Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters So Why the 308?

308 with 155 Scenar’s @ 2900 fps is my current hunting tool of choice. It really gets the job done, no qualms.

Leafing through my copy of the May 1997 issue of Precision Shooting, I
encountered an ad for Krieger Barrels, Inc. that showed an actual-size
copy of a 20-shot group shot at 800 yards by "Bert Bobbit [sic] with
his Krieger Barrelled PALMA rifle." Now this group has a .942" mean
radius, with an extreme spread of 3.325. If it were a 5-shot group,
you'd say, "Somebody else has shot that well at 1,000 yards." But a
20-shot group? God!!


Bartbob Inline image 2
5/13/97

I used a .308 Win. with Sierra's 155-gr. Palma bullet with 45.3gr. of
IMR4895 and RWS Primers in full-length sized WCC60 match cases. Had a 20X
scope on the English Paramount action and shot prone with a bag under my
front hand to steady the rifle. It was about 6AM in dead-calm wind
conditions.
BB

https://yarchive.net/gun/ammo/308_loads.html

I have always disliked the 30-06 and after owning a few 308's I dislike the 06 even more........ In general 30 cals aren't my favorite but the 308 is good to go.

Where I hunt has more to do with my rifle and cartridge choice than the game itself. A lot of the elk and deer hunting that I’ve done here in western WA is in fairly dense timber with lots of contour lines really close together on the map. You might see something out in the open in a clearcut on an opposing ridge line, but I have more success in the timber where most other hunters won’t go. Playing the clearcut game can result in disputes on who shot what. I recall a 4x4 bull elk being hit by as many as three different hunters immediately after emerging into a clearcut from the trees. It was like the scene in Platoon where Sgt. Elias is running from the NVA and taking hit after hit. Not my cup of tea.

Instead, I like to move slowly and quietly through the timber where there is sign of game. The suitability of my rifle is more about how I long I can carry it and how quickly I can shoot. A short, light rifle in the hands is quicker to bear than a heavier and longer rifle slung on the shoulder due to its heft.

Rifles like the Remington Model Seven, chambered in something like 308, with a fixed 4x or a low powered variable like the 1.75-6x, are perfect for this kind of hunting. 165gr Accubonds at 2600 fps sounds pretty pedestrian, but its plenty effective!

On the recoil difference between the 308 & 30-06.
About 20 years ago I assembled a scout rifle with a 600 Rem and a Clifton stock. The 600 had a very thin 18.5# barrel. It weighed under 6.5#. I shot it a lot with 150’s. I was astounded by the lack of recoil. I thought it kicked about like my 7.5# 270.

My hunting buddy hunted Naches WA where he got cows but never a bull elk. He told me a 7mmRM was too small for elk, you need a 300WM. So he retired to MT to try to get a bull elk. He had his chance but wounded it. It went over a hill where the bull was tagged by a teenager with a 22-250.

On the weight issue. I am with BRAD. A rifle carried in the hands gets heavy quickly. Same thing happens when you scramble around rough country. You notice every ounce.

Even though I've owned many 308's. I definitely prefer the '06! The only reason for the 308, in my mind is that it is easier to find light rifles in 308. The only reason for a lighter rifle for me is if I'm in the steep mountains. But since I have a 350 RM in a Remington 600 I've eliminated that advantage of the lighter rifle/308 since the 350 is definitely a many steps above the 308 in every hunting aspect.
But if I were to shoot competitive target shooting where 1/8" group was needed, I'd be looking at the 308 as an option.

Everyone knows (or should know) weight makes a difference PERIOD. in a lifetime of flying (and hunting) weight management is a critical component. Anyone that claims they can see an actual difference in "killing power" between the 06 and the 08 is making a purely emotional statement devoid of logic.

I do see where an 06 would make more sense when using bullets in excess of 200 grains but with today's bullets, i'd like to see a 200 or even 220 grain cup and core, outperform say a 165-180 premium. That leaves one point of discussion, that of recoil. While recoil CAN be measured as a function of foot pounds and mitigated by stock design etc, the issue of PERCEIVED recoil is about as subjective as it gets. And TO ME, a 308's recoil even in a light rifle is not even a consideration when making a decision to select a rifle. On an "Express" rifle, that is another matter. I reached my limit with an 8 lb SAKO action Browning Safari 458 Winchester years ago and by the same token, I can shoot a 340 Weatherby off the bench all day long. Do I prefer LESS recoil? of course I do and that is why I stated in my OP that I had come full circle and give the 308 the credit it deserves and now gets the nod over an 06 for most applications.

I'll let you shoot my loads in my Kimber Montana 308 and same rifle in 30-06. I guarantee there is a big difference in recoil. Enough that I sold the 30-06 and kept the 308.

Bill, I strayed from my first love (the 308 MT) and flirted with a couple of 30-06 MT’s. Indeed, in a platform as light as the Kimber MT, the 308 is infinitely preferable to the 30-06 and I only relearned the lesson I’d learned decades before... cartridges are more alike than different.

30-06:


308:

Brad, it looks like the one you shot with the .308 landed in a much better place!

Lol, another “better 308” landing:

Man, I'll bet that pink Weatherby guy's butt hurts right about now.

And, what's up with that blue 6.5 Creedmoor guy sneakin' up on him like that!

loss of a dog is always tough. I love loved all Finn's books and articles and I am a .308 guy.

Brad - I never get tired of seeing big elk! I've learned alot from you over the years but had to learn the lightweight 30-06 lesson my self. Same with lightweight 7mm magnums. Too much gun in a lightweight package - at least for me, but I'm a wimp. Not so coincidentally, of the the elk I've shot with the 308 and 270 all died just as quickly as the ones I've shot with 300 WSM, 300 SAUM. For a while, I thought the 300 WSM was magic, at least until I started shooting them with the 270 and 308.

I have handled, but did not fire, a NULA chambered in 300 Weatherby. I bet it was a bit sporty.

Nice!
What's your bullet of choice for the .308 these days?

That loosens my fillings just thinking about it.

The first NULA (actually ULA) I fooled with was one of Melvin's "loaner" rifles, one of several he sent to gun writers for testing, in .300 Winchester Magnum. It had a 24" No. 2 Douglas barrel, and was a bit sporty. But I was young and pretty recoil-tolerant, so worked up some loads, eventually ending up with three that shot well under an inch, using the 165 Hornady Spire Point at around 3140 fps, the 180 Speer Grand Slam at around 3025, and the 200 Nosler Partition at 2950. All shot very well, and in fact I shot three, 3-shot groups (one with each bullet) into one 9-shot group of just about an inch (which is what introduced me to the tendency of Melvin rifles to shoot loads with different bullet weights into the same basic place. Took it elk hunting that fall, but the only elk I saw were not legal in that area--though I did take a mule deer doe with it while hiking back to the truck one night

According to my notes I put 135 rounds through that rifle working up loads. Kinda wanted to buy it, but Melvin wouldn't sell the test rifles. Nowadays I wouldn't even want to shoot it much--if at all!