IMO both cartridges would make a great choice. I do not necessarily agree that the 308 is more accurate than the 30-06. But it could be. It does have an advantage or two. I would say the best advantage is that it is a short action.

As far as factory ammo versus reloads. There is no doubt that reloads, if done properly should outshoot factory ammunition. However if there was two cartridges that factory ammo has excelled at, it would be the 308 Winchester, and the 223 Remington. There is a lot of great ammunition available for the 308. The Black Hills stuff is superb. I have seen some of the Black Hills stuff shoot better than most people can reload. Tom.

I'd vote for the .308 because there's a lot more available for it and because of the accuracy nod.

However, if I was in your shoes I wouldn't get the custom rifle and would instead invest the money in reloading equipment. Reloading is fun and allows you to shoot much more. Bullets are only getting more expensive. Disolve yourself of your dependency on factory ammo and roll your own.

Tom

Where do you shop? Everywhere I go has more '06 loads available than .308's.


I always thought the reason the .308 took over the top spot at the national matches was because the M1A/M14 was a better platform than the M1 Garand. With new powders, I really find it hard to believe that the .308 will have much of an accuracy advantage. I'd really like to see some tests...

And, now... I think it's the AR15's chambered in 5.56 NATO that are winning the long range matches.

I see equal amounts of 30-06 and .308 ammo in the stores. Lots of people still use the timeless .308 round. 1) It's a proven deer slayer. 2) It's legendary accuracy.

I vote for .308 [8D]

The "timeless" .308? The .30-06 is fifty years older. And, everywhere I shop, I see more 06's. I never see 200 and 220 grain loads for the .308.

I would go with the 30/06 because of the longer case and there is ammo every where

I believe your confusing hunting rounds with fmj. If you look into mil-surp ammo and just general fmj ammo you'll find much more available in .308. I used to buy .308 in amounts upto 500 rounds manufactured by countries all over the world. I can't say I've looked extra hard for the equivalent .3006 ammo but I'd be really freaking surprised.

I don't have exact data on proving that the .308 is more accurate than the .3006 but I have read them in the past. The articles that I've read used national shooting competition data to prove the point.

Like I said I don't have he data but I have read lots. It's the reason I my first rifle is in .308. My next rifle will likely also be a .308.

As far as I know they don't load the .308 past 180grs. The point of the poster is accuracy not weight of the projectile.

If you're considering reloading both consider that the .3006 will burn much more powder than a .308 per bullet. As you can see from the ballistic charts there isn't a lot to be gained.

I'd choose the .308 but I'd also get into reloading first.

Tom

You're right, obviously, the .308 FMJ stuff is more readily available, since the '06 is no longer a U.S. government issued round, and hasn't been for quite some time. I didn't realize that was what you were talking about, since I didn't even contemplate that those 500 round lots of ammo, manufactured all over the world, were the kind of stuff the original poster would want to use for long-range match ammo.

As far as the "national shooting competition data to prove the point"... I'm curious. Did they compare firearms that were identical except for cartridge? i.e. Rem 700 .308 vs. Rem 700 .30-06? Or are they saying that the .308 is now beating the .30-06 so the .308 must be more accurate.... but ignoring the differences between the M1 Garand and the M1A/M14?

Yes there is an often quoted article on the internet that was written in 1983 giving support to the .308 being more accurate than the 30-06, but the information is well beyond dated and only applied to service rifle competitions anyhow.

The shorter powder column is complete bunk- it might have ramnifications in benchrest competition, but then again benchresters are usign very short actions on their rifles to keep everything as stiff as possible. A .50 BMG round which is considered to be an excellent long range round is nothing more than a 30-06 that is scaled up proportionally, the .223 is a 30-06 scaled down proportionally, neither of which people would call less accurate than the .308.

Have you priced any of this surplus ammo out lately? You are in for some sticker shock if you haven't. 30-06 ball ammo is probably easier to find right now with Korean and Greek surplus being pretty common. I wouldn't buy surplus ammo for anything other than plinking myself- it simply isn't accurate enough to shoot in matches with any expectations of scoring well.

I am no expert on this subject but there is a reason the .308 is used my snipers and competition shooters, its the same reason the 6mmbr is used and has won more bench rest competition than anything else. Its the short case, short cases offer better efficiency and consistent powder burn over a longer case.
On that note the 6mm's are taking over in 1000yd matches. Even the .243 straight winchester is doing pretty damn good and winning matches. 6mm have great BC's and are super flat shooting.