Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 30-06 vs 308 argument finally settled!

In my earlier years I owned several rifles chambered for both. IIRC, the 06’s I owned were Remington 700’s and Ruger 77’s; the 308’s were Ruger 77’s and a Model 70 Winchester. I don’t know the reason, but my 308’s seemed to shoot a little better. All this was, of course, before I discovered the do-it-all cartridge ( for my uses anyway)...................the 7mm-08 Remington. Now, if it had been introduced before the other two..................(smiling)

The B.S. that 308 is more accurate than the 06 is just that B.S.
Have owned both and the only difference is in recoil of 308 being user friendly for candy asses . LMAO !
Just busting the pro 308 guys chops , have had accurate rifles in both . Prefer the 06 cause I like the heavier 308 bullets .
Have a 308 in Venture Predator that is crazy accurate for a factory rifle as well as.a couple factory 700's in 06 that flat shoot 190-200 grain bullets in nice 25 cent groups . Then there is the 721 had a smith rebarrel , lap lugs , trigger job and bedding . Holy smokes what a shooter , Dead on the money cold shots with Berger 175's
Kenneth

I have two ,308 Win rifles and hence have no need for a 30-06.

I also have four 30-06 rifles and hence have no need for a .308 Win.

Glad that is settled.

I have a 308 and a 30-06, I love them both. The 308 is my go to sheep rifle and the 06 is awesome with 200g bullets.

The 308 is more accurate for common shooters shooting production ammunition in production rifles. When you have the top level of each there is no difference.

I love both. Factory ammo is the same price where I’m from, but the 308 takes less powder to reload and I have an easier time getting good groups out of it than I do my 06, though that could be the gun. I also like it for short handy rifles like the BLR and Remington Model 7, since most of my hunting shots are well under 100 yards. But both of my 308s seem to only like 150s, the 30-06- though less accurate in general- will run through 165s and 180s with groups as tight as the 150s. If I had to only have one I’m not sure I could choose, but they’d both lose to the 270 ;]

I am firmly in the .30-06 camp.

If you want lighter, short action, less recoil, then go buy a 7mm-08, .260, .243 etc.

If you want heavier go up to a .338 win mag.

The '06 is the king of it's class. It does everything well. Recoil is easily manageable.

Everything the .308 does, the '06 does a little bit better.

Do you really want to shoot second best?

Can't imagine ever owning, needing, or wanting a .308.

Then again...... No animal will ever be able to tell the difference between the two..... So I guess it's a wash!

-Jake

I believe the opposite to be true. The average shooter isn't good enough, and the average rifle not accurate enough to take advantage of the small differences in accuracy potential between 308 and 30-06. But the 30-06 stopped being relevant for target shooters years ago. The best shooters, firing the best rifles simply shot 308 better. And today other rounds have replaced 308 for that use. For the average shooter any difference in accuracy is probably due to less recoil.

I started with a 30-06 in 1975. Still have a couple of rifles, but they haven't been hunting in over 10 years after buying a 308. Inside of 400 yards no animal will ever know the difference. In the same weight rifle I get 25% less recoil, or the same recoil as 30-06 in a rifle 1 1/2 lbs lighter.

+1

I've been told that 6.5 creed is the ultimate elk cartridge too

It is a PROVEN FACT that on Average the 308 absolutely IS somewhat more accurate then the 30-06. It was proven shooting millions of rounds and with otherwise identical rifles. They even showed it was more accurate in the SAME rifles. They put 308 inserts into the chambers of M1 Garand rifles and the SAME EXACT rifles on average shot more accurately than they did in 30-06. It's been proven by every meaningful way of demonstrating accuracy.

All that being said it doesn't make a hill of beans difference in a hunting rifle. :-)

And also as said above the 6.5 Creedmoor seems to be nearly obsoleting both anyway! LOL


........................DJ

Agreed 100%.

Anecdotally, I have owned a pile of each, and have always found the 308 more accurate and eager to please in factory guise.

I believe one of the major mfg's (Ruger?) found the same in testing.

Not much difference between the two in the field. We can hear the old argument that the 30-06 handles 200 and 220 grain bullets where as the 308 Win can’t. Actually the 308 Win handles 200 grain bullets just fine approaching 2,475 fps. 06 pushes at close to 2,600 fps. Big deal. Most 06 and 308 Win utilize 150-180 grain projectiles showing no appreciable difference on game, with the 06 shooting less tha 2 inches flatter over 400 yards and retaining 100 more ft- lbs of energy. If the need for 200 grain and greater bullet weight should be needed most go to a 30 magnum anyway or reach for a 338 Win Mag. As far as accuracy I have always enjoyed John Barsness in depth look at out-of-the-box 308 Win accuracy. Whether it be bolt, lever, autoloader or single shot, the 308Win flat out shoots accurate. No fuss, no muss.

I don't think there's really any denying the -06 will out run the .308, but it should. It holds more powder. The factor that evens them out is FACTORY .308 ammo is regularly loaded hotter than -06 ammo. So, for that perspective, they're very close to a wash. If you roll your own, you can push the -06 harder.

In the end, I don't think the difference matters a bit in the field with new projectiles and powders.

I can not believe that there are people who think the 308 is better than the 30-06 . Over the years of hunting I have kept records of steps after shot fired . On average the deer ran 5-6 steps less shot with the 30-06 than they ran shot with the 308 .
And was much deader with the 30-06 .
Personally I like my deer really dead when I cook them .
Kenneth

If two or three rifles, say a .243, or both a .223 and a Crapmoor, then the third would be a 30-06. An 03A3 maybe.

If only one, or two rifles. Maybe the first rifle is a .223, then the big gun might be a .308

I've had both, but have neither now. But if I ever get one again, it'll probably be a 30-06. An old one. Neither is a necessity for me, and I'd probably rather have a 30-30, or a 357, or a 45LC. But I might have a 30-06 again for a BIG gun.

If I were buying a Tikka, then probably 30-06 since the action is already long and you might as well fill it up with. If I were shaving as much weight as possible, then a Montana in 308 and shave all the weight I could.

Less filling; Tastes great. Happy Trails

I've always liked the '06 better than the .308 and I've had several of each. In fact I have one of each now. Really don't have much practical use for either and would keep my .30-30 over both if I could only have one.

And now, Nosler has too.

Had both once, only .30 in the safe now is a Win Mag...pretty much all the hunting over .22lr gets done with an 8x57is...since that predates both, maybe they were both just unnecessary.