.308 Vs 30.06

Sav .250 · 10-24-2009, 06:55 AM

No sense in going through all sorts of data. Both will do the job as has been noted on here. From top to bottom, the one that has your back is the ........
...30-06.

wunhunglo · 10-24-2009, 07:06 AM

Alec,
Big question is where you'll get a decent 30-06 unless it's a fairly special order. Not too many of them kept in the local gunshops as far as I'm aware. I can't remember the last time I saw a decent .3006 sporter in a Scottish Gunshop. (on saying that, I've got one crappy VZ24/30 and a Kar98k in that calibre)

Taurus Fan · 10-24-2009, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by G. Green

oops! Missed that part about you handloading. That probably makes the 06 edge out the .308 by a little, but not enough to pass on a rifle model you really like just cause you can only get it in a .308. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Yeah there ain't enough difference to sneeze at, the .308 falls about one RCH short of being a ballistic twin to the 30-06. People who claim otherwise love to quote supar hot handloads with 200+ grain bullets in the 06 but in truth there precious little you can do with an 06 that the 308 won't do just as well.

dmsbandit · 10-25-2009, 10:09 AM

Let me try to give some advise in a different fashion.

The 308 is better suited to short lightweight guns than the '06. I think a 308 is at it's best in a gun like the Remington model 7 or Ruger Compact. The 308 doesn't suffer the big velocity loses the '06 and other longer cartridges do, when chambered in short barreled guns.

Short barreled guns and their light weights cause their own sets of problems though. Their light weights make it harder to hold them steady from field positions. A full sized gun wieghing 8+ pounds and wearing 22-24" of barrel holds better in the fields when making long shots.

Out to 250 yds or so, my model 7 is more than capable of holding steady for a killing shot on deer. If the shots will tend to be closer, I carry the 260 in the model 7, if the shots are longer I carry the 6.5x55 in a Remington 700 or the Ruger M77 MKII.

The same relationship between the 260 and 6.5x55 holds true for the 308 and 30'06. Just like the 7-08 and 280 Rem, and 223 and 22-250 do. If you fancy a short lightweight gun, get the 308. If you need or want a full sized gun, get the 30'06. The differences between the cartridges shouldn't be the desiding factor. They are too close to worry about. But, they do work better in different guns, and use the gun to determine the cartridge choice.

Kentucky Fan · 10-25-2009, 10:30 AM

I would go with the 30-06 because you can push the big heavy bullets better. but either will do you well.

samuel · 10-25-2009, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmsbandit

Let me try to give some advise in a different fashion.

The 308 is better suited to short lightweight guns than the '06. I think a 308 is at it's best in a gun like the Remington model 7 or Ruger Compact. The 308 doesn't suffer the big velocity loses the '06 and other longer cartridges do, when chambered in short barreled guns.

Short barreled guns and their light weights cause their own sets of problems though. Their light weights make it harder to hold them steady from field positions. A full sized gun wieghing 8+ pounds and wearing 22-24" of barrel holds better in the fields when making long shots.

Out to 250 yds or so, my model 7 is more than capable of holding steady for a killing shot on deer. If the shots will tend to be closer, I carry the 260 in the model 7, if the shots are longer I carry the 6.5x55 in a Remington 700 or the Ruger M77 MKII.

The same relationship between the 260 and 6.5x55 holds true for the 308 and 30'06. Just like the 7-08 and 280 Rem, and 223 and 22-250 do. If you fancy a short lightweight gun, get the 308. If you need or want a full sized gun, get the 30'06. The differences between the cartridges shouldn't be the desiding factor. They are too close to worry about. But, they do work better in different guns, and use the gun to determine the cartridge choice.

So a 165gr bullet with a bc of 490 leaving the muzzle of a .30-06,26"bbl at 2880fps is going to slow down in flight much faster than the same bullet,same bc leaving the muzzle of a .308win 20" bbl at 2700fps.(I don't think so)We really get some (?) advise on here. ,,,sam.

Archetype_wyo · 10-25-2009, 11:14 AM

Look at the ballistics tables on the right hand side for both of these, but make sure to look at the 150gr as that is the entry level and in the case of the .30-06 the bullet size it was designed on::
.308\/
.308 Winchester - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
.30-06\/
.30-06 Springfield - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As an entry level 150gr bullet the .308 comes in at .2820fps and .2648ftlbs of force while the .30-06 comes in at 2900fps and a whopping 2820ftlbs of force. The .308 ballistcs chart goes up to 180gr in bullet size chalking up 2740fps and 3000ftlbs of force, while the .30-06 goes clear up to 220gr but the 180gr seems to be the mid-level weight but most versatile in speed and energy at 2800fps and 3315ftlbs of force.

Take it for what you will but from antelope, deer and elk I would use 150gr any bigger or for some tougher elk use 180gr. Take my advise for what its worth its both opinion and as you see above FACT.

For those of you who will say well its about barrel length...zip-tie your fingers before you type, both barrel test lengths were 24" which for the majority of high-power centerfire calibers is optimal while some calibers prefer a much longer length of 26 or 28 inches.

ArkansasHunter · 10-25-2009, 11:30 AM

Alec If you had added the .35 Whelen to your list it would of been the best choice for you.

dmsbandit · 10-25-2009, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by samuel

So a 165gr bullet with a bc of 490 leaving the muzzle of a .30-06,26"bbl at 2880fps is going to slow down in flight much faster than the same bullet,same bc leaving the muzzle of a .308win 20" bbl at 2700fps.(I don't think so)We really get some (?) advise on here. ,,,sam.

What????

Read my post again Sam. The whole point of it was that depending on what type of hunting you do, the guns available should dictate the cartridge. If you hunt thicker terrain where long shots [over 200 yds] are rare, get a short gun like a model 7 in 308. If you hunt more open terrain where longer shots may be needed, get a full sized gun in 30'06. The 308 is better suited to SHORT LIGHT guns with SHORTER barrels than the 30'06 is. There is little merit to putting a '06 in a gun with an 18-20" barrel, but those barrels don't harm the 308's ballistics nearly as bad.

SwedeSteve · 10-25-2009, 04:54 PM

I would prefer to hunt with a shorter and lighter 308.

moosemike · 10-25-2009, 06:23 PM

I would prefer to hunt with a longer and heavier .30-06.

thrillbilly · 10-25-2009, 06:29 PM

I would prefer to hunt with long(legged), light weight naked wimmins!

rdale501 · 10-26-2009, 02:00 AM

These guns are both .308 in caliber. Sam has mentioned a 165 gr. bullet with a BC of 490. If we take that bullet as an example, and look at it say at 2500fps. It will perform the same coming from both guns. It doesn't matter. It is a 165 gr. projectile traveling at 2500 fps. Now that bullet will be farther down range coming from a 30-06 than a 308. So the only real difference in these two guns is range, provided everything else is kept equal. There may be some handling advantages to having a shorter action as with the 308. I think we tend to over-complicate things sometimes, this one is really quite simple.

ArkansasHunter · 10-26-2009, 02:02 AM

^ agreed !!!

samuel · 10-26-2009, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmsbandit

What????

Read my post again Sam. The whole point of it was that depending on what type of hunting you do, the guns available should dictate the cartridge. If you hunt thicker terrain where long shots [over 200 yds] are rare, get a short gun like a model 7 in 308. If you hunt more open terrain where longer shots may be needed, get a full sized gun in 30'06. The 308 is better suited to SHORT LIGHT guns with SHORTER barrels than the 30'06 is. There is little merit to putting a '06 in a gun with an 18-20" barrel, but those barrels don't harm the 308's ballistics nearly as bad.

You are absolutely right in your analisis except to say that a .30-06 cut back to 20" would have about the same identical speed as the .308win with a 20" barrel.No matter how I figure it the .30-06 has the advantage when reloaded for longer barrels.Outside of that,all I can see is a possible 35yd advantage for the .30-06 in PBR.Handling ability would be with the .308win and less recoil/barrel flip with shorter barrels. ,,,sam.

bryarx · 10-27-2009, 03:46 PM

I vote .30-06 for the larger game capability, just to be on the safe side.

Archetype_wyo · 10-27-2009, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rdale501

These guns are both .308 in caliber. Sam has mentioned a 165 gr. bullet with a BC of 490. If we take that bullet as an example, and look at it say at 2500fps. It will perform the same coming from both guns. It doesn't matter. It is a 165 gr. projectile traveling at 2500 fps. Now that bullet will be farther down range coming from a 30-06 than a 308. So the only real difference in these two guns is range, provided everything else is kept equal. There may be some handling advantages to having a shorter action as with the 308. I think we tend to over-complicate things sometimes, this one is really quite simple.

Nope nope and nope. The .308 Winchester has a 1 in 12 rifling twist while the .30-06 Springfield has a much faster 1 in 10 rifling twist. You're going to see a big difference between the two at a 20" barrel.

165gr coming from a .30-06 is 2800fps with 2872ft-lbs of force.
165gr coming from a .308 is 2700fps with 2671ft-lbs of force.

I post the links and they still get ignored....

scchokedaddy · 10-27-2009, 05:28 PM

30 06 most varied factory loaded caliber out there. hmm wonder why

deadzero · 10-27-2009, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Archetype_wyo

Nope nope and nope. The .308 Winchester has a 1 in 12 rifling twist while the .30-06 Springfield has a much faster 1 in 10 rifling twist. You're going to see a big difference between the two at a 20" barrel.

165gr coming from a .30-06 is 2800fps with 2872ft-lbs of force.
165gr coming from a .308 is 2700fps with 2671ft-lbs of force.

I post the links and they still get ignored....

My 308 Savage has a 1:10 twist. caliber / case does not dictate twist rate. if the velocity on a 308 and a 30-06 are the same, and they are firing the same projectile, there's no magic, they have the same energy.

Savage Arms Model 10FPXP HS Precision

deadzero · 10-27-2009, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by taurus fan

yeah there ain't enough difference to sneeze at, the .308 falls about one rch short of being a ballistic twin to the 30-06. People who claim otherwise love to quote supar hot handloads with 200+ grain bullets in the 06 but in truth there precious little you can do with an 06 that the 308 won't do just as well.

+1

10-24-2009, 07:06 AM	#22
wunhunglo Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: currently "Sunny West Africa" Posts: 4,102	Alec, Big question is where you'll get a decent 30-06 unless it's a fairly special order. Not too many of them kept in the local gunshops as far as I'm aware. I can't remember the last time I saw a decent .3006 sporter in a Scottish Gunshop. (on saying that, I've got one crappy VZ24/30 and a Kar98k in that calibre) __________________ How can I 'Soar with the Eagles' when I'm working with such 'Turkeys'!

10-25-2009, 11:14 AM	#27
Archetype_wyo Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Buffalo, Wyo Posts: 1,731	Look at the ballistics tables on the right hand side for both of these, but make sure to look at the 150gr as that is the entry level and in the case of the .30-06 the bullet size it was designed on:: .308\/ .308 Winchester - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia .30-06\/ .30-06 Springfield - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia As an entry level 150gr bullet the .308 comes in at .2820fps and .2648ftlbs of force while the .30-06 comes in at 2900fps and a whopping 2820ftlbs of force. The .308 ballistcs chart goes up to 180gr in bullet size chalking up 2740fps and 3000ftlbs of force, while the .30-06 goes clear up to 220gr but the 180gr seems to be the mid-level weight but most versatile in speed and energy at 2800fps and 3315ftlbs of force. Take it for what you will but from antelope, deer and elk I would use 150gr any bigger or for some tougher elk use 180gr. Take my advise for what its worth its both opinion and as you see above FACT. For those of you who will say well its about barrel length...zip-tie your fingers before you type, both barrel test lengths were 24" which for the majority of high-power centerfire calibers is optimal while some calibers prefer a much longer length of 26 or 28 inches. __________________ The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able may have a gun. —Patrick Henry

10-25-2009, 11:30 AM	#28
ArkansasHunter Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: South Arkansas. Posts: 17,218	Alec If you had added the .35 Whelen to your list it would of been the best choice for you. __________________ IN GOD WE TRUST NRA MEMBER

10-25-2009, 04:54 PM	#30
SwedeSteve Suspected Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Anchortown, Alaska Posts: 23,576 Images: 1	I would prefer to hunt with a shorter and lighter 308. __________________ Thank God we don't get as much Government as we pay for! -Will Rogers

10-25-2009, 06:29 PM	#32
thrillbilly Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Ozark Hill Country Posts: 2,611	I would prefer to hunt with long(legged), light weight naked wimmins! __________________ *" I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on."* John Wayne

10-24-2009, 06:55 AM	#21
Sav .250 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Central Fla. Posts: 561	No sense in going through all sorts of data. Both will do the job as has been noted on here. From top to bottom, the one that has your back is the ........ ...30-06.

10-25-2009, 10:09 AM	#24
dmsbandit Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: upstate New York Posts: 528	Let me try to give some advise in a different fashion. The 308 is better suited to short lightweight guns than the '06. I think a 308 is at it's best in a gun like the Remington model 7 or Ruger Compact. The 308 doesn't suffer the big velocity loses the '06 and other longer cartridges do, when chambered in short barreled guns. Short barreled guns and their light weights cause their own sets of problems though. Their light weights make it harder to hold them steady from field positions. A full sized gun wieghing 8+ pounds and wearing 22-24" of barrel holds better in the fields when making long shots. Out to 250 yds or so, my model 7 is more than capable of holding steady for a killing shot on deer. If the shots will tend to be closer, I carry the 260 in the model 7, if the shots are longer I carry the 6.5x55 in a Remington 700 or the Ruger M77 MKII. The same relationship between the 260 and 6.5x55 holds true for the 308 and 30'06. Just like the 7-08 and 280 Rem, and 223 and 22-250 do. If you fancy a short lightweight gun, get the 308. If you need or want a full sized gun, get the 30'06. The differences between the cartridges shouldn't be the desiding factor. They are too close to worry about. But, they do work better in different guns, and use the gun to determine the cartridge choice.

10-25-2009, 10:30 AM	#25
Kentucky Fan Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Paintsville Kentucky Posts: 168	I would go with the 30-06 because you can push the big heavy bullets better. but either will do you well.

10-25-2009, 06:23 PM	#31
moosemike Senior Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Lebanon PA Posts: 240	I would prefer to hunt with a longer and heavier .30-06.

10-26-2009, 02:00 AM	#33
rdale501 Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: oregon Posts: 532	These guns are both .308 in caliber. Sam has mentioned a 165 gr. bullet with a BC of 490. If we take that bullet as an example, and look at it say at 2500fps. It will perform the same coming from both guns. It doesn't matter. It is a 165 gr. projectile traveling at 2500 fps. Now that bullet will be farther down range coming from a 30-06 than a 308. So the only real difference in these two guns is range, provided everything else is kept equal. There may be some handling advantages to having a shorter action as with the 308. I think we tend to over-complicate things sometimes, this one is really quite simple.

10-26-2009, 02:02 AM	#34
ArkansasHunter Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: South Arkansas. Posts: 17,218	^ agreed !!! __________________ IN GOD WE TRUST NRA MEMBER

10-27-2009, 03:46 PM	#36
bryarx Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: SC Posts: 59	I vote .30-06 for the larger game capability, just to be on the safe side.

10-27-2009, 05:28 PM	#38
scchokedaddy Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: sc Posts: 10	30 06 most varied factory loaded caliber out there. hmm wonder why