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Joined: Aug 2022
Posts: 1,969
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Aug 2022
Posts: 1,969 |
Not much wrong with a .308 Winchester for hunting. Especially in the timber. I started with one, and still occasionally use it. My back-up rifle is my Ruger I’ve had for 30 years. It’s bedded, has a trigger job, recoil pad upgrade, and a Leupold 3.5-10x40 VX-III. It’s a sub-MOA rifle with handloads.
"Full time night woman? I never could find no tracks on a woman's heart. I packed me a squaw for ten year, Pilgrim. Cheyenne, she were, and the meanest bitch that ever balled for beads."
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 37,144 Likes: 1
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 37,144 Likes: 1 |
Here's a link to the .308 135 gr. ER Cutting Edge Raptor. Check out the 01/04/2019 review, the bottom one. I wrote it. I'm also impressed with Hammer bullets. They're expensive, like CEB's, but how many do we actually shoot at game. Practice with cheaper stuff. https://cuttingedgebullets.com/308-135gr-er-extended-range-raptorRifle is a Kimber Classic with a Broughton 5C stainless barrel that replaced the OEM tube that didn't perform so well. DF
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Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 33,728 Likes: 2
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 33,728 Likes: 2 |
I was impressed by the 150 gr Federal basic cup and core Blue Box bullet. A pretty good size buck at ~160 yards ran ~50 yards then crashed. A pass through.
Conduct is the best proof of character.
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Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 12,329
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 12,329 |
I guess my 308 WIN experience is perverse compared to the rest of y'all. Don't take me wrong. I don't want it to seem like I'm throwing shade on the chambering. As with so much of my life, 308 WIN has come out with results "other than expected." First off, my early exposure to 308 WIN was a bit crossed. I grew up going to a barber shop in Cincinnati. Ohio was a shotgun-only state. Therefore most of the opinions I heard about any centerfire rifle were from wannabes. In those days, the mid-Sixties, everyone seemed to have an opinion on things, and 30-06 was usually at the center: 270 vs. 30-06, 308 vs 30-06, etc. The shop I visited was filled with a bunch of 30-06 snobs. Later, well after college, I started shooting and hunting. The bunch of old guys that took me under their wing were all die-hard 30-06 guys. One was a WWII vet. Another was a Marine armorer. Another was a gun editor. I had to learn the catechism that 30-06 was IT. If you go and look back in this august forum in early 2003, you will find the shaman being sold on the concept of a Savage 99. Honestly, I don't remember much of anything about the Savage 99 until I came here. However, it did not take much convincing. I acquired a Savage 99 that summer. I asked my buddy, Bob, the gun editor which chambering to get. He reluctantly pointed me at 308 WIN. His reasoning was that he was sure 300 Savage was going to be orphaned before too long. Side note: If you see a pattern of the shaman seeming to get a lot of well-meaning bum steers in his life, you're not the only one. My one and only 308 WIN rifle is that Savage 99. It was itself, a perverse beast. Try as I might, I could not get it to shoot 150-grain bullets accurately. Somebody had said cheap mil-surp brass would be a good idea. That did not pan out either. What I ended up with was a somewhat downloaded load of H4895 topped off with a 165 grain Hornady Interlock in Federal brass. A full-house load was a bit sharp for my tastes, but loading the rifle to 300 Savage levels made it ideal. This has been my Opening Day go-to rifle ever since. I use it to hunt the Opener and then rotate it with other choices until my buck tag is filled, and then I put away for next year. As such, it has only shot bucks, and it has twice taken camp records. It has also taken several #2 and #3 bucks. I had it out last year and it did not disappoint: For all my early indoctrination in the cult of 30-06, I have to agree 308 WIN was and is a great choice. I say that as quietly as possible; there are a half-dozen old friends that I don't want rolling in their graves. Will I ever buy another 308 WIN? I'm now 64, and I have a whole side of the rack just for all the 30-06s. My last acquisition was a 7mm-08. 308 WIN may be the road not taken.
Last edited by shaman; 08/24/22.
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 3,696 Likes: 5
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 3,696 Likes: 5 |
I was a 3006 user for a long time, dabbled with a bunch of other cartridges along the way. Some larger, some smaller. Just in the last 2-3 years or so have I really come to realize that for what I need out of a cartridge ; the .308 checks all the boxes. So do a bunch of other cartridges, but I'm a .30 cal kind of guy and couple that with modest recoil and with easy to source reloading components and factory ammo, when it came time to re-barrel; the 308 was a no brainer. Here's more proof that the .308 really sucks. No fancy bullets, the only bullet this rifle sees is a 150g Hornady Interlock moving along at 2800fps.....some stuff just works. Never saw a reason to spend $$$ on premium bullets. multiple image
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 17,246
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 17,246 |
Great pics right there.....
Now with even more aplomb
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 30,286
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 30,286 |
Nice thread with lots of great pictures. It's funny how sane and balanced 308 threads are compared to most other cartridge threads... I suspect it says something about the type of folks that use it
“Perfection is Achieved Not When There Is Nothing More to Add, But When There Is Nothing Left to Take Away” Antoine de Saint-Exupery
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 42,013 Likes: 5
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 42,013 Likes: 5 |
Yep, it works; So well; That, sometimes, it knocks the antlers right off !
Paul.
"Kids who grow up hunting, fishing & trapping, do not mug little old Ladies"
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 18,927
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 18,927 |
I could easily hunt the rest of my life with this .308.
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 3,696 Likes: 5
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 3,696 Likes: 5 |
SLM- I like that. Could a guy get some rifle details?
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 24,645 Likes: 1
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 24,645 Likes: 1 |
Good stuff, gents.
Who here has put the 165 Gamechangers into (and out of) deer?
WWP53D
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 3,869
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 3,869 |
The more I hunt with the 308 the less I care about all the other calibers. From coyotes to elk it just works! Was a die hard 168NBT fan but changing to the 155 gr Scenar this year.
Good Shooting!
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Joined: Jul 2022
Posts: 142
Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
Joined: Jul 2022
Posts: 142 |
The only 308 I have is a ruger American that I won from the local Fire departmemt. It's ok but are fond of the 7mm08 better. The ruger is a good bad weather rifle for me.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 8,226 Likes: 1
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 8,226 Likes: 1 |
I have a couple "Basic" .308 set-ups: 700 Mnt Rifle with a Leupold 1.75x6 short tube. Sako Forrester carbine also with a Leupold 1.75x6 short tube. The Mnt Rifle will probably get the nod this year if I still have a tag after archery season.
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 3,696 Likes: 5
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 3,696 Likes: 5 |
Teeder- if you ever get a desire to move that 308 mountain rifle down the road........shoot me a PM.
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 30,286
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 30,286 |
The more I hunt with the 308 the less I care about all the other calibers. From coyotes to elk it just works! Was a die hard 168NBT fan but changing to the 155 gr Scenar this year. That pretty much sums it up. I got on to the 308 around 1990 and never found another cartridge that "speaks" to me like it does. The 308 is a workman's round, miserly on powder, rich on results. One of my better bulls, an older sway-back 7x7 that I shot here in the mountains of SW Montana. 308 Kimber MT / 165 Speer Hotcore:
“Perfection is Achieved Not When There Is Nothing More to Add, But When There Is Nothing Left to Take Away” Antoine de Saint-Exupery
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 8,226 Likes: 1
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 8,226 Likes: 1 |
Never get tired of that one, Brad! I'd like to find some 165 HC's to try in my .308's.
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 18,927
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 18,927 |
SLM- I like that. Could a guy get some rifle details? Win. Classic SS action, PacNor 2’Bish barrel, Bridges Edge fill, PT&G bottom metal. Never get tired of that one, Brad! I'd like to find some 165 HC's to try in my .308's. Agreed, that is a neat old bull.
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Joined: May 2017
Posts: 139
Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 139 |
Never get tired of that one, Brad! I'd like to find some 165 HC's to try in my .308's. That picture is what made me decide to go ahead and try a fairly light 308.
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Joined: Aug 2022
Posts: 318
Campfire Member
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OP
Campfire Member
Joined: Aug 2022
Posts: 318 |
Amazing photos!! Wow, it looks like the classic .308 rifle has lots and lots of dedicated fans! A guy could take it way out to 500 yards, clear shot, nothing in the way, etc... and yet another guy could take it into the heavy brush, thickets, hard timber, up in the mountains, at 50 yards, and it would still do the job.
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