69 replies to this topic

[clayton86]

Its what almost everyone on tv uses 300 of some sort iv wanted one but my next centerfire will probably be a 308 just for cheapness of ammo that or a lever .357 or 44LC. My father in law uses his T/C contender in .357 max that thing is nasty convieniant little barrel he can throw .38 .357mag or 357 max threw it just adjust ur hold over but its zeroed for the max

[skunked_again]

Ive got all of the above minus the .270, but my brother has one of those. I use the 30.06 in wooded areas and the 7mm Weatherby Mag in fields. The 30-30 and .308 collect dust. If you look at the specs, the .308 is actually a terrible round.

your shoulder must hate you.

that said i love the performance of the .308.

125 gr. ballistic tip, 47 grains IMR 4320 and ill take down anything on 4 legs in my 4 state area.

[Bass_Fanatic]

your shoulder must hate you.

that said i love the performance of the .308.

125 gr. ballistic tip, 47 grains IMR 4320 and ill take down anything on 4 legs in my 4 state area.

Its not too bad when shooting a deer, but sighting that thing in sucks!

[Bass_Fanatic]

why do you think the .308 is a terrible round? i dont own or hunt with one im just wondering.

The .308 looses too much energy and drops dramatically after about 100 yards. Not a bad gun for short range, but not a smart choice for shooting deer across fields. The .270, 30.06, 7mm, .243, and .300 are much better.

[WanderLust]

The .308 looses too much energy and drops dramatically after about 100 yards. Not a bad gun for short range, but not a smart choice for shooting deer across fields. The .270, 30.06, 7mm, .243, and .300 are much better.

Gonna have to disagree here... There's a reason why so many people use it today and so many weapon systems are based on it. Its scary accurate and will slay 4 legged critters at 300+ yards.

[clayton86]

Yeah the .308 is one of the best rounds there is granted there are better but its argueably one of the most accurate. The .243 my fav is a 308 necked down to .243 check out www.6mmbr.com they have charts and info on many calibres its centered around benchrest shooters but ballistics are ballistics in terms of PBR and wind drift and drop.

[skunked_again]

The .308 looses too much energy and drops dramatically after about 100 yards. Not a bad gun for short range, but not a smart choice for shooting deer across fields. The .270, 30.06, 7mm, .243, and .300 are much better.

the ballistics difference between the .308, .270, and the 30-06 can be covered with a dime IMO. the .243 should only be in the hands of a journeyman shooter.

[flukemaster]

The .308 looses too much energy and drops dramatically after about 100 yards. Not a bad gun for short range, but not a smart choice for shooting deer across fields. The .270, 30.06, 7mm, .243, and .300 are much better.

The .308 is by far the most popular sniping round, and for good reason. The .308 is not punishing to shoot, has excellent terminal ballistics, behaves predictably in the wind, and perhaps most important is that it is consistent. While there are many cartridge choices that outperform the .308 in ballistics, there are few that perform as consistently as the .308 and as we know consistency is accuracy. The .30 cal bullet has long been a good performer and is very popular, which leads to more research with the .30 cal than perhaps with other calibers. While the .308 may over penetrate in some cases at shorter ranges (especially with FMJ styles bullets such as the old M118) the .308 is still used in by a majority of Law Enforcement agencies. It is accepted that if you do your job and put the bullet where it counts, you can count on the .308 to do its job and incapacitate the target. The US Army preaches an 800 meter maximum effective range for the .308, the USMC preaches a 1000 yard (915 meter) max effective range. While we have made hits at 1000+ meters with the .308, we tend to agree with the Army and indicate that 800 meters is about the max limit for RELIABLE hits in all but extreme weather conditions. After that the .308 is dropping like a rock and can become inconsistent. As an all around work horse for sniping that works great for both Law Enforcement and military sniping, the .308 is hard to beat.

The only way a .308 will preform the way you describe is if you load a small 95gr projectile with the maximum powder. The bullet will start to tumble almost as soon as it leaves the barrel resulting in the obvious drop in performance.

If you are having trouble holding a good group with any gun you need to find the weight bullet that the gun is most happy with. If you reload you can even go as far as finding the exact load of powder and bullet combination. Most .308s love a 125gr bullet. As the bullet gets heavier you will notice an increase in the inconsistency of the groups. There is always an exception to this but it's few and far between.

[flukemaster]

To get back on track.

I love 300mags, or any of the Magnum calibers for that matter. The reason is I can usually get them for pretty cheap. Guys buy them thinking they can handle the kick and then quickly find out that it's to much gun for them. (Years ago my dad picked up a Browning A-Bolt 300win mag for 400 bucks. The wood stock didn't even have a scuff mark on it.) Then we take it home and reload some soft rounds for it and make it a perfect hunting rifle. With all the different 30cal bullets available, the possible combinations of reloads are almost endless. I've shot Caribou at 500yards, and two weeks later taken a whitetail at 20yards just by changing the load and shooting a few times at the range.

[South FLA]

The .308 looses too much energy and drops dramatically after about 100 yards. Not a bad gun for short range, but not a smart choice for shooting deer across fields. The .270, 30.06, 7mm, .243, and .300 are much better.

Hope you are joking on this, go check out a ballistics calculator with energy requirements for deer and you'll see that the .308 is well within the parameters to take deer comfortably out to 600 yards! Also when you state much better what do you mean specifically?

[clayton86]

I almost think he's got the 308 mixed with a 30-30 which is a 200yd at best rifle

[MaineBassMan]

For high power rifle the .270 is my favorite just because I shot my first buck with it. However, all my bucks and bear since then have been killed with my Win. M94 30-30 win. with Williams peeps sight. This combo is the perfect settup for the thick woods of Downeast Maine. It is light weight accurate and fast handling. I have never had to track a buck that I have shot with it. All have been bang flops or bang go a couple of steps and fall over. So I voted 30-30 win.

[clayton86]

For high power rifle the .270 is my favorite just because I shot my first buck with it. However, all my bucks and bear since then have been killed with my Win. M94 30-30 win. with Williams peeps sight. This combo is the perfect settup for the thick woods of Downeast Maine. It is light weight accurate and fast handling. I have never had to track a buck that I have shot with it. All have been bang flops or bang go a couple of steps and fall over. So I voted 30-30 win.

30-30 is a great brush gun just not the best long range gun like hunting open ranges and fields its great for woods where most shots are within 100yds unless u line up a good lane. Rifles arnt legal where I hunt localy unless u have a tc or pistol chambered in a high power. The dec is slowly moving rifle zones closer there only a county away this season rumor has it my area will be rifle by the 2012 season. I might use the mosin when that happens 7.62 x 54r what a beast

[Bass_Fanatic]

Hope you are joking on this, go check out a ballistics calculator with energy requirements for deer and you'll see that the .308 is well within the parameters to take deer comfortably out to 600 yards! Also when you state much better what do you mean specifically?

I looked at the ballistics and the only gun that stood out was my 7mm Wthby Mag. The rest of them are close to the same, you are right. For some reason, my .308 is so inconsitant at 150 yards and out that it would be impossible to shoot anything at that distance. In my case, my 30.06, 7mm, .243, and my brothers .270 are much more accurate.

7mm Wthby Mag is still the bomb.com tho.

[fishingkidPA]

.270 easily. fast, flat shooting, accurate.