out to 300-400 yards its a toss-up. I wouldn't hesitate to shoot the 308 at deer at 500 yards IF I Was the kind of guy who took 500 yard shots at deer. Where I hunt there are to many deer and to many oppertunities to waste ammo at that range. I have hit and toppled many steel rams at 500 meters with the 308. The 190 grain Hornaday has plenty of ME for deer even at that range. 1100-1250 lb ME. Contrary to the belief of some, that is enough. You will get pass through and plenty of tissue damage. What more could one need.

RE: .308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

James, IMO the 6.5mm and 7mm-08 are just as good for deer!

RE: .308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

Neither of those cartridges could kill a deer if you was standing on the deer's back and beating it over ther head with the darn things. It takes a .308 to kill deer and everyone knows it.

Boy,.....I'm glad we got that settled!!!

RE: .308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

RE: .308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

So,you all agree its not too big for deer,or too small for larger game.also i must say this is probably the best site for hunting .although you guys might be a little crazy!!

RE: .308 TOO BIG TOO SMALL???????????
 

Rebel Hog. I believe they are also excellent deer cartridges. As you know the 6.5x55 is right at or near the top of my favorite list. It does a great job with less recoil than almost any cartridge that I know of.

NA. Crazy?????[&:]Where would you ever get such an idea?