30-06 or 308?

.308 has a better barrel life. That translates into savings that could be channeldd into more practice which can indirectly help accuracy.
 
Garand said:
For the average shooter it really makes little difference, both are accurate out to a minimum of 600 yards and very few hunters I have ever met practise enough to be competent shots past 300 yards. For those that reload, they both use the same bullets! They both use .308" diameter bullets.
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^^^This

Not to start the whole ethical hunting long range thingy...but i guess i am. Very few hunters have the skill to shoot long range. Most that do spend more money each year on ammo, than the OP is contemplating on the whole rig. There is a complete difference between hitting the edge of a 12" gong at 600 yards with a spent bullet, and trying this against a game animal. Someone had a long range thread a month or so ago. Question was ...best long range 900 yard hunting caliber...best answer: 30/30 from 100 yards after a 800 yard stalk.
 
Sorry if I stirred this $**t about long range hunting, I was just trying to point two things out. First 308 is not designed to JUST shoot lighter 150 grain bullets, it actually shines with heavier bullets. Second 308 has more then enough velocity & energy to do the job within the ranges most hunters feel comfortable, in other words 30-06 is not NEEDED in most cases.
Lastly both can be made accurate, with more stuff available for 308(read what Jerry said), it'll be easier on everything from shoulder to wallet.

I have worked for Bass Pro for little bit and I was surprised to see how many people were buying 300 win mag and 270 to hunt deer within 200 yards coz they thought 308 is only to punch paper at 100 yards and no I'm not exaggerating while saying that.
 
Awesome stuff guys thanx for the info. Got some deciding to do. I mainly wanted to know if 08 was more accurate than 06 like i was told, which after reading the responses, is wrong
 
The thing that matters most is the bullets. And both cases shoot the same size bullets. Since 30-06 is a longer cases, it will shoot heavier bullets faster than 308win. So figure out what bullets you want to shoot, and how fast, then pick the case you need to shoot your bullets at the desired speed and weight.
 
calgarycanada said:
I vote for 308
Not sure why people think 308 can't handle heavy bullets. According to Bryan Litz 220 grain is ideal weight for 308 win. 'Experts' shooting heavies in 308 in competitions prove that to be true. I shoot 208 amax out of my 308, 1/2 moa easy. According to Shooter (ballistic calculator), 308 has 1000 ft lb of energy(lot of hunters will argue but most agree that to be enough with right bullets) upto 700 meters(in my current conditions), that's using my load with 178 grain target bullets, so your results may vary but still 500yards is not a problem for 308. But amax is considered to be decent for hunting, with 208 Amax, 1000 ft lb energy is available upto (over) 900 meters. So if you can shoot it accurately enough, deer sized animal is within kill range upto almost a kilometre using 308win.
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This seems to almost be the same argument of a .223 vs a .22-250, the both shoot the same projectile but one will wear out a barrel faster than the other.
I like the short action of the .308 because as stated it seems to lock up tighter. and it will take pretty much any animal in NA, up to 300m. its easy on the wallet for target/practice shooting also.
 
Unless you are shooting structured competition that requires the .308, there is no particular reason to chose either.

For all the talk about the .308 being a target cartridge, if you go to provincial rifle association match you will quickly find that even the .308 shooters know they have the worst cartridge there. That's excluding the occasional soul packing a .223 trying to be brave and not attract any attention to himself. If there wasn't a separate for those two there wouldn't be one there.

For the hunting portion, your choice of caliber makes a lot less difference then the fuss we make about it would indicate.


If your choice is between the .308 and the 30-06 for a build, just remember that the choices for 30-06 magazine systems is decidedly meager. That could be a deciding factor.
 
TFunfer said:
Accurate-Mag still lists a 30-06 mag on their website. MDT used to offer that mag but I don't see it listed on their website anymore.
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Now unobtanium... afaik, import of accurate mag products has stopped...

But you never know if something new will kick up.

The gap between FTR and Open will always be there but it is alot smaller then it once was....

Jerry
 
There is certainly nothing wrong with either and I wouldn't hesitate building a 30-06 .
I am building one myself on German Salazar's reamer design the 30-06 Serengeti , mine will be a 26 " barrel in a bull sporter contour with an 11 twist that I just finished .
The 30-06 can be very accurate and so can the 308 so unless you decide you want to shoot f restricted with it build either one and have fun with it.

Like some guys have mentioned the 06 mag might be hard to get , the one I Am building already has the mag box as it was a sporter.
 
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Mystic Precision said:
Now unobtanium... afaik, import of accurate mag products has stopped...

But you never know if something new will kick up.

The gap between FTR and Open will always be there but it is alot smaller then it once was....

Jerry
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Too bad MDT isn't bringing them in anymore, I had been thinking of doing a 6.5-06 build and using an AICS 2.0 Chassis I've got kicking around. I had planned to get the 30-06 mags from MDT, but it looks like Cadex Defense still lists magazines from Accurate-Mag. The .30-06 mags would probably be special order though.
 
I just sold a Rem 700 30-06, partly to fund a new DD AR and partly because as I started to look at ways to upgrade the market for 30-06 stuff was kinda slim compared to 308. If I do decide to add another precision rifle (have a .223 and .338LM now) it'll be .308.
 
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