Browning X Bolt .308 or 30.06

cambamboom

cambamboom

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Hi Gang!

Looking at buying an X Bolt and was set on .308, but after talking to a few stores there seems to be those who suggest .308 and those who suggest 30.06. I intend to use the rifle for range shooting and hunting (deer, elk moose etc). Any feedback anyone has would be very much appreciated (and I'm sure this has been covered before somewhere on here, but asking non the less).
 
This might be a better question for the guys over in Hunting and Sporting Firearms..... But what the heck.....

Either one will do what you are asking of it.

There seems to be a 'belief' out there that .308 is a more 'accurate' round for long range shooting, IMHO there really isn't much seperating the .308 & 30-06 other than a couple hundred fps. 30-06 can be as accurate as a .308 in the right hands and with the right handloads.

If you reload the cost of reloading will differ slightly, not enough to make a real differance, but a bit. They both use the same bullets, powder & primers. New brass is about the same per piece, and the length of service should be about the same for both. The differance in cost will be the 10 to 20 grains differance in the amout of powder.

The only real differeance between the 2 calibers is in the action of the firearm you are going to be lugging around. 8oz will not make a bit of differance at the range, but carrying the Rifle through the wilderness in search of the illusive Deer, Moose or Elk and after 8 to 10 miles cross country that extra half pound might make all the differance in the world.

My $.02
 
There isn't even 100 fps difference between the two with 180 grain bullets. Both cartridges are just as accurate. There is more recoil with the 30-06 and in a hunting rifle, that is fine, but when shooting off a bench, it hurts more.

The 308 can basically do everything that the '06 can do... Having said that, you have to love the fact that the '06 has been doing it for more than 100 years.

For diversity of factory ammo I suggest a .308 If you load your own, for cost and availability of powder these days, I vote for the .308 :)
 
Thanks for the feedback!!! It will be a tough decision. By the sounds of it I can't go wrong either way! I guess an easy way to decide is to see what is in stock and what isn't (or flip a coin). I have a friend who owns the Xbolt in 30.06, I think I will invite him out to the range and take it for a test drive.
 
"...can't go wrong either way..." Nope. Ballistically, they're identical. About 100 fps more velocity with like bullet weights with the '06. Not enough to matter.
The only real difference is the length of the action and that doesn't make much difference.
The '06 does let you use slightly heavier bullets, but that isn't much of an issue either. Both love 165 grain hunting bullets. A 165, out of either, will kill any game you care to hunt.
 
Hmmm, That seems to be the consensus with the guys at reliable gun as well sunray. The advantage to me with the 30.06 is my buddy has one and we could split the cost of ammo. I will have to think this one over, I have a few weeks before to .06's come in, so I will do some more research...once again thanks everyone for the excellent feedback!
 
Go for the 30-06..... simply because I just bought the X-Bolt in 308 at Reliable. I think no matter which caliber you choose you'll be happy with the X-Bolt. It had all the features I was looking for right out of the box and it felt great in my hands.
 
Go 30-06 and once you've exhausted what you can do with it, ( which will take a long time)then buy a .308. Ulnless you like to buy guns, then buy a .308 right after the 06.
 
I pick it up tomorrow. I went with 308 because most of the time it will be for punching paper and I like the selection of commercial 308 ammunition. It will also be my only hunting rifle but I don't get out as much as my buddies do. If I was a more avid hunter I would've picked 30-06 for bullets over 180 grs.
 
ya...308, 30.06 the reality is I will be using it more for range shooting that hunting, that said I don't want to run into limitations when hunting ie take down a moose. Once again thanks all for the input...stil chewing this one over!
 
My target rifle is a .308 that weighs 20 lbs while my hunting rifles are .30/06s that weigh about 8. My wife's .30/06 weighs about 6.5 lbs with its sling and 5 rounds of ammo. If you can't manage a .30/06 from the bench, I doubt you would do any better with a .308 in a rifle of equal weight. If this is the case some flavor of 6mm might be a better choice.

Both .308 and .30/06 rifles can be used effectively on big game the size of moose, provided an appropriate bullet is chosen. Handloading improves the versatility of both cartridges, although it is generally conceded that the .308 has the edge for accuracy and the .30/06 has the edge for power. This is not to suggest that the '06 cannot be accurate, it can, or that the .308 lacks power, it does not. I do suggest though that big game hunting can be a rigorous activity and that a heavy barreled target rifle may impose a greater degree of difficulty than is necessary. There are those who have figured out how to set up in a convenient location and wait patiently for Bambi or Bullwinkle to appear, but if you wish to still hunt, the heavy target rifle with high powered optics leaves something to be desired.
 
And the verdict is....308! Picked it up yesterday with a Carl Zeiss scope! Sweeeeet! Once again thanks everyone for your feedback. At the end of the day I will do more range shooting than hunting and therefore went with the .308!
 
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