Are 308 rifles really as good as I glorify them out to be in my head? Folks try and say you need magnum caliber rifles to hunt big game but I honestly believe that a good ol 308 can take down any animal in north America efficiently. Am I mistaken? Should I be leaning towards the 7mm rem mag or a 30-06?
308s worth buying?
- Thread starter Coleith
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What are you realistically going to hunt, and at what ranges? How comfortable are you with recoil? How much do you want to spend on ammunition?
.308 has been filling freezers for a long time, and is pretty tame and affordable for a capable hunting cartridge.
Besides, if some day you decided to go for something real big/long range, it's a great excuse to buy a new gun!
Follow the link and you tell us what one should buy, lol.
There is No Easy answer...even if you have the Staples Easy Button on your desk...
Rob
I was super happy with the short, single shot 308 I once had. I foolishly sold it to a family member as I now only hunt in a shotgun only wmu. As others have said, grab one if you can. Dammit. Now I really want mine back.
Many of my hunting buddys are switching to muzzle braked magnums.
Not a need, but sometimes magnums are quite nice to have at your disposal. If I was building STRICTLY a big game rifle. It would be chambered in some 7mm magnum like round. Good ballistics, manageable recoil, lethal on all American game beyond 500m. Even shooting deer point blank isn't as devastating as some make it out to be. Pick an appropriate bullet, aim for the ribs rather then the shoulder.... the wound channel wont look any different then .308.
The only reason why I would chose a .308 is if the rifle was also for target shooting. And even then 6.5 Creedmore becomes a real contender for that dual purpose role aswell.
They can be. The 308 is a great cartridge. You don't need a magnum. The 308 is capable of killing anything in N America. The majority of people I've met who insist on a magnum, are using that to compensate for the fact they can't shoot for sh1t.
I own four 308's. I didn't intentionally follow the 308, it just kind of ended up that way.
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I would argue that the 308 win is not enough for several critters in North America.. Bison comes to mind first.. then there's the big furry predators.. Kinda unethical on them.. not that you couldn't.. but poking a bear.. is what it is.. ( referencing Polar and Kodiak/Grizzly ) In the end it comes down to energy being delivered.. and of course shot placement and bullet design. But for most hunting it will work.. Comparing it to modern cartridges with magnum capacity is just well.. not the same.. If it's enough for you.. your good to go. But there are many much more effective cartridges. The 308win, 30-06 and even the 6.5 Creedmore were intended to be used on humans in the original design concept. Not saying you can't or shouldn't.. but more is better in many ways.. Cheers
Big Bad
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Before the .308 took top spot, .30-06 rounds were the most widely available in North America, with .303 British coming a close second or even first place in Canada, thanks to all the WWII surplus Lee-Enfields and ammo, but both the older rounds are becoming scarce now compared to .308. General availability counts for a lot with me, plus the ability to easily buy different bullet weights and less expensive target ammo, so .308 takes the prize.
I’ve got 5. ….same thing happened to me…
For an all around do everything rifle, a 7 RM or 7 SAUM would get the nod. Not a significant step up in recoil, and a huge step up in versatility.
Can a .308 do it? Absolutely it can and has. It just does it with some compromises.
R.
If you can place the shot where it needs to go with a bullet that will penetrate then of course. My great grandfather used to use a 38 S&W revolver with a single round. He would snowshoe up the moose as it was struggling through the deep snow and pop one into the head. My grandfather during the depression used a .22LR with a single round to kill moose to feed his mother and brothers. He would wait until they got close enough that he knew he wouldn't miss and shoot them in the brain.
Great Hunting and Target rifle cartridge - lots of 308s shot in F TR Class ! 
