308 or 30-06?

The OP stated he does not reload. Less or around 100ft/s difference in factory ammo is nothing. Factory ammo prices are the same. In a bolt gun a shorter cycle is a plus for the 308. I use both and use indentical model guns, recoil for the 30-06 is a slight bit more, but again no huge difference. My vote is a.............tie, both are great.
 
I prefer the 308 because of recoil. However if I were going to include grizzly or bison the 30-06 would be better since it can handle 220 bullets.
 
"...buying a bolt action rifle..." You want a long action of a short action? That's the only difference between two rifles in either chambering. The '06 has about 100 fps more velocity in like bullet weights, you can use slightly heavier max bullet weights(220 vs 200) and it's a half inch longer. Other than that the two cartridges are ballistically identical. There's no real reason to use a 220 vs a 200 or any heavy bullet. A 165 will work just as well out of either.
"...cheap ammo is more readily available..." Not any more. The days of inexpensive 7.62 NATO ball are long gone.
 
Just make sure the action is a short action if you want to use .308 win as I have owned 2 rifles over the years that had only 1 action size to begin with. They initially chambered them for .30-06 length cartridges. Once they started putting shorter .308 length ammo through the same length action, the magazine/follower and bolt would occasionally bind up the round, or the round would dig into the ramp and missfeed, mainly because there is a lot of extra travel for the round that could result in misalignment on the way to the chamber. Just saying that its irrelevant which round you use. The .30-06 roughly sees about 50-100 f/s improvement in speed, but needs a longer action which can flex and be inherently slightly less accurate. It is a LOT better to get a .30-06 if you plan on using bigger bullets, cause that's where it pulls away from the .308 win. (180 grain and bigger) All my reloading manuals can get 180's and 200 gr bullets about 200f/s faster or more in the .30-06. Also, cause you are from NORTH AMERICA, you need a .30-06 anyhow. Its our "Mauser" round.
For the record, I love both rounds, and have now got 9 rifles chambered in both rounds total. They are just plain must haves.
 
canadaman30 said:
The OP stated he does not reload. Less or around 100ft/s difference in factory ammo is nothing. Factory ammo prices are the same. In a bolt gun a shorter cycle is a plus for the 308. I use both and use indentical model guns, recoil for the 30-06 is a slight bit more, but again no huge difference. My vote is a.............tie, both are great.
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This is where the flip of a coin comes in handy,I have rifles in both chamberings and for the AVERAGE guy there is precious little difference between them,at least that has been my experience over the years.
 
Both are good, but for a hunting rifle the advantage goes to the 30-06 simply because of its extra performance all around and especially with the heavier bullets. If you're buying hunting ammo., both are very close in price and both can be found pretty much everywhere.
For target shooting I think the advantage goes to 308....seems to have a slight edge in accuracy up to 600 yards (from what I've read, as I"m not a competitive shooter) and maybe up to 1000yards.
 
308. Differences in ballistics are so minimal at ranges that most hunters shoot the majority of the time that it doesnt matter at all. And significantly cheaper practice ammo. And its a short action. And lighter recoil.

My favourite cartridge!
 
hoytcanon said:
If they are the same, then why do blondes have more fun??? And since the saying is "racy blonde" then I suppose the .30/06 is the blonde... So we have a Ginger vs Mary-Anne sort of dilemma (yes, I know Ginger was a redhead... You get the point)... And on that issue, I always go with Mary-Anne... She's cute enough, annd will be there when you need her... And so again, I'll take the .308.
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Cause they're easier to spot in the dark! ;)

I'm typing this from my beam me up scotty while sitting in the deer stand and there is an ol ought six layin across my lap.
 
so similar.

I shoot a .308 short action for big game.

Whatever floats your boat. .308 doesn't kick too hard and I have never needed more than one shot on big game.
 
Find the rifle you like the best. It might then be available in one caliber or the other. For hunting purposes, the two calibers are about the same. But there is a big difference in some of the rifles.
 
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