Best "quiver" from the 308 family?

[horseman2]

I have a 243 and a 260.
This is a group shot yesterday at 192 yards. 42 grains of H4350 and a 130 grain Barnes TSX from a guntech custom Remington 700.



I also have a 25-06 and 280 Remington. Had a 270 and my 30-06 is currently owned by my son.

So I subscribe to both the 308 and 30-06 camps.

 

[tylerjwitty]

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.

I forget what my point was but im sure it was a good one hahaha

 

[tylerjwitty]

You stated that a 243 and 260 are for small deer . . I know they are capable of taking the largest of deer . In fact their metric cuz 6.5x 55 has taken many many moose. I think your underrating the chambering and overrating the difficulty to kill a moose or whitetail

Thats my handful of change, take it or leave it .

Everyone should have a 260 even better if its AI

 

[hoytcanon]

Everyone should have a 260 even better if its AI

That's called a 7mm-08...

 

[AP]

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.

This!


(although the OP might have used another metaphor: "best arrow from the .308 family quiver")

 

[tylerjwitty]

That's called a 7mm-08...

does the 7mm 08 come AI from the factory? if not im interested in hearing your reasoning on your opinion

 

[remington jim]

That's called a 7mm-08...

YUP ! a 260 AI is really a 7mm-08 Rem ! RJ

 

[hoytcanon]

does the 7mm 08 come AI from the factory? if not im interested in hearing your reasoning on your opinion

My opinion is based on being down the "AI road" numerous times... it is akin to a dog chasing its tail... all an "AI version" does is recreate the performance of another cartridge which already exists... and for that you get to buy more expensive brass and/or spend time and money fire-forming... to eek out another 100 fps that you don't even need. But oh, how we nutters like to extol the virtues of that extra 100 fps... and convince ourselves it was well worth the money and effort to achieve it, rather than just getting the existing cartridge that matches its performance.

It is like building a 3000 sq.ft. house at a cost of $100/sq.ft. And then adding a 10X10 hand-fitted parquet solarium adjacent to the master bedroom at a cost of $1000/sq.ft... if you just gotta have that solarium and you have the money, then knock yourself out... but personally, I would rather put a bonus room over the garage for $30/sq.ft... hence, 7mm-08.

 

[1MOA]

My opinion is based on being down the "AI road" numerous times... it is akin to a dog chasing its tail... all an "AI version" does is recreate the performance of another cartridge which already exists... and for that you get to buy more expensive brass and/or spend time and money fire-forming... to eek out another 100 fps that you don't even need. But oh, how we nutters like to extol the virtues of that extra 100 fps... and convince ourselves it was well worth the money and effort to achieve it, rather than just getting the existing cartridge that matches its performance.

It is like building a 3000 sq.ft. house at a cost of $100/sq.ft. And then adding a 10X10 hand-fitted parquet solarium adjacent to the master bedroom at a cost of $1000/sq.ft... if you just gotta have that solarium and you have the money, then knock yourself out... but personally, I would rather put a bonus room over the garage for $30/sq.ft... hence, 7mm-08.

Hear hear...

 

[fugawi]

You stated that a 243 and 260 are for small deer . . I know they are capable of taking the largest of deer . In fact their metric cuz 6.5x 55 has taken many many moose. I think your underrating the chambering and overrating the difficulty to kill a moose or whitetail

Thats my handful of change, take it or leave it .

Everyone should have a 260 even better if its AI

Again its preference and my opinion based upon hunting with the .243 in heavy brush for years. I now prefer a bigger bullet for heavy brush and for bigger game.

If you want to shoot a moose with a .243 or .260 that's your business. Their 'cuz', the 6.5x55mm is not 'in the quiver' which is what the OP was asking.

As for .260 AI I think Hoyt said it well enough.

And btw, I'll offer my opinion but as a rule I try to refrain from telling people what the should or shouldn't have - especially when it comes to guns.

Everyone should have a 260 even better if its AI

 

[Big_red_truck]

I wish the the 358 win. Was a more common round , some of the best rounds I find are hard to come by ... Damn shame

 

[tylerjwitty]

Again its preference and my opinion based upon hunting with the .243 in heavy brush for years. I now prefer a bigger bullet for heavy brush and for bigger game.

If you want to shoot a moose with a .243 or .260 that's your business. Their 'cuz', the 6.5x55mm is not 'in the quiver' which is what the OP was asking.

As for .260 AI I think Hoyt said it well enough.

And btw, I'll offer my opinion but as a rule I try to refrain from telling people what the should or shouldn't have - especially when it comes to guns.

Geez your sure mr. Serious

 

[kamlooky]

I wish the the 358 win. Was a more common round , some of the best rounds I find are hard to come by ... Damn shame

Don't be shy, reload the critter.

 

[Kevan]

Don't be shy, reload the critter.

Its the only way to go with the 358, that's when it really comes into its own...

 

[Boomer]

I have a 243 and a 260.
This is a group shot yesterday at 192 yards. 42 grains of H4350 and a 130 grain Barnes TSX from a guntech custom Remington 700.



I also have a 25-06 and 280 Remington. Had a 270 and my 30-06 is currently owned by my son.

So I subscribe to both the 308 and 30-06 camps.

Nice shooting. Its refreshing to see a sub MOA group, dare I say sub half minute group, posted here that wasn't fired from a Savage.

 

[Boomer]

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.

The .243 really shines with the high velocity varmint loads, where the .308 struggles with 110 gr bullets and less velocity. I found that my .243 loaded with 55 gr Nosler Ballistic Tips was exceptionally destructive, but it ran out of the ability to hold on a varmint sized target at 600, which was my longest kill with it, and was a stunt I won't repeat. The .308/110 has similar range limitations, and when I choose to shoot that far I generally choose a heavier bullet, regardless of target. When we get up to 80-100 gr bullets for the .243, we consider it a big game cartridge, but is only ideal for the weight of game where the .308 is just getting started. I might have agreed that the optimum range of bullet weights for the .308 runs from 130-180 grs, except for what happens when I load a 210 or 220 gr bullet in my .308 target rifle, which then delivers groups that measure .75 MOA groups at 1300 yards. A .308 won't do that, ask anyone! In a carbine size hunting rifle, these heavy bullets won't threaten the superiority of the .30/06, but 220s at 2300 are useful ballistics for heavy game in timber. With a 200 yard zero, the bullet doesn't rise 4" above the line of sight, and its about a foot low at 300. Its no 7mm magnum, but the .308/220 RN at 2300 is still useful over typical big game hunting ranges in the bush, and even if a longish poke is offered along a power line, a lake shore, or across a swamp. If you already own a 7-08, there's no need to upgrade as the performance is so similar, particularly if we acknowledge that the majority of .308 shooters never load anything heavier than 180s, and still manage to kill all manner of big game including grizzlies and apparently Woods Bison. But if you're looking for a general purpose big game rifle, in a small package, the .308 has the edge.