Is the popularity of the 308 cartridge going down??
- Thread starter The Kurgan
- Start date
bearkilr
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nowhere, ......just past the middle
I just read that the Canadian military is fielding trials to replace their 7.62x51 C3A1 medium range sniper rifles. They are looking at the 300WM and 338 Lapua. That being said, coalition forces have realized the lacking take down power of the 5.56 and have started employing the 7.62 more in the field (The 5.56 doesn't seem to have the same affect on our opium crazed enemies that are being engaged at +200 yards). With the new craze of black rifles going on, mostly in the AR platform, I would imagine that there will be a shift towards the .308 as the popularity in military usage increases. We had a new guy come to deer camp last year with a Mini-30 (not my first choice in hunting weapon), but he did take a couple of deer. If anything, I would say the .308 will gain some popularity with the new kids.
Rocket Surgery
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Say what?
The new Hornady Superformance is boasting they can clobber 30-06 with 308, but they offer it in both calibers I think, so who knows.
My new king is my TC Icon Warlord 308 topped with my Smidth & Bender 5X25X56 11 L P-3 reticle... yesterday it did make a 10 shots (the whole magazine ) on the bench rapid fire of 1.15 inch @ 350 metres with my 178 gr A-Max tailored handload... Both my TRG gone go further back in the storage safe... JP.
- Location
- Haliburton County, Central Ontario
Some opinions may differ. The REAL first short magnum, by today's standards, was Remington's .350 mag. No? I mean, take away the belt and it's a WSM.
Not much (any) chance of the .308 going the way of the dodo...
We did the T&Es on the .338 in '92. I know. I was there.
but can the .308 Superformance round out-perform the .30-06 Superformance round? I think not.
I can load dang near any .308 round to outperform pretty much any commercial .30-06 round. Hornady is not doing that big a deal...they are just hot loading a .308rd
And I can hot load a .30-06 to beat out commercial .300H&H rds, so what?
The thread is about the .308 dying... Not going to happen.
bearkilr
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nowhere, ......just past the middle
308 Superformance will not clobber 30-06 Superformance. With the same bullet weights and barrel length, the 308 will never outperform the 30-06 in any load, just the way it is. Not a negative toward the 308, just a fact. The 308 is a great round and far from dead,IMO.
Where do people come up with this BS? And speaking of BS:
Impressive.............
well 308 and 6.5x55 swede are my absolute favorites. my go to gun that does it all is my cz 550 full stock 308 with my tikka t3 in 6.5 as my back up or open country rifle. sure i could have 7 or 8 guns in the closet in different calibers but me personally i like having one or two that i know very well and feel comfortable taking anything with. and yes i have no issues shooting coyotes,deer,moose elk or black bears with my 308 or 6.5. i think its funny when guys ask is my 308 good enough for black bear? you dont need a 338 win mag and infact most people dont know how to shoot long ranges and figure a 300 win mag is the answer i bet becuase i know how i can use my 6.5 and shoot further with extream acuracey and confidence than the average joe with his 300 win mag who thinks it is his long range gun.
Personally I'd love to see the .308 go down in popularity. Oh yes, then folks might start selling off their .308s and I can get me a Savage 99 or BLR or both in .308. Bring it on...
Seriously the .308 will always be around. There will always be something new and improved(?) and shooters that want magnums or whatever, even those who need them but .308 is fine versatile round for most types of hunting/shooting.
Seriously the .308 will always be around. There will always be something new and improved(?) and shooters that want magnums or whatever, even those who need them but .308 is fine versatile round for most types of hunting/shooting.
