Where does .308 Winchester excel?

[Rflshootr]

I just had a thought...........go shoot an elk with a 6.5 and while you're field dressing it, come face to face with a big grizzly that wants your elk, and see which caliber you'd rather have.

 

[Tex_Hunter]

That means you're pushing it over 2800 fps. You must have a pretty long barrel and stepping on it pretty hard.

2830 to be precise, not pushing it hard at all, Reloder 16 well below max, 24" Rock Creek 1:8 twist. Same load ran 2790 in the 22" Bergara HMR I had before I got the custom.

 

[dogz]

I just had a thought...........go shoot an elk with a 6.5 and while you're field dressing it, come face to face with a big grizzly that wants your elk, and see which caliber you'd rather have.

Oh no, the dreaded big bad bear story eh...............

real world, close encounters with large furry denizens are about keeping cool and a CNS hit to end the fight. I'd had zero issue with either a 6.5 or a 308 in my mitts come crunch time as long as I'm in touch with the rig!

Side note if a big G bear claims my elk then he gladly gets my winter meat supply as he'll need it more than I do

 

[Rudolph Ferdinand]

Recently I've thought about buying a Tikka CTR in .308 as I no longer have a rifle in that caliber after selling my model 10 and already have a 6.5 Creed in a bravo. But it's got me thinking, with all the cartridges that are out now, does it really make sense to buy one new? The ballistics are worse than It's smaller caliber derivatives, it has more recoil, and any animal I would feel comfortable shooting with .308 I'd also shoot with a 6/6.5/7mm and .223 given a good projectile in it's effective range. The biggest points in it's favor that I can think of are
1. Ammo cost relative to the 6/6.5/7mms although those seem to be coming down a bit
2. Ammo ubiquity compared to 6/6.5/7mms
3. Potentially a good trainer as it drifts more in the wind, but I feel like the same thing could be done with .223
What am I missing? The point of this thread isn't to try and **** on .308, I just can't think of a reason I should get one even though I'm likely going to eventually.

The US Army trained me on the M14 rifle 7.62x51. When I got into hunting, it was a 30-caliber rifle. So, I did not want another thirty-caliber rifle - full circle, I'm back to the 7.62x51/308 Winchester. Why? Cheap ammunition and there is a lot of it around.

 

[JAYgs8163]

Lol, funny how a thread can go sideways.

 

[Swamplord]

Because there are cartridges in the same class that have more energy and less drop/drift at that range (and less recoil).

143gr ELD-x out of my Creedmoor has 1200ft lbs at 650yds and has dropped almost 24" less. You'll have similar if not slightly better results at that distance with a 7-08 if you're one of those people that hates the Creedmoor for some reason.

haaaaaahahahahaha ! classic !

every single dang time, lmao !

Creedmoor .. 143gr ELD-X & recoil !

take that man card A way ! lol

 

[JAYgs8163]

The 7.62 Creedmoor rules and no manbun needed.

 

[PApa Black]

Recently I've thought about buying a Tikka CTR in .308 as I no longer have a rifle in that caliber after selling my model 10 and already have a 6.5 Creed in a bravo. But it's got me thinking, with all the cartridges that are out now, does it really make sense to buy one new? The ballistics are worse than It's smaller caliber derivatives, it has more recoil, and any animal I would feel comfortable shooting with .308 I'd also shoot with a 6/6.5/7mm and .223 given a good projectile in it's effective range. The biggest points in it's favor that I can think of are
1. Ammo cost relative to the 6/6.5/7mms although those seem to be coming down a bit
2. Ammo ubiquity compared to 6/6.5/7mms
3. Potentially a good trainer as it drifts more in the wind, but I feel like the same thing could be done with .223
What am I missing? The point of this thread isn't to try and **** on .308, I just can't think of a reason I should get one even though I'm likely going to eventually.

LOL! It Excels at what ever you use it for!

 

[C-130 Dude]

No no I meant what I said. It's boring. It's not interesting at all. But that's not the same as bad. It's about the most practical and versatile lightweight rifle cartridge on earth. It's predictable and consistent and doesn't really have any surprises in using it.

I got rid of mine in pursuit of more interesting cartridges. My main battery is now a new to me .257 wby, a .300 win mag, and a .358 Norma mag. They're all more interesting to me and more satisfying to work with. And I've never killed anything or made a shot with any of them that I couldn't have made with a .308.

You mean to say that the 308 poses no more challange to you. Too mundane as it were. I understand. But I will take that "boring" cartridge any day of the week. It does what I need it for. New cartridges take a lot of $$$ and time to suss out. Neither of which I can spend much on.

 

[Calvin45]

You mean to say that the 308 poses no more challange to you. Too mundane as it were. I understand. But I will take that "boring" cartridge any day of the week. It does what I need it for. New cartridges take a lot of $$$ and time to suss out. Neither of which I can spend much on.

Yep I think we on the same page haha. Just semantics of choice.

I have a friend who is a minister on a very tight budget. He has been getting into hunting, has a .22, 12 guage, and muzzleloader now. Just needs a centerfire rifle thats very budget friendly, can be used for deer to moose, doesn't take expensive ammo or beat up a relatively new shooter…

He asked me if I thought he'd be making a mistake getting a savage 110 package gun in .308 Winchester. I told him he could sure do a lot worse…

My dodge minivan is boring. Also suits my family needs perfectly. Like the .308 of vehicles. I don't use the word boring to be disparaging haha.

I also read someone write of the .270 Winchester "it fills freezers every year with boring reliability".

 

[sierracharlie338]

Dang been gone for a bit and come back to a horse beating. . .

 

[rustyshackleford]

So a 308 with a 175 gr about 2700ish fps. With a 185 gr about 2650ish. Dismal performance. Even the 185 juggernaut only has a .56 g1 bc.
In 30 cal, you need a 300 wm at least to push a 208+ gr / .6+ g1 bc bullet to be efficient at LR. If not the bullet is dumping energy and drifting past 600 yards.

Can you clarify what isn't dismal? I mean if anything shy of 300 WM is dismal I guess you can feel that way but that doesn't really make it so.

 

[CoyHunter38]

For starters, I love seeing these responses! I'm asking myself the same questions. I do like the 7mm-08 because it shoots flatter and any bullet weight I'd use in 308 I can also get in 7mm-08.
But I'm still looking at 308 because:
1. Ammo of every kind is available and affordable.
2. There's more reloading data for 308 than possibly any cartridge made.
3. You get good reloads really really easily. I don't know why that is, but it seems to be true.
4. Barrel life is nearly unlimited for how much I shoot.
5. There's not that much difference between those two for a given bullet weight out to 500 yards, and I never plan to shoot more than 400 at game.

It may be an old cartridge, but with modern bullets, powders, and barrels, it's never been better.

 

[nralifer]

Recently I've thought about buying a Tikka CTR in .308 as I no longer have a rifle in that caliber after selling my model 10 and already have a 6.5 Creed in a bravo. But it's got me thinking, with all the cartridges that are out now, does it really make sense to buy one new? The ballistics are worse than It's smaller caliber derivatives, it has more recoil, and any animal I would feel comfortable shooting with .308 I'd also shoot with a 6/6.5/7mm and .223 given a good projectile in it's effective range. The biggest points in it's favor that I can think of are
1. Ammo cost relative to the 6/6.5/7mms although those seem to be coming down a bit
2. Ammo ubiquity compared to 6/6.5/7mms
3. Potentially a good trainer as it drifts more in the wind, but I feel like the same thing could be done with .223
What am I missing? The point of this thread isn't to try and **** on .308, I just can't think of a reason I should get one even though I'm likely going to eventually.

If you reload the 308 is an excellent cartridge to hunt with. It packs a lot of bullet energy in a small package and is very accurate. With a 150 gr Badlands Bulldozer 2 and Leverevolution powder you can get 3000 ft-lbs of energy from a 20 " barreled gun that is compact, easy to handle and able to kill with one shot anything in North America. MV will be 2950 fps. It is superb for African plains game as well. I have shot a lot of these with that bullet out to 500 yds and have yet to use more than 1 shot or recover the bullet. Absolutely superb on Deer, Antelope, Hogs and Bear. The Bulldozer makes that gun as effective as a 300WM using heavier lead core bullets because it penetrates so well. It is my favorite hunting rifle.