mlaubner

.308 Winchester ?
Folks, I need some help here.
I have always believed that the 30.06 was a great "do-all" cartridge. Not perfect by any means, but almost always up to the task if the shooter did their part.
I am suffering from the throws of indecision, because in trying to make an informed decision I have studied all my reloading manuals, online information, bullet manufacturers sites, etc... trying to decide between these two cartridges. I can only afford one new barrel at this time for my Encore. I am going to set it up with Warn/Maxima rings and base and a Leupold 3 x 9 x 50 scope. The main use for this rifle is Whitetails, but hogs may come into play as well. Shots could vary from less than 50yds to more than 250yds. Now, I don't know if I'll ever hunt Elk, but black bear could also be a possibility. Is there any task the .308 win can't do that the 30.06 can do better?
Please do not try to talk me into a .270, 7mm-08, .260, .280 or any of the other very capable cartridges. I am only interested in these two at the present time.
I know that the .308 is inherently more accurate due to things like the fatter case and the sharper shoulder angles, and surplus ammo is widely available for plinking.
But isn't the 30.06 just a better "all-around" cartridge than the .308win?
Other than a little speed and energy what am I giving up?
Can you folks help me?[]
Thanks,
Mark

bigbulls

It sounds like you really want to go with the .308 but are unsure? Out to the ranges you listed and a bit farther you will give up absolutely nothing by going with the .308. Except for a little bit of recoil. Even elk hunting.

mlaubner

bigbulls,
I knew you would come up with the simple answer!
So when does the 30.06 beat out the .308?

neweboarhunter

If you plan to to use 165-168 gr (or 150 gr) and keep shots to say a max of 300 yards. Then a .308 win is near perfect. If you plan on shooting 180 gr (or 200 gr) than I would go with the .30-06.

Someone once explained the differance like this: The .308 is like getting ran over by a cement truck....while the .30-06 is like getting ran over by a FULL cement truck.....you'll never know the differance.

I went with the .308win. I figured if I am going to take .30-06 recoil may-as-well shoot a 7mm Mag and have a flatter trajectory.

mlaubner

Nice analogy nbh, but what if I want to shoot the heavier stuff at shorter ranges, say 200yds and under? Now what are the differences?

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neweboarhunter

With heavier bullets (180 gr and up) and at the distance you mentioned 200 yards and under the differances tend to shrink, still the .30-06 IMHO has the edge with the heavyweights.

bigbulls

The 30-06 is beating the .308 from the get go but from a practical hunting standpoint it is neglegable.

Take Federals 165 grain Nosler solid base bullets and at the muzzle there is only 240 foot pounds difference between the two and then there is only 160 foot pounds difference between the two at 500 yards. That's less than what a what a 17HMR 17 grain bullet produces at the muzzle. Pretty neglegable when hunting big game huh?

Now look at the trajectory. Sight them both to be at zero at 200 yards and there is less than one inch of difference between the two out to 350 yards and only 4.5 inches difference at 500 yards. Again pretty neglegable huh?

Same thing would apply to 180 grain bullets. IMO there is absolutely no reason in the world to use anything heavier than 180 grain bullets in a 30 caliber rifle except for extreme distance target shooting. a 200 grain bullet will not kill anything any faster than a 180 grain bullet will.

RonM

I have both , I like the 308 better, less recoil, less muzzle blast, shorter stroke for the second shot. I think the only thing is that the 30-06 might have a wider range of factory amm, used tio be able to get 87 grain for varmits, not sure now , have bought accelerator bullets for bothe of them . But the 06 gave you more choices, stick with the 308,,,

furbman

I agree totally, The only (Real) difference with the ballists is on paper, the game wont know the difference, I prefere the 308 (have both) the rifles are lighter to carry up those hills that seem to get steeper with time, the sction stroke is shorter, and there are a multitude of types of ammpo available if you dont reload. With the modern bullet constuction today you dont have to worry that much about bullet weight. You can use a 150 or 165 grain bullet and have more retained bullet weight on the other side of the entry than a plain jane ( which worked just fine before we "knew better" ) 180-200 has. IMHO i think the 308 is a great caliber.