How do you guys rate the cartidge for overall big game hunting?

Awesome!

One of my two favorites (the .270 WIN is the other).

Ps., now that I think of it the .30-06 SPRG fits in there too!

To cut to the chase I could...grab one in a Lil Sky, add Talley's, a 6x36 Leo with dotz, Uncle Mikes Mtn sling and sally forth and hunt most all the world with it.

For what's on my year to year menu (black bear, lopes, deer, elk) it's very close to model perfecto.

The only critters on my menu of lifes hunting that I wouldn't wish to hunt with it are Buff across the pond and brown bruins up north. Other than that bring them on.

It'll basically run a 165 at speeds that the 06 will run 180's and I really don't think that there's any critters going that will be able to know the 15 grain diff. But that's just my way of thinking.

Dober

My idea of the perfect all-around cartridge is the 30-06, and the 308 is only a half-step behind.

I could happily hunt the rifle Dober outlines with 150TSX's at 2850 or so. I just could never give him the credit!

I could do the 150 TSX @ 2850 and hunt the world over and fill up an ark or three.

Dober

Don't forget where you read it!

Is this a trick question?

"Greatest rifle cartridge in the UNIVERSE"

And without a doubt, Dober has it nailed for the perfect hunters platform. Had one and let it go, foolish move, but I still have my Classic and that's light enough for all I do.

having load a lot of different calibers in lot of different factory rifles; i have found the .308 one of the easiest or most forgiving in find a "good/accurate " load. right behind the .222 and just before the 300 win mag

Sooo, With My Titanium Taconic, Leo 2.5-8, Talley rings,Sierra 165 HPBT's - I should be able to fill up an ark 1/2 or 2.

Hard part is finding an ark......

I have never seen one shoot well....... I think a guy would be nuts to mess with the 308.

I would never own one................grin

It's a good Hunting cartridge IMO. Nothing fancy, but certainly gets the job done.

JM

Dober why do you like the 6 x 36 instead of the FXIII, both can be had with dots? I have got a heavy 3 x 9 on mine I need to dump.

Original poster...to me the 308 is a mild sensible cartridge. I have taken a lot of deer with factory 150 corelocs, now I reload 130TTSX over TAC. I have never lost an animal.

Perfectly adequate for anything I expect or desire to hunt.

There is a guy in Oz that is so fussy, no barrel maker who knows him will make a tube for him. Using a Witchita in .308, I saw him shoot a 5 shot group that would fall inside your thumbnail and he called the rifle a POS and threw a tantrum at the range.

So, the accuracy is there.

I have reviewed them, all shot well, but cannot own one while the .30/06 exists, and that is a mental deficiency on my part because every deer hunter who uses one would never part with it. It is truely under appreciated, and extremely competent a hunting cartridge.

Maybe one day.

JW

Plain 'ole vanilla killa.

Best description I've heard:

308 Win=Regular Cab
30-06=Extended Cab

AGW said, "I have reviewed them, all shot well, but cannot own one while the .30/06 exists, and that is a mental deficiency on my part because every deer hunter who uses one would never part with it. It is truely under appreciated, and extremely competent a hunting cartridge."

Exactly. For more years than I care to count, I shunned the .308 as being a 30-06 wannabe. Then a new job came along in some wonderful hunting country but the chain smoking fsea level flatlander had a bit of a problem with the altitude. I started looking forsomething and the local hardware store had a Remington 660 on sale cheap. Well, I was a lot lighter than my old 9.5 pound Springfield so i paid the fireight and a cheaie Bushnell scope and some ammo. Boy was that thing loud.
I finally got it sighted in and went hunting It was a lot better that the 06 s far as carrying it went but was so darn butt fugly. That year, i was hunting with my buddies. I was maybe 200 yards to their left when they started shooting. A very nice Mule Deer buck took off running and I got a shot off at what was later paced off at 427 paces. Hmm. Maybe the .308 ain't so bad after all. I got rid of the fugly stock and had my local gunsmith do me a nice Mannlicher style stock and hunted with that until a fall left with a two piece stock. That was in 1979 as I recall. I replaced that stock with one of H&S Precision stocks that they were making back in 1980. it worked out so well that I bought another for a Remington M700 in 30-06 that I acquired for less than wholesale price. I don't use them much anymore as my current pet .308 is a Ruger M77 RSI, the one with the wood all the way to the muzzle. Now tht I thik about it, I haven't shot the 06 in quite a few years. Wonder what that mean?
Paul B.

one of the best all around cartridges ever designed.

The FXIII 6x42 is as heavy as a VXII 3-9x40, and nearly as big... too big for the svelt Montana 308 for my taste. In my opinion, the point of a fixed 6x is a smaller, lighter scope than a 3-9... if I were willing to have a scope as large as a 6x42 on a Little Sky, I'd sooner it be a 3-9x40.

In no particular order, my three top scopes for the Little Sky:

VXII 2-7x33 LR
FXII 6x36 LR
VXIII 2.5-8x36 B&C

The 308 Win is possibly my favorite cartridge. Kicks noticeably less than a 30-06, but does nearly the same, but in a smaller, lighter, handier package. I've used mine to take elk, whitetail deer and my first mule deer fell to the 308.

If I were told I could only hunt with a 308 the rest of my life I'd be entirely satisfied I'd never lack in power for anything I hunt here in Montana.

I'd likely load up a 168 Ballistic Tip and fill up one of Mark's Arks...

How 'bout a fixed 4 and a Turner 1903??




I'm thinking that once I get my 2-7x33 LR back from Leupold, it'll go on the 308 for a while.

I'm seriously getting rid of all my bolt guns except the Montana 308 and the new 260 thats on the way. The fixed 4 might get put on my flat-top AR carbine for a calling rifle.




To the OP, a light handy 308 is about the closest thing to a perfect all 'rounder. My arsenal is about to be 223, 260rem, 308, 375H&H.

A 308 pretty much sends 165 bullets with .480-.520 BCs out of a 22" tube at 2750. Which, BTW, is a magic equation for dead schitt.

I am also a .308 fan. My family has always been Remington 742/7400 people in mostly .30-06, but I was the rebel when I got one in .308 back in the 70's. In Minnesota forests the remington semi auto is popular. I later ended up buying a 7400 in 3006 from a coworker who needed money now (still have that and use it on occassion).. But by and large I have always favored the .308 as my main big game cartridge. Since moving to Texas years ago I usually use a .308 bolt mainly with 165 grain cartridges. The current one is a Sako. Does what I need it to do and with less recoil than a 3006/7mm mag/300 mag.

Macs post pretty much says it all to me. I'd likely work up a load with Varget and 165 Sierra HPBT or the 168 NBT and go forth and take to filling arks..

Dober

Got alot of 308 fans in this world. Thanks for all the replies.

Would put the hurt on Charlies ass with an M60 or M14.

A 308 with a 165 is slicker than greased eel [bleep].

Dig my .308. Got another one that shoots fat bullets to go with it (aka 338Fed)

GeoW--You forgot one

Just took my new RSI 308 for its first walk in the woods today.

Every big game animal I've taken since I got started hunting big game in 1982 would have fallen easily to a .308 Win.

Ahhh, I did miss one. That Minigun would definitely establish superior firepower, plus, I bet it was a Hell of a hoot to shoot

I am impressed with how many people are fans of the 308 here. In South Dakota it doesn't seem to get a lot of love but a lot of the guys I have hunted with have became interested after seeing it perform. One of the best all around cartridges ever IMHO.

Yes GeoW-- Sound of a fog horn going off. When she was good she was good ,but because of our own mounting system and setup she did jam up more so than I would like. The teapot steam hissing sound that I always hear is a by product of the Minigun. I have a recording on a CD of me firing that minigun in May of 1971. A recording was made with a small hand held tape recorder and later on a CD. -- The M2 .50 was the bread 'n' butter. Web P.S. I do most of my buck hunting with my .308--own two

Always been a fan of the .308's offsprings, but never got the daddy till a year or so back. Now we have (in order of appearance at my house): .243, .358, and the .30 version; son swapped my favorite .308 Improved (the Remington 6.5 version) last fall but I wanna get a replacement.

Our LTR .308 has felled 3 whitetail so far (with Federal 165 TBs which it dotes on; yes, it's an elk load), and a borrowed Weatherby UL in that caliber took another WT a few years back.

This is where it started for me....killing this small mule deer buck with my Remington Model 600 in .308. I shoveled a lot of snow and mowed a lot of grass to earn enough money to buy it...brand new for $75.00!! Between then and now a lot of rifles have passed through my hands...It seems its kind of came full cicle. Currently I own 7 different .308's in a variety of shapes and sizes, from heavy tactical setups to 7 pound lightweight mountain rifles. I've never felt under gunned packing a .308.

One of my favorite loads is the 155 Lapua Scenar using Hodgdons Varget. I'm able to get 2950fps in my .308's with 24" to 26" barrels. The BC of that bullet is .508. Do the comparisons on that bullet and velocity and you might be surprised what it will out perform(sorry .270 fans).BTW, Scenars in my experience perform on par with Berger VLD's as a hunting bullet...

Durable? Very!! My most accurate rifle is a Heavy tactical Surgeon built .308. at this time it has 4000+ rounds through it and still shoots in the .3's and .4's. My bore scope indicates there is a lot of life left in it. I have friends who have put 10,000+ rounds through their .308's and they still shoot MOA or better....thats a lot of trigger time and that adds up to proficientcy. Anyway thats my opinion...Gotta go...taking the boys out in the prairie shoot the high powers...think I'll throw in a couple .308's.....grin!

Neat pic Pat. Did you use the 155 Scenar for your latest volunteer across the pond?

Also, how do you see the debate tween the 308 and 7/08?

Gracais

Dober

Pat,

Thanks for the photo etc. My first real hunting rifle was a Savage 99 .308--that I wish I still had!

A couple of years ago here on the Campfire I stated that the .308 and .270 were basically the same thing. Of course I was talking ballistic performance rather than case dimensions, but I was called all kinds of an idiot by several .270 adherents. So I'm glad that there's at least one other idiot posting here....

Mark, That was the bullet of choice...

Love the 7/08....having one built as we speak. Have shot head to head with friends shooting them and they probably have a slight edge on a .308 past 700 meters...but not much. Past there I grab my .338 Lapua.....grin!



This is the exit hole on a my red stag from a few weeks ago....range was 208 meters. 155 Scenar @ 2950fps. Mature stags weigh about 500 pounds...maybe the size of a raghorn bull elk.

I personally believe there is very little difference in killing power between any of the standard cal, 06, 308, 270, 280 the list goes on. The difference in power is determined by the bullet you use and not the case that starts it out the barrel. A bullet that penetrates to the vitals of the animal doesn't care which case it was fired from. When i was a lad the deer rifle a boy dreamed of owning was the Win 94 in 30-30 and i still love this combination for deer. Plus the 308 is one of the best.

Let me tell you a short story that has not been written in the US mags.

The Dean of Aussie Gunwriters is an old Pro 'roo shooter called Nick Harvey. Nick has been writing since about 1962 so is rather well known there and elswhere.

Nick was a .308 Norma Magnum user for many, many, years and it was his preferred cartridge when he visited far away lands or hunted seriously.

Back in the 70's Nick got a then new Miroku (Browning to US readers) lever rifle in .308. Nick hunted with it extensively and repored (as has Mule Deer), that actual field performance was often indistinguishable to tHe larger magnums, resulting in him dropping his beloved .308 Norma, and seeking a light weight bolt action to replace it.

Well, In the late 70's, such a rifle did not exist.

Nick found a used Remington 600 and did some modification to the bolt and stock and it became his regular hunting rifle.

About that time, the brass at Remington visited Nick and he took them on an Aussie style cull hunt. No tags, no DOW, no seasons, no limits,a normal Aussie hunt.

They were so impressed with Nick's mongrel short action .308 that with his colaboration, it became the Model 7 you all know and accept today.

JW

Fantastic all-around cartridge, one of my favorites.

Dino

Many years ago I used a Savage 110 S in 308, my MS rifle for a LR rifle, I could knockdown rams at 500 meters offhand and it worked well on deer under that.

For still hunting I had a Savage 99 308 with the barrel cut to 16 1/2", with 180gr RN's it was murder on deer in the forest of northern MN & WI. My nephew is still slaying them up there with it.

erich

One of the coolest 308's I've ever seen is in the pages of RL Wilson's "Ruger And His Guns"... it's an early Ruger 77 Flatbolt that an Australian professional hunter used to take over 10,000 head of game. If a rifle could talk...

Another thing I like about the 308 is it's the single easiest round to get grouping of any round I've ever loaded for.

A five pound rifle with a two pound sling?

I know, I know....

Actually, last night I had nothing better to do than weigh my hunting crap on a scale.

A Montana in 308 with an FXII 4x Loopy and Talley LWs goes 5.75 Lbs. The turner and hardware goes 10.4 Oz... A Brownells Latigo and hardware goes 7 Oz.

So as seen in my pic (other than its wearing Talley LWs now) that rifles goes 6.39 Lbs, all up with the Turner I can live with that

I will admit though... I've been afraid of putting that setup on the scale for the last 6 months. I would've (and did) guess the whole shebang at 7 1/4. I'd never been so glad to be wrong

Good pic, kind of like the pic of the venado that Steelhead posts taken with his 62 TSX, only on a slightly bigger scale...

Dober

Melvin Forbes states that his Model 20 in .308 rolls off the line at 4 1/2 pounds. Nice! That would spoil me rotten!

It just seems to work - point, bang, dead animal...

My first rifle was a single shot Handi rifle in 308, and have since owned 4 others. Each has been great. I've used .270 and 30-06 as well, but .308 is just as deadly, shorter, lighter, less recoil and (IMHO) the easiest to load for, of the common CF rounds.

Ain't a day goes by that I don't dream up a new .308 win build.

Gotta say reading this thread has certainly clouded my 260 or 7-08 decision!! LOL

Yessir, I wish I had the extra cheese for one myself.

The 308 is the probably the cartridge I recommend the most to folks, but it's also the cartridge I use the least. Go figure

You could always AI one

If Mauser had ever put the 98 in a 308, it could only be the "other" combination to surpase the 8x57.

Correction - I meant surpass. Too many cream ales.

Solid performer, but nothing flashy.

The .308 is a round that every sportsman/shooter should own!

I say the same thing about a lot of cartridges .

308 is a great round

I still think the .308 is the quintessential multi purpose round.

Aussie,

Good story, I didn't know that. I have never owned a .308 but my best bud in my younger years hunted with one and I personally saw all his carnage and have no doubts about the ability of the cartridge.

..versatility. What other cartridge is chambered for rifles as small as a 16.5" Scout to a 26" barreled sniper rifle...

Bob

Our LTR is a chunky monkey compared to a NULA at slightly more than 9 lbs. sans sling and ammo but continue to be amazed at its accuracy.

Fired a three-shot group last weekend that measured .51 with the 150 gr. Federal PowerShok. Impact was .5 higher at 75 degrees than it was when zeroed at 30 degrees.

Since we primarily hunt deer from treestands here the weight isn't much of an issue.

If tornados weren't in today's forecast I'd be going to my reloading den next county over and putting together some 110 Sierra HP loads I hope will be accurate as the bargain 150 SP.

Time to zap some varmints with it, though it's definitely portly for a walking varminter.

I agree!!! That's where the rest of us get our 7/08 lapua brass from.

Someday every one will own a 7/08 (or a 270)

I'll never be without a 308 again. I spent way too much of my hunting career chasing bigger and better. Now I am back to my roots. I have a nifty little 700 in 308 & a nifty little Sako Finnlight in 300 Wsm. Covers all the bases.

I've posted on the 'fire a number of times about my thing for the .308 - ever since the mid-60's, when it was my first centerfire.

What a wonderful balance of shootability, versatility, accuracy, and lethality.

I've messed with a few other popular cartridges, but I always seem to come back to the .308 as my favorite. I own a few guns chambered thusly, and the little round has never let me down: elk, moose, deer, hogs, etc. have all been taken cleanly and quickly. What's not to like?

and you can get surplus ammo to shoot at a reasonable price..

I agree. 270, 280, 30-06, 308 Win. Potato - pototto, tomato - tomotto.....

Put me on the idiot list.

You know, I kinda got caught up in all the hype a bunch of years ago. Bought me a short mag, didn't like it, sold it, good riddens. Bought me one of those ultra mags, same thing. I keep going back to my 270, 06 and 7/06. Still have and like the 257, 6mm and my 25/06, but rarely do I take them hunting anymore. If fact I am thinking on getting rid of all but my 06 and 300win for big game, keep my 6mm and down for everything else. Who knows, but it's a good read just the same.