What's to love about the .308 Winchester?

[Joshuak12]

I have far more experience with the .30-06 than any other centerfire cartridge. I have never fired a .308 but am familiar with the published ballistics and sincerely (not looking for an argument) wonder why the .308 gets more love in the long range discussions than the '06. Can any of you .308 shooters out there tell me what you love about it as opposed to other cartridges of similar size and ballistic potential?

 

[7stw]

I have far more experience with the .30-06 than any other centerfire cartridge. I have never fired a .308 but am familiar with the published ballistics and sincerely (not looking for an argument) wonder why the .308 gets more love in the long range discussions than the '06. Can any of you .308 shooters out there tell me what you love about it as opposed to other cartridges of similar size and ballistic potential?

Ok, I will play. They are extremely accurate, tons of good brass, and will usually shoot almost anything you put into them. Barrel life exceptional, recoil is moot, and it is a short action, which in turn makes it stiffer. As in the 30-06, everybody makes them. And another thing to keep in mind is that for years, the .308 was the king at the bench rest, and F class shoots. It's history is tough to argue with!

AIM SMALL, MISS SMALL. gun) 7 STW.

P/S, I sometimes wonder why I fool with anything else!

 

[Greyfox]

I agree with Everything that 7stw has stated. I would add the fact that since the mid sixties, the military adopted the 308 as the official sniper round mated to very accurate, heavy barreled bolt action rifles. The combination of the inherently more accurate round, stiffer, and shorter actioned rigs created a very strong response from the private sector. How many heavy barreled 30-06's designed for precision shooting have been produced over the past 45 years? The same dynamic has occurred with the enormous popularity of the AR-15, as well as the strong following of Long range shooters that are using the 338 Lapua. As it once occurred with the 30-06, the military has a huge influence on cartridge/fire arm adoption and popularity in the private sector.

 

[MHO]

7stw pretty much explained it. Tough to argue with.

 

[emn83]

I think it's been covered really well. The .308 is just a great workhorse of a round. There some things it won't do, but as an all around round, it is a great choice.

 

[Joshuak12]

Thank you, Gentlemen. I'm jumping tracks a little, but have any of you .308 aficionados paid any attention to the .30 TC? I love TC as a company but it seemed like they were "reinventing the wheel" a little with that cartridge. I guess what I'm curious about is why I, if I were in the market for a new .30 cal rifle, would pick the TC over the .308 or '06? Anybody?

 

[emn83]

looking at the TC and my Hornady manual, it looks like the TC doesn't have anything on the 308. though in a couple places with the same powder charge Hornday has the TC with a higher velocity. 43.2gr of Varget, 178-180gr bullets, the TC has 50 fps advantage, according to Hornady, not really sure why. I'd go for a .308, or if you are an '06 fan go for that, given the 3 options. Looks like you said, the TC is reinventing the wheel

 

[jtkratzer]

There are quite a few cartridges that do everything the .308 does, but better.

 

[emn83]

There are quite a few cartridges that do everything the .308 does, but better.

I've heard that about pretty much every cartridge out there

 

[D.ID]

For anyone restricted to factory ammo, the 308 is the cartridge with the most factory match ammo options.

 

[Michael Eichele]

There are quite a few cartridges that do everything the .308 does, but better.

Better is still a subjective term.

 

[T3-OleMan]

Remember Ruby Ridge back in 1992? The FBI's Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) snipers used the R 700 in .308 as the primary tool. That said alot about the .308 as a primary platform. I am sure today they employ state of the art stuff up too and including the latest Barrett toys.
I always like for our team to be there first, with the most! I would bet that their core shooters still shoot a thousand .308 rounds every month if not more.

I would think medium recoil , dependability and having been the USMC KATE had alot to do with the choice, by default.

 

[Derek M.]

308 is a great cal just like the .06. Inside of most hunting ranges where the vast majority of hunters are willing to shoot (I'd guess inside 300 yards), there's hardly a difference in the 2, or a 270, 280, or most any other popular cal you want to throw in that mix.

I have both 308 and 30.06.

 

[Edd]

Remember Ruby Ridge back in 1992? The FBI's Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) snipers used the R 700 in .308 as the primary tool. That said alot about the .308 as a primary platform.

There's nothing special about that. You could use almost any cartridge to make a head shot on a woman holding a baby and standing in the doorway of her own home. A woman's head is a pretty large target.