Best "quiver" from the 308 family?

With all due respect to the 308 "family" [I own a 260 and a 243]

I do prefer the 30-06 and it's offspring, and the 7x57 and it's offspring more. [6mm Rem, 257 Bob, 7x57; 270 Win, 280 Rem, 30-06, 8mm-06, 35 Whelen]

Just a personal thing....nothing to do with the potential of the 308 based chamberings.

Cheers, Dave.
 
tylerjwitty said:
Worse thungs to debate , like 222 for moose for example
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I have a .22LR put aside for moose. Funny you should mention that! :nest:

Okay, I'm just kidding. :evil: I'm a .308 lover, that said, I'm competing in Precision rifle matches to 800m using a 260 Rem, but I hunt moose and deer with a .308. :D

One thing about the popularity of the .260 Rem.... the Remmy builders have included a Model 700 SPS in .260 Rem for a factory offering these days. Well, that's nice but every Remmy dealer is out of stock with these new chamberings; the .260 Rem. :eek:

Cheers,
Barney
 
I've owned and hunted with most of the calibers based on the .308 case except for the .22 & .338 versions. They all do a fine job with my favorite ones being .243, .308 & .358.

A .375-08 would be a fun bush thumper chambered in a Remmy 760 pump gun. Happy debatin'.;)
 
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mkrnel said:
Maybe you might want to reconsider the .338 Federal as I think it is about to become a obsolete cartridge, I don't know why.

Has anyone had any safety problems with this calibre? I am wondering why Federal has discontinued two factory loads and why Sako, Tikka, Kimber, Ruger and Thompson Center have stopped the manufacturing of rifles in the 338 Federal. Now Midway USA has listed that Federal has discontinued new brass, and apparently new .338 Federal ammo has disappeared off the gunshop shelves!
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It s a Sales deal for sure - Very Limited ! No more obsolete then the 358 Win is - How many rifles are for sale chambered in the 358 Win now ? as for saftey problesms NO NONE ! they are the same case with just a diff diameter bullet .338 vs .358 - 20 thou is all ! RJ
 
hoytcanon said:
So, that clearly settles the debate in your shop... doesn't do much to settle the debate in anyone else's shop and certainly not on CGN... but IMO it is a pointless debate anyway... pick the one that grabs your attention and go with it... it is just splitting hairs.
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You are correct Sir in all respects- they are so CLOSE in performance -! and it was just a troll with a baited hook i threw out for Kevan to bite and he did ! :D LOL RJ
 
Wrong Way said:
Well I loooooove my .338 Fed. Little tiny Ruger Frontier stainless/laminate, VX3 2.5-8 x 36 on top....that little 16" barrel is loud, but my god it's accurate. Well under 1 inch groups at 100, and legs to reach North of 400 yards
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Like 63/64ths... or more like 31/32nds... or possibly 15/16ths???
 
the 358 doesn't seemed chambered for many rifles anymore. Is it moslty lever actions? Is it still offered in bolt actions?
 
Is there a none of the above option?

For us esoteric types, if it didn't exist pre-1945, you are unlikely to see it at my house, except for the .22-250 which is an un-paralelled varmint performer.

How about .300 Savage? It's a .308 with class that can be had in a nice pre-war Savage 99.

Or how about the .30-30 family of cartridges?

And I'd take a.35 Remington over a .358 Winchester in a bush gun lever most days.

YMMV:)
 
Wrong Way said:
Well I loooooove my .338 Fed. Little tiny Ruger Frontier stainless/laminate, VX3 2.5-8 x 36 on top....that little 16" barrel is loud, but my god it's accurate. Well under 1 inch groups at 100, and legs to reach North of 400 yards
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What exactly have you hunted and harvested with it at 400 yards, to give it such a glowing endorsement? Have you pics of the bullet taken from 400 yard killed critter..........or is this more hypothetical conjecture based on paper ballistics as opposed to actually killing something at 400 yds?
 
tylerjwitty said:
If you cant knock down a big deer with a 260 , you have some issues
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Sure I can knocked over deer with a .260. I've knocked over many deer with the .243. What's your point?

This is is just my preference. If you don't like you know what you can do. Sounds like you have issues with people who don't share your point of view. Get used to it.
 
vpsalin said:
the 358 doesn't seemed chambered for many rifles anymore. Is it moslty lever actions? Is it still offered in bolt actions?
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I can't speak to bolt actions but in levers, options are running out quickly or gone. You can still find NIB .358 Browning BLRs if you beat the bushes but I believe these are no longer in production.

At one time Winchester, Savage and Browning all chambered levers in .358 Win.
 
Of all the .308 based cartridges to have come down the pike, I think the most useful of them all is the .308. Frankly, from the military's point of view, the short necked .300 Savage would have done everything required, and would have done it in a slightly smaller package, but it wouldn't have been new, so since the '50s we've had the .308. The .308 is an excellent choice for the hunter wishing to carry a small rifle with the ballistic capability of a large one.

Loaded with light weight bullets, it covers the same ground as the .243, and with heavy for caliber bullets it crowds out the small capacity mediums. The .308 is at it's best a general purpose cartridge, and this is no faint praise, as its far easier to design a cartridge for a single specific task than it is to design one which does a multitude of things well, that the niche cartridge is unsuited for. The .243 is a better varmint cartridge, but the .308 covers that with a fragile, light weight bullet, whereas the .308 is a better heavy game choice. The .338 and .358 are better heavy game cartridges, but the .308 is better for whacking that distant coyote, and can be had with bullets less likely to ricochet off rocks and or frozen ground.

The 7-08 is often cited as a superior cartridge, as bullets of equal SD are lighter, so generate higher velocity with less recoil. On the face of it, this is an advantage difficult to counter, until we come to realize that much heavier bullets are available in .308 than in 7mm. The heaviest 7mm bullet is the long 180 VLD from Berger, which takes up so much powder space that if the cartridge is to be fed through the magazine of a short action rifle, it looses the advantage against the mundane .308/220 gr. flat base game bullet. So if you have use for a 6 pound carbine length rifle, chambered for a cartridge that is literally suitable for all game from mice to moose, over typical big game hunting ranges, the .308 really has no peer.
 
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Boomer said:
Loaded with light weight bullets, it covers the same ground as the .243...
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I'm with you on everything but the above point... they may share the same case but 0.065" in bore diameter makes a huge difference in the sort off bullets that can be effectively used at distance. For .243, the 58-100 grain range is ideal and for .308 the 130-180 range is ideal... they both have a niche that only overlaps at specific points for specific applications... IMO.
 
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I have an A-Bolt in 7mm-08 that I've had for 20 years and used for everything in that time. Coyotes to moose and everything in between. That being said, I roll my own so I don't know if that factors into the idea behind the OP's question. TNTs for varmints, 145/139s for deer, 175s for moose.

I have a .308 as well, but with certain bullet weights the 08 shoots flatter at longer ranges. Other than that, no real big difference, but I've just used the A-Bolt for so long that I know where it's gonna hit and trust it.
 
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