Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Just one?....7-08, 6.5, 270, or 308

The problem with your statement is summarized in the phases "the vast majority" and "most of us". If I had to choose one keeper between any .308 (I have two) and a .30-06 (I have four) or my .300WM, I'd take the .30-06 or .300WM in a heartbeat. Do .308's work "most of the time"? Yes, and i've often written that most every animal I've taken could have been taken equally well with a .308. At the same time I have multiple elk kills in the 400-500 yard range where a .308 would "probably" work. For those I'm glad I had something "more".

In a real-world example, we load a 150g BT for my daughter's 22" .308 Win and my 22" .30-06 rifles. Velocities are 2765fps for the .308 Win and 2975 for the .30-06. At 8000 feet above sea level, that gives the .30-06 a 125 yard advantage in retained velocity and energy. At 400 yards the .30-06 has 18% more energy than the .308, with 4" less drop. The difference is not as great as when comparing a .308 to a .300 WM but it isn't insignificant, either.

Consider what the .308 load above can do (retained energy and velocity) at 'x' yards, The .30-06 load will have the same velocity and energy at 'x' + 125 yards. I frequently hunt in open sage country where shots can literally be in any direction. For sake of argument, assume the effective range of the .308 is considered to be 400 yards based on retained energy and velocity for the 150g BT. The .30-06 will have the same retained velocity and energy at 525 yards. In terms of the area that could be covered with each, the .30-06 adds over 72% to what the .308 is capable of doing. Note that this 72% advantage holds true for a full circle or any segment thereof.