If you had only one long range rifle, would you get a 308 or 300 win mag?

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Kryogen

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My issue is :

308 has lower cost, lower recoil, longer barrel life

300 win mag has more power, but lower barrel life, and is more expensive to shoot. (more powder). more recoil, and I am quite small framed. unless I have a heavy rifle, even with a brake, recoil is too high for me with a 7-8 pound rifle for a long shooting session. Last rifle I had, I added 4 pounds of lead to the synthetic stock and it made it quite nice.

If I am also to hunt with my rifle, I would like it to be a 300 win mag, 308 is a bit underpowered for moose isnt it?

I don't really want to end up with 2 rifles. I don't have the money right now.

Also, I have previously had a 300 win mag so a 308 feels like I am getting a toy gun :|

Now, I know that the question is : define long range, at what range will you be shooting.
No clue. Might shoot far one day if I get a land. Right now I would say not much more than 300 yards....

What would you go for?
 
No shortage of 30 cal rifles out there. Split the difference get a 30-06. Brass, projectiles and commercial ammo are available everywhere. A 63mm case can pack quite a wallop. Loads are available everywhere online if you like reloading. Look at Trade Ex under "hunting and sporting arms". Anthony also carries new Zastava rifles for 400$. These are based on the Mauser action.
 
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Sounds like your in the boat for a 308 to me.. If you need a brake and a heavy rifle to shoot the 300 it doesn't sound like you will enjoy it for long. 308 is capable of banging steel at much further distances then most people think. The308 will take moose aswell
 
Only one forever.... Scout Steyr 308... just the best rifle for SHTF situation, power to spare + incredible accuracy for such a small rifle... JP.
 
308 Win is perfectly adequate for every creature in North America and much of the rest of the world as well.
Maybe you're not going to be taking down dire elk at 1500 meters, but within realistic hunting distances it's quite fine.

Maybe it's just me, but quite a few of the people say that you "need" a magnum or .475 or something also happen to be the guys who shoot a deer in the ass and expect it to drop dead.

Seriously, I've been at the gun store when a guy came in and asked to see what .338 Lapua Magnum rifles were in stock because his 30-06 rifle wasn't killing whitetail deer. Apparently their hearts are somewhere near their hips, cause the deer ran away after he "hit it right in the heart"
 
.308 is ok. but I suggest looking into the 6.5x55. Better than a .308 with European ammo or handloads. 6.5mm bullets are heavy for calibre and have a great SD. The recoil is mild and they shoot far just fine :)
 
It's a difficult choice but at the end of the day a good 30 cal rifle with proper shot placement is king .

The issue is what rifle/ Cal combo can a person shoot well and consistently .
 
unstableryan said:
.308 is ok. but I suggest looking into the 6.5x55. Better than a .308 with European ammo or handloads. 6.5mm bullets are heavy for calibre and have a great SD. The recoil is mild and they shoot far just fine :)
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I have 4 Swede military rifles in 6.5x55mm. By far my favourite round and surgical accuracy can be achieved with a scope. Using issued iron sights, with practice, you can achieve 1-2 MOA all day long with factory ammo. The recoil is subtle if almost non existent. A lot of different bullets to choose from. In fact, the fast twist rate of the barrel favours 160gr projectiles.
 
between the 308 and 300wm stick with the 300wm. You can put a brake on it and tame the recoil in a hurry, with the right brake. If you can find someone with a tikka tac 300 wm with the factory brake. You can shoot 100 rounds easy and not bother your shoulder, or detach your retinas. It really is tame with the right brake.

300wm is a very accurate round, out of the right rifle. and has that extra umph for reaching out when hunting. The tikka tac is a sub moa shooter, in fact 1/2 moa with the right driver.

The 308 is a great caliber the only downside to the 300wm in your scenario is cost, otherwise it does all you are looking for.
 
Given those two choices and what you describe I would go with the 308. While a muzzle brake will tame the 300wm you won't have any shooting partners in a real hurry. Sitting next to a guy with a brake is the worst.

The 308 is plenty of bullet for moose. In fact, two that I have taken were with a Winchester 30-30 at 150 yards. No problems.

I'd throw the 260 Remington as a option too. I will be converting a 308 rifle to this round soon. Good combination of easy to source, heavy bullets and easy to handle recoil.
 
Dumptruck said:
Given those two choices and what you describe I would go with the 308. While a muzzle brake will tame the 300wm you won't have any shooting partners in a real hurry. Sitting next to a guy with a brake is the worst.

l.
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This is VERY true, they suck to be next to at a range, and require double plugging of the ears.
 
I'll ad my vote for .308. You won't need a silly brake or a heavy rifle to tame the recoil and if you can't kill it with a .308 you did something wrong.
 
308, and that's from someone who has 300WinMags, and is sitting on a pile of ammo for them. The 300 is nice if you really want to push out there a little further, but the reality is the payoff isn't worth the difference in cost/size/resources.
Unless you plan to get a heavy rifle as well, stick to the 308, you can do a lot with the 308.


caramel said:
Only one forever.... Scout Steyr 308... just the best rifle for SHTF situation, power to spare + incredible accuracy for such a small rifle... JP.
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mmmmm, no. Sorry but the Elite is the cats ass of the Steyr 308s, the heavier barrel is the way to go.
 
The Elite is .2-.3 more accurate, i agree but at a cost, both my Scout Steyr 308 will shoot better than i do with factory ammo .7-.8 and with a scope and 2 full mags it will weight under 8 pounds, for me this is important in the equation... JP.
 
bacardi said:
In the same topic, what do you guys think of Tikka T3 tactical in 308?
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Its likely one of the best value buys on the market. Sako TRG hammer forged barrel, nearly match accurate, shoots most ammo very well without significant change in point of impact, between ammo, between ambient temp and from cold bore shot. its one very very consistent rifle.
 
I use a .300 WM for moose, however I put about 1000-1500 rounds down range every year with a .308 in competition. The only reason I don't use my .308's for hunting is because they are all single shot target rifles, weight 12-14 lbs and have iron target sights on them. If I had to choos one rifle for deer to moose size animals including bears I wouldn't have a problem with a .308.
 
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