Surprised at lack of .308 prominence ...
 

...for whitetail hunters in the Southeast U.S. Growing up, all I ever heard about from the .30 caliber family was the .30-30, and of course the 30-06 was king. I've been out of hunting for years, but just moved to Tallahassee, FL and am excited to be getting back into it.

My first recent purchase was a 300WSM. It looked good on paper. I wanted the elusive single rifle solution in the event that I did that once in a lifetime Moose/Grizzy/Leviathan/Godzilla hunt. In a fit of sanity, I finally realized it would be better to buy a rifle that was perfect 99% of the time than one that was perfect 1% of the time.

So I begin researching and come to the following conclusions based on a couple of weeks worth of Googling and getting to know Mr. Chuck Hawks on a very personal level. For Southeastern whitetail, it's mostly going to be short to mid-range shots in brushy to wooded areas. A premium rests on stopping power (big bullet), maneuverability (short action), accuracy/consistency (bolt), and comfort/familiarity (mild recoil), with a secondary interest in lethality at a distance, a wide range of appropriate grain weights, and inexpensive/widely available ammo...

Ladies and gentlemen, the .308 Win.

Maybe I've just been out of hunting too long. But I still hear alot about 270s, 7MM, 30-06, etc down here in the south. Not too many singing the praises of this - in theory - perfectly suited firearm. Any insights?

Very similar ballistics to the 30-06 in a shorter length action!

I hunt northland central fl and I'm shooting a browning blr .30& win. With the 168 gr Winchester ballistic tips it is just an awesome rifle!

Good possibility not everyone wants to shoot the same thing.

My all time favorite caliber is the .308 Winchester!

I live in south Mississippi and rarely do I come across a hunter that uses a 308, plenty of 06s, 270s and 7 mags. I personally believe it is purely a lack of knowledge. I have a friend that bought his son a 308 and to this day says he should have bought an 06. Doesn't matter that the 308 is within a 100' per second of the 06. Doesn't matter that every time his son has put the bullet where it was supposed to be he has recovered the animal. He still feels the 308 isn't enough gun for our 100 lb whitetails.

The .308 is probably the Rodney Dangerfield of cartridges. It's close enough to the .30-06 in most applications that people simply opt for the "more must be better" track. If they're inclined to consider a short-action rifle, they're probably more inclined to lean toward the WSMs than to a short-action standard.

There's nothing wrong with the .308. Everything the .30-06 can do well, it will also do well.

I just recently bought a Savage Model 11 Light Weight Hunter in 308, I love it! It only weighs 5.5lbs and has a 20" barrel. It is perfect for carrying in thick timber and capable of taking anything. It is also very accurate.

I have to agree I hear more of the 7mm-08 than I do about the tried and true .308. Don't get me wrong the 7mm-08 is a fine cartridge (necked down .308) but if I were to go and buy a short action deer rifle it would be a .308. People today think they need 270's, 06's, and don't get me started on all the magnums. Most people just don't know any better. I have gotten into several heated discussions with folks at the gun club about the difference between the .308 and 30-06....my argument has always been 100 fps with most loads, longer bolt throw with the longer action makes a 2nd shot a fraction of a second slower and a heavier rifle to boot. The .308 is very under rated unfortunitly. I go to deer rifle is a Ruger M77 7x57 aka 7mm Mauser. I went with it just because I can hand load it just as hot as the 7mm-08 and most rednecks around here have never heard of it.

I do not mean at all to disparage the .308. There's lots of room for many cartridges and many rifles, in my estimation. If you can't kill a whitetail deer with a .243 (or a 6 mm Remington, a .240 Weatherby mag, a .257 Roberts, a .25-06, a .270, a .280, etc) the problem is more with the shooter than the cartridge, in my estimation.

But since you bring up the .308, I'll discuss that. You mentioned the "short action" advantage of the .308. I have a .243, which I imagine is a short action, and I have a .25-06, and a .30-06 -- the two xx-06 cartridges being long action. I don't know that I notice a difference between these two actions. I suppose I have to work the bolt a bit further for the xx-06s, but how much length difference is there? 1/4"? 3/8"? 1/2"? Seriously, I don't know that I can tell the difference, especially if I'm working the bolt for a quick follow-up shot on a game animal in the woods. Whatever difference short action versus long action makes, I don't see that it is a significant difference. Maybe others feel differently.

If you take the short action out of the comparison, I don't see any parameter on which the .308 is superior and others where the .30-06 is superior. The selection of rifles chambered in .30-06 may be more broad versus those chambered in .308. The availability of rifle ammunition in .30-06 may be better than in .308.

Again, not taking anything away from the .308. But your theme seemed to be why don't more people in your region of the country go with the .308 rather than the .30-06. For the reasons above, I don't see why they would be motivated to prefer the .308 over the .30-06.