308 or 30-06?

fishslinger

fishslinger

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Looking at buying a bolt action rifle and cant decide between the 30-06 or 308. The rifle will mostly be used for hunting deer, black bear and moose. I am also planning trips for caribou and elk. During the off season I also plane on taking the rifle to the range for some occasional informal target practice, this is one of the resones I have been leaning twords the 308. As I have herd it has less recoil very accurate and cheaper to shoot then the 30-06. I don't reload ammo but am wondering would I be giving up a lot of performance for hunting with the 308? Would I be better served with the 30-06 for my needs?
 
I hunt with a 30-06 but I kinda wish I had a 308 just because cheap ammo is more readily available. Performance-wise the two rounds are almost identical. They're both good all-around hunting cartridges for deer, bear or moose.
 
I have both, I shoot both. I've hunted for going on 40 years. My choice is as follows


I prefer 30.06 for hunting, there are more bullet weights available, they cost the same as an equal box of 308. There is nothing that a 308 can do that a 30.06 cannot. A 30.06 can pack more powder and is efficient with a much heavier load than 308. I still have my first 30.06 rifle from my early teens when I weighed a hundred pounds. I've shot bullets from 125gr to 250 grains.


Recoil is proportional to the weight of the rifle, not the bullet. IE: a 150gr will kick the same in both bullets assuming that both rifles are the same weight.


If I pick one hunting bullet, its 30.06
 
Both are equal, and very good cartridges. They are both also quite different.
The 308 fits in short actions, this is a big plus, the minus is that heavier and longer bullets don't fit all that we'll in that length.
The 30-06 will give a bit more velocity, it will handle all 308 diameter bullets, but, of course, it takes a long action to do it.
Both are on my top list though :)
Ivor
 
I own both and I like the .30/06 more. But if a light, short action, hunting rifle has caught your imagination, the .308 is a good choice. In order to appreciate any difference in recoil between the two, they would have to be chambered in similar weight rifles, but a full size .30/06 might be more pleasant to shoot than a fly weight .308. With respect to accuracy, there would be as a greater difference in accuracy between two off the shelf hunting rifles of the same model, than there is intrinsically between the two cartridges. While you might detect an advantage in accuracy in favor of the .308 when both are chambered in bench rest rifles firing match ammo, when chambered in a hunting rifle, there is no way you could exploit any accuracy advantage one might have over the other.
 
Sakoman .308 said:
I have been told that with the right ammo, and proper shot placement .308 will do the trick on larger game.
Click to expand...

You've been told exactly right. The choice of bullet is just a bit more important, as you will generally be using lighter bullets.
Ivor
 
My first rifle I bought in the 60's was the 30-06 and it was a great hunting rifle. I am now a .308 guy if I have to choose between the two, I just gave my son a Sako 85 in .308 and still have a Remmington 700 5R Mil-spec that is deadly accurate. I like short action rifles and my other 2 main hunting rifles .243 and 7mm-08 are both based on the .308 cartridge. If you want to shoot targets besides hunt I think the .308 is the only way to go. Cheers Roscoe
 
It used to be said that the 30/06 had the advantage with heavier bullets but with lighter bullets like the TSX or TTSX the gap between the two is nil.

I'd go 308 in a short action.
 
anything the 308 can do the 30 06 can do better ....... except price for factory ammo esp if you buy from can am and don't reload i own both :D
 
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