.30-06 Springfield and .308 Winchester

[RayMan]

All right, the question is simple (and can probably be made very, very complicated): Which of the two performs better at longer ranges? I've Google'd and have come to threads full of half-truths, and rather voodoo things that seem to make the physics-educated skeptic in me scream.

My intuition tells me that, if the projectiles are the same mass, shape, size, ballistic co-efficient, etc. (and the rifles are the approximately the same), the .30-06, in general, will be the [marginally] better long range performer, because it has a marginally higher muzzle velocity, hence will have a slightly flatter trajectory, and will be traveling faster at distance with more kinetic energy.

Looking at ballistics tables seems to be rather inconclusive, and that would indicate to me that the 30-40 m/s difference is probably not of significant consequence. Maybe I just need some people with a little more experience to tell me that.

What are your thoughts?

 

[wcmd]

http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=396078&highlight=308

 

[RayMan]

Thank you. Search function always seems to throw back no results for me. Don't know why.

 

[Hook]

You have to use advanced search, then go to search options and change the find posts from timeline to something a lot further back from a week ago.

 

[cdngunner]

Thank you. Search function always seems to throw back no results for me. Don't know why.

Yah took me a while to figure it out.

Got to tell it how far back to search

 

[2bad4u2]

With modern propellants and the latest match grade bullets, the .30-06 is very capable of long range accuracy. There's been some resurgence in popularity of the cartridge for those who believe a .300 Win. Mag. is just too much of a good thing.

Go to SnipersHide.com and look up a poster by the name of Montana Marine. He's done a ton of experimenting with the .30-06 and is well documented if you have the time/inclination to do some reading.

When you start getting into the heavier .30 cal bullets, that's where the .30-06 begins to pull ahead of the .308 Win.

It all depends on what you are trying to achieve. The .308 Win. by far is the more popular of the two and as such you'll find a plethora of information on ballistics and reloading data. From a flexaility point of view, the .308 Win. is the clear choice.

 

[RayMan]

Thank you, guys.

 

[wcmd]

Your welcome,
Buy both
wcmd

 

[H4831]

I don't know why a physics educated person would have to look up such a thing. As you state they use the same bullets, so let's assume 180 grain.
I think every ammunition chart printed for the 30-06 shows the 180 grain bullet as having a muzzle velocity of 2700 fps. This is on paper. Just chronograph your 30-06 with this ammunition. The chrono will likely read in the low 2500s.
This is because the 30-06 has been around for over 100 years and out there someplace must be some pretty sad looking rifles. The loading companies do not like being sued, for blowing up some old firearm. So they load them way down, for all 30-06 rifles.
The 308, on the other hand is designed for modern rifles and loaded to much higher pressures. Therefore, with factory loads the two are about identical.
If you have a modern 30-06 in good condition, you can handload it to the same pressures as the 308, and have a far superior cartridge.

 

[lannard]

well said. what a way to use them words. its almost as if h4831 is reading my mind. i have the same opinion as him. this is the reason i got in to hand rolling in the first place.

 

[Wolf]

You can try this to compare them both:
http://www.winchester.com/LEARNING-CENTER/Pages/Ballistics-Calculator.aspx

 

[Ruffed Grouse]

Assuming near-max pressure loads for both cartridges (i.e. what H4831 said not withstanding), the .30-06 will start to pull away from the 308 in terms of velocity as you get into the higher bullet weights, which are the weights that matter given that your question is about long range performance.

The flip side is accuracy. There is a very small and only potential advantage to the 308, because, (a) shorter actions can potentially be stiffer, and (b) all else being equal, it seems easier to get guns chambered for milder cartridges to shoot.

All of this, though is very nitty-gritty stuff. Other features of any model of a particular firearms will probably be much bigger determinants of your success in using it for long range than whether it is chambered in .308 or .30-06.

RG

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[andrei]

Thank you. Search function always seems to throw back no results for me. Don't know why.

Yeah that happens to many people, it happens to me aswell. Sometimes I click search and it finds nothing then I click search again and finds some results. They should make some improvements on the search option.

 

[Ganderite]

The 308 can be used in a shorter, stiffer action. the 3006 can launch a heavier bullet.

Either can be very effective at long range. i have used the 308 with 150 gr bullets back to 1200 yards. (off elbows with iron sights)