.308 vs 30-06

Hey Guys,

I finally have enough to get my new rifle. Now I am torn...do I get the .308 or the 30.06? I plan to hunt elk and hope to hunt moose and caribu at some point before I die (and I hope that is a long way off!). Any thoughts as to what caliber (other than you like it) and why you might suggest one over the other? If it makes a difference I do reload.

Ballistically performance wise those are twins... 308 allows for cheaper practice if not reloading.... Both are acceptable for moose/caribou but on the low end of the spectrum....

Ford vs. Chevy. You would be hard pressed to prove true terminal performance difference in the field between the two. Either with the proper projectile will do the job.

'06 will give you a little more oomph at longer ranges, but within fairly close ranges you won't notice a difference. I'm an '06 and .308 owner myself.

I have both and would sell my '06 if I could. 308 for being a short action and less recoil. Numerous factory loads available.

I just like being able to say I have a turdy-nought-six. Haven't killed a deer with it in 10yrs, but it's there incase I need to re-establish the fact that I are backwoods.

It's personal preference.

Sounds like me.


But the heck with either... Split the differance with a 25-06 or 7-08

The only real advantage to the .30-06 that stands apart from the details some people might want to get into (many of which will be false if picked apart), is that the .30-06 case is much larger because it was originally designed for use with prill powder, which takes more space than ball powder.

If you hand load, the .30-06 is a superior choice, particularly if you like to go big. If that's your thing, consider getting a .300 mag.

I would say 30-06

You reload so ammo cost isnt a big deal and you can get .30cal bullets every where. But you said that elk and moose are on the bucket list and I think that is the swaying point.

The 30-06 has a little more POP or energy to it when you start to reach out there and any advantage on animals that big is needed.

Heres a comparison from federals website of 30-06 vs. .308 with the same bullet- 180gr partition

http://www.federalpremium.com/products/compare/rifle_compare.aspx

and since you reload you can make that caliber what you want it.

150gr accubonds for deer & 180gr partitions/ 180gr TSX for elk or bigger.....would be my suggestion.

also one trip to the rifle range a week before deer season will give you all the 30-06 cases you need for a LONG LONG TIME!



Sorry heres the right one with 180gr partitions for both

http://www.federalpremium.com/products/compare/rifle_compare.aspx

at all ranges there is about 100+ fps of velocity & and 200+ more foot pounds of energy at any given range....wont make the difference on whitetail but like I said with elk and moose...you need it.

It won't keep the table for you, each person has to select two, check the boxes, and click on "compare."

I was just looking at a pair of 180 grain rounds on that site that were within 19 foot pounds of each other at 500 yards and similar muzzle velocities. There isn't much difference in factory ammo. The difference is in the flexibility for hand loading because of the case size. Even if there is a pairing with substantial difference, I wouldn't wet myself over 100 fps for minute of moose.

I prefer the 30/06 with 180 gr Hornady Light Mags.

TRAITOR!!!!!!!!!! I thought you were a 308 man?

LOL! Well I still have my Remmy 30/06.......

Y'all are GREAT! Thanks everyone for the insight. Sounds like the 100 or so rounds of 06 won't go to waste after all! Now if I can find a Tika T3 Lite in 30-06 I will have my new gun!

Tikka T3 Lite kicks more than an -06 should ( at least the perceived recoil tells me that ). My Rem. 700 in -06 is MUCH more comfortable to shoot, heavier rifle, all else being equal.

Ruger Hawkeye stainless with Hogue stock and Leupold 3.5-10x40mm in 30-06; and you got one fine and all around well equiped rifle.

06 guy here myself, just have never got on board with the 308

I hunted with a 30-06 for a long time and bought a 308 last year and I've already sold it. There's just not enough difference in the two and the 06 had more sentimental value so the 308 never got taken out...

I have owned a Tikka T3 Lite in .308 and it was quite the little kicker. My Remmy 700 CDL in 30/06 is much more pleasant to shoot.

I just don't like that stock on the T3. Feels like it's hollow, much too light for that cartridge.

30-06 would be my choice between the two. I have a 30-06 and would recommend a Browning x-bolt over the Tikka Lite.

You could just go w/ a .300 WSM and use 165gr bullets for deer and 180gr for everything else.

Now ya got a reason for another rifle to save for.

Have tried the Hornady Light Magnum in the 30-06 and they worked well.

I recently tried a few 130gr Hornady Super Performance loads in a friends .270 Win A-bolt and the primers were flattening a lot and the bolt was very hard to open. We quit shooting them after the 4th round. We thought it was a couple hot rounds, but turned out to be wrong w/ our thoughts. Pretty sad they are factory loads and they are so hot a bolt barely opens. Be careful w/ these. It's not worth the extra 200fps that they say they are over other factory ammo. Could damage your gun or yourself. The recoil was VERY harsh compared to my max load for my 130gr .270 Win.

Mmmhmm. I'd rather load my own cartridges to best suit the performance of the rifle than rely on a factory "enhanced" light magnum loads. Of course nothing is guaranteed, but like you said..you could damage the gun or yourself. Too many "unknowns" with some of the factory stuff. Not to say all factory loads are no good, I love Remington's 150 and 180 grain Core-Lokt .30-06 loads. they shoot well and without issue in a few of my '06's.

I have always been an '06 shooter but swapped to 300 wm recently. Sorry to give you another option but you should study the ballistics and the choice will be clear.

It really boils down to the question of what kinda barrel length do you like?

If you like 16"-18" then the 308 will give you little velocity loss where the .06 is better served in a 22" barrel.

The two cartridges have a bit different burn rates.

I've always been told that the advantage of 06 is the greater range of bullet weights (110 - 220) and the advantage of .308 is cheaper ammo and slightly flatter shooting.

Don't know why the 308 would be flatter shooting. With any given bullet weight, the '06 will have slightly higher velocity potential.

not sure how credible this is but according to this guy the .308 is two to three times more accurate than the 06.

http://www.snipercountry.com/Articles/AccuracyFacts.asp

I also think it speaks volumes that the military no longer uses 06 but still uses .308

The same reason they swapped from .308 to .223/5.56...........

I have both and hunt more with the .30-06 it is a fairly light rifle not T3 light but close and felt recoil is pretty bad.Although that could have something to do with the horn buttplate.

The military switched from .30-06 to .308 to reduce material usage, reduce weight, and increase cyclic rates of machine guns (shorter case = shorter bolt travel = faster shootin'). The .308 cartridge was designed to mimic flight ballistics of the .30-06 so they wouldn't have to train everyone all over again.

The potential for higher velocity in a .30-06 case is solely due to its larger case size, which it has because it was designed for use with a space inefficient powder (prill), because ball powder didn't exist when the .30-06 came around. Ball powder made .308 possible.

Standard factory loads for .30-06 with the same bullet weight as standard factor loads for .308 are not really appreciably different. If you hand load, the big case has some benefits, particularly if you like to hand load hot rounds. If you like hot .30-06 rounds, why not get a 300 WM?

I think you're wrong about the quality of the Superformance. There's no "danger" to your gun or the shooter. You think they'd actually market a product without testing the safety of it? I've shot both the Light Magnum and the Superformance and the Light Magnum rounds were clearly more harsh than the other ones. I can barely tell a difference in regular '06 ammo and the Superformance recoil. Check your gun for the problem.

I went through a whole box in one sitting with no problems what-so-ever. I actually just got 2 more boxes of it as it's now my go to ammo.

Sir i was in the same boat a few months back. and i was leaning hard on .308 real hard... finally found the gun i wanted which was a Savage 111 fcns, so i was at a gun store getting a new scope and they had savages on sale and they had the 30-06 savage 111 fcns on sale and the .308 was not so being the tight a$$ i am i got the 30-06...

i debated this topic for many months i wanted the 30-06 in the beginning then switch to .308, but ended up with the 30-06...

the ballistics on these rounds are identical all the way out to 300yards and i dont shoot past that so im ok with the 30-06 besides the 06 will kill anything in North America..

Every rifle is different. I had the same problem he was having years ago with my first .22-250 (a Winchester Mod. 70). Classic pressure signs..flattened primers, sticky bolt operation, etc. My problem was solved when I went to handload the fired cases, full length resized and trimmed them and fired again. After that I did nothing but neck size, and never had a problem again. The culprit was the datum line on the shoulder of the factory cases that was too far forward...or too long by about .016". Way too much pressure. I agree with you that the company would not knowingly endanger anyone with out of spec ammo. However, they test on an average SAAMI spec. chamber representative of the average industry standard chamber. If the rifle was rebarreled and / or has a exceptionally tight headspace dimension (dimensions that not very many people take into account when they buy a new or used rifle and even fewer actually check) there could be a pressure spike with regular ammo, let alone "magnum" loadings. Factory loads are FAR from perfect, especially when mass producing large quantities for national or worldwide sale. If it works in your rifle, good for you. If it doesn't, then research the problem and find the solution. Based on ammunition production amounts along with the number of rifles in the world (both stock and modified) factory ammunition will not work for every single rifle chambered for it out there.

You can get .220 grain factory ammo for a .30-06 and they don't offer that in .308.

Heheheh!! Good point!!

Not true, Honrady Interlock 220 gr Round Nose Jacket...

But those $8 147gr FMJ's are sure fun to shoot.......

No more difference in performance than there is between the two,
and with the .308's reputation for accuracy, I'd go with which ever my favorite rifle came in. ie I have an old Sako forester in .308, and I don't lust for a 30-06.

Is that factory loaded ammo?

I have one of each myself. The .3006 is semi auto and the .308 is a bolt. makes me think of them as being for different purposes.

Yes sir....

Cool..looking for it, can't seem to find it though. It should be an awesome close cover load for a short .308 Win. Do y'all stock it, and if so, what does it run for a box?

We don't stock it, our cost is over $40 a box... would retail at about $52....

Don't see the need for it.... haven't seen anything run from a 165 out of either cartridge....

Wow!!! I see what you mean..I can handload something along those lines (if I ever felt the need for it) for a LOT less. Well, I did learn something new anyway. Thanks!

Winchester has a 168 grain silvertip round for Elk in both .308 and .30-06.

.308 just because of the cheap plinking ammo available

That sniper central article says, "Most top highpower shooters feel the main reason the .308 is much more accurate than the .30-06 is its shorter, fatter case promotes more uniform and gentle push on the bullet due to a higher loading density (less air space) and a more easily uniformly ignitable powder charge."

That's the same theory behind all the short magnums. I've read that the closer the "combustion chamber" is to the shape of a sphere, the more accurate the round will be. Short and fat can be very attractive. :-)

remember you can always find 30-06 ammo in the middle of no were hunting land..

if you run low or run out !! never have i seen .308 in some BFE country store.

I have. You must have been in the wrong BFE.

With factory ammo for both (150 to 180 grain range), the difference is nil. If short action floats your boat, get you a .308, some decent factory 165 or 180, and go shoot an elk or moose - lots do it every year.

If you handload and like to shoot the heavier 180's, 190's and 220's (and don't want to step up to a .300 Mag), I'd go for the 30-06 - it'll easily/safely outrun the .308 by 200-300 fps with handloads. When you get up over 180 grain, the .308 doesn't leave much room in the shorter case for powder.

It really boils down to the question of what kinda barrel length do you like?

If you like 16"-18" then the 308 will give you little velocity loss where the .06 is better served in a 22" barrel.

The two cartridges have a bit different burn rates.
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haven't we been down this road before?
still interesting though.

Like on motorcycle forums, certain things come up again and again and again.

"What's the best Texas whitetail deer cartridge?"
"What's the best 600cc scooter in sport bike trim?"

"What's the best oil to lubricate my pistol?"
"What's the best engine oil?"

"What should I use to clean my barrel?"
"What should I use to clean my o-ring chain?"

"What should I use to keep my barrel from rusting?"
"What's the best way to 'winterize' my bike?"

"Why doesn't my gun shoot right??"
"Why does John beat me at the drag strip with a smaller bike?"

That's because you need to loose some weight you fat @$$. haha, just kidding. Couldn't help myself.

Or learn to launch properly, with reduced reaction time.

Do you like any particular manufactured rifle?

Oh crap, here we go again!
haha, just kidding.

My $0.02...
Set a budget first. But a good starter for avery good price would be a Savage in synthetic stock with an accutrigger. Hard to go wrong, but I'll admit easy to get nicer if you have to money.

Now let the onslaught of toher suggestions begin!

Worth a read from a long range master.

http://yarchive.net/gun/rifle/30-06_vs_308.html

I just purchased a 30.06 becasue they're readily available and you can pick up Stevns, Savage and Mossbergs for $300.00, or less if you're patient. I know these may brands/models may not be top of the line, but they get the job done for someone on a budget.

Joe

308 is better... Fact..

also, it's pronounced po-tA-toe NOT po-tah-toe... Also, a 6 of this is most DEFINITELY better than Half a dozen of the other!

There, three timeless arguments settled in 30 seconds. Not bad if i do say so

Is that spelled potato or potato?

'06 for sure here!!

Oh, and the Egg came before the chicken... now you know.