Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 308 vs 30/06

.30-06, because I have three sporter-weight bolts compared to two .308. One of the .308;s is an AR and will never go hunting unless the world goes to hell. The other is a 16.1" Ruger Scout that may well go hunting but loses about 175fps compared to a 22" .308 or .30-06.

For Daughter #1's first bolt we ended up getting her a .308 and shooting 130g TTSX @ 3045fps. We since got her a .270 and have loaded it up with 150g LRAB @ 2912fps. She will use that this fall for elk. At her comfort level (400 yards), either will work just fine.

Never seen a deader horse take such a beating.

I have two 30-06s but I want a compact .308 for my next rifle.

The .308 is a short range gun.
It does not have the energy to cleanly kill big animals like elk past 400 yards.
It is under powered compared to the 30-06.
You can't shoot heavy bullets in it.


This elk died from laughing too hard (at the Sako TRG .308) as the bullet bounced off her at 400 yards.





Same story here!








All that said, I have a JC Higgins FN Mauser 30-06 at a gunsmiths getting a list of things done to make it completely squared away. Hard to go wrong with a 30-06, especially as a handloader.

Again THIS year.


Jerry

i never really considered the 308 as i've had a 30-06 for 40 years. a few years ago i read a gun rag with an article by jb entitled "the 308 is great". next this i know i've given away several rifles to kids and grandkids and bought 2 different 308's. for the last few years the 308 has been my primary rifle for deer, hogs, and elk. factory loaded plain ole 150gr fed blue box for deer/hogs and fed premium 180gr partitions for elk. the 308 kills without issue. i still have a couple 30-06s but i'm gonna give them to grandkids. both get the job done.

Mqueen Sagepoosh

TRIES soooooooo hard.

Laughing!...............

I prefer the .30-06. I have found it easier to load for. Also, the rifles I own chambered for it are excellent performers. Most of our hunting group uses the '06. I have used mine on antelope, blacktails, muleys, whitetails, elk, varmints and bighorn sheep.

I have used the .308 (and .300 Savage) mostly in lever actions and it has worked fine on deer and elk. For whatever reasons, I found them tough to load for. I ended up with a wildly different specific load for each rifle. I sold and gave those away. I replaced them with an SS Gunsite Scout in .308 with an 18.7" barrel and added the synthetic stock and muzzle brake to get it down to 6lbs, 5 oz bare. I intend to use it as a truck gun. So far it is working well.

I actually feel that they are both a bit much for deer.

Funny [bleep]. And true.

And two pages without the 270 or creedmoor being brought into the discussion!

308 Win vs 30-06,I think the 30-06 is the winner,but when you compare some rifles there may not be a huge difference.I only have one 308 Win at the time.It's a 26" barreled CZ550 Varmint.I was having a hard time getting much more than 2700fps with a 165gr bullet.That's a bit behind most 30-06 loads with that same weight bullet.Recently I've played around with 46.5grs of Accurate 4064 and 168gr Nosler Ballistic Tips.I'm getting 2812fps with that load.I also played with 44.5grs of TAC and with that same bullet,I'm getting 2807fps.OK,now let's talk about the 30-06 using the same bullet.I have four 30-06 rifles at the present time.I did have a fifth,but I had it rebored to a 338-06.This rifle has a 26" barrel,so I'm going to use some of the data in the comparison.I have one 30-06 with a 22" barrel,the velocity I'm getting is about exactly what my 308 Win gets,right around 2800fps.I have three 24" barreled 30-06's.Those rifles run around 2850fps.The 26" barreled 30-06 was a step up.I was getting around 2950fps with that rifle.So comparing the same bullets and barrel lengths,the 30-06 was getting around 150fps more velocity than the 308 Win.I have one 28" PacNor barreled 30-06 that ave. velocity is 3030fps.That's over 200fps faster than the 26" barreled 308 Win and the 22" barreled 30-06.So what this tells me is,when your compare the two cartridges,there is no way to compare it solely by the cartridge itself.Load used,bullet and barrel lengths can really be a significant factor in the comparison.The 30-06 with the larger case overall is going to be able to handle the heavier bullets better,but with light and moderate weight bullets,the 308 Win is not that bad

The exact same thing could be said about the 308.....

270 or maybe the 6.5CM?
just F..ing with you.
06 for the win

I started hunting whitetails more than 40 yrs. ago with a .308 and killed my first and biggest whitetail with that caliber. Along the way I built a .35 Whelen and have hunted with it for more than 25 yrs. with great success, I have a .30-06 that is my back-up rifle and plan to use both on this fall's whitetail hunting trip. I killed my big buck with a handload that used a 180gr. Hornady RN bullet, I now prefer 165gr. bullets in either the .308 or .30-06. 165's are both accurate and effective on whitetail size game in my experience, my choices have been Nosler Ballistic Tip and Sierra Game King.

Which ever one I would happen to have in my hands. Given that I have two 30-06's and zero .308's at the moment, of those two options, it is a moot point.

I am an 06 guy... Never found much use for the .308..

I own and use both.
My "read" on the debates is as follows.
150 and 165 grain bullets loaded to best velocities without excessive pressures. No difference.at all

180 grain bullets, the 30-06 averages about 80 to 110 FPS faster which means no practical difference in hunting

200 and 220 grain bullets the 30-06 pull out in front of the 308.

So unless you are going to use 200 to 220 grain bullets there is no real-world difference between the 2 in their use for hunting.
Some of use are "dinosaurs" and love the old 220 grain bullets, so for those bullets the vote goes to the 30-06

I’m a .30-06 fan, but either will do the trick. I like 180s in my 06’s, and the larger case pushes them just a little faster.

I might have chosen a pair of 308 in stainless and syntetic stock today and be happy with it.

If I wasn't already using two M98 30-06.

Damn! .308 Win vs 30-06? I dont see how you guys can take the brutal recoil if these two cartridges, I much prefer the pillowy soft recoil of the 6.5 Gaymoor cartridge 😁😁.....Hb

Well for a guy who DOES NOT RELOAD and only uses Factory ammo- which one????

And is the 180g 30/06 the heaviest factory loading now in that caliber?