308 or 30-06

[NJGunGeek1980 1]

Everyone I should be getting enough cash for a bolt action rifle just after Christmas the question is do i go 308 common caliber std issue among leo, military, etc or do i go with the tried and true 30-06 from what i have read and can find there is ballistic difference but not much. your thoughts and suggestions. Also this will be used for target shooting possibly long range and hunting. 

[lunker 274]

There is a difference between 308 and modern day 30 '06. The extra case capacity of the 30 '06 over the 308 (i.e. 63mm vs 51mm) allows for more powder and more power. Full power 30 '06 kicks your ass in a light rifle. 

The 30 '06 you put in a M1 Garand though is considerably weaker than today's full power ammo, and is not much different at all from 308 in power or ballistics. 

In a bolt action I like the nice short throw of the shorter 308 case. The throw for my 1903 springfield felt like a mile in comparison. 308 uses a short action. 30 '06 uses the long action.

[checko 180]

I had a 30-06 bolt gun and I have to say it wasnt really a joy to shoot. I imagine it was even less enjoyable to be hit with a 180grain soft point

[Old School 611]

Chris and Your Geekness -  I depends a lot on the action.  Yes it feels like you have to pull the bolt a mile on a Springfield.  But that's one of the sloppiest bolts you'll ever find (read loose).

 

Shoot a good commercial action(and only speaking Mauser type) like a Sako or a FN and the bolt is a pleasure to throw on a long action.

 

I have a FN Mauser in 30-06, very light rifle, 21" barrel that I use for a brush gun. Yes it has iron sights.

 

It's quick sweet shooting and you don't notice the extra cartridge length. and 150gr bullets are close to 3000fps.  Can't do that with a 308.

 

Don't get me wrong I love the 308 cartridge, but I'm gay for 30-06.

[Scrap 4]

I am not telling you to go .30-06, I have a .308, and wasn't really going in any other direction when I bought my bolt-action rifle last fall.  BUT-

 

Since the week of Newtown and every day between then and now, I have found full shelves of a wide variety of .30-06 at my local across-the-river Walmart.  Cheaper stuff, fine stuff, lower weight, higher weight, PLENTY of .03-06 and NEVER been when they have not had some, and I have yet to find any .308 to buy there since Dec 2012.  (And I go at least 1 time a week sometimes 2 times a day/3x a week or more.).

[incidentally this Walmart has plenty and has had consistently .243, .270, .30-06 and even plenty of .300 Win Mag, but never .308).

 

 

Sometimes I wish I bought a .30-06, I'd have 1000s of rounds of ammo by now.

[RUTGERS95 890]

30-06 is the king......if you are getting a bolt that you want to use for hunting and some comp, 30-06 is fantastic but it's not something you are going to shoot all day long once you work those loads.

[RobertJames 14]

Shoot them both before you decide what to buy.  The recoil of the .308 is noticeable, but I enjoy shooting it.  The .30-06 in a bolt gun just plain kicks my ass.  And I'm not a small person.   

[lunker 274]

Shoot them both before you decide what to buy. The recoil of the .308 is noticeable, but I enjoy shooting it. The .30-06 in a bolt gun just plain kicks my ass. And I'm not a small person.

+1. Bry@ns Savage in 30 '06 is good for half a dozen rounds before you have had enough.

[BlueLineFish 615]

A true bolt 30-06 sounds like fun. I love recoil. That's what makes the 10ga so fun

[M4BGRINGO 139]

I have had no problem finding 7mm Magnum ammo anywhere I go, but it's not cheap.

[W2MC 1,699]

Currently have a 30-06 lefty savage.  Main selling point for me was similar to the above - ammo is everywhere, factory loads run from 110 to 220 grains for everything from varmints to the biggest game North America has to offer, and the '06 is the yardstick used to measure every other cartridge out there.

 

only complaint is the LONG bolt throw...

[Gunnz 49]

You said you'd use it for long range and hunting, ever thought of the .270 win?

I love the flat shooting trajectory, and like the 30-06, the ammo is easy to find.

[Contrvlr 17]

First gun I ever shot, a Rem700BDL in 30'06, that was 40 years ago, it's still in my safe.

Doesn't hurt like it did then but still isn't something I want to shoot more than 5 or 6 times in an outing

[Old School 611]

Shooting the mouse guns we have ruins us for shooting real rifles.   When I go from 223 to big bore I am VERY conscious of my shooting form.

[Parker 213]

Ah, get both. They are both great rounds if you like .30 caliber.

 

If you want to hunt, there are other good hunting cartridges too. And it's true, while .308 Win. was scarce for a while, .270's, .280's, .260 Rem, 7mm-08's, 7mm Mag. and various other "hunting" cartridges were found on most every shelf in a store that sold ammo.

 

As for recoil, stock design and gun weight are the two mitigating factors.

 

[T Bill 649]

In a bolt .308.  Especially if working your way up from a 223.  270 while shooting flatter, is just a necked down 30.06.  Still take the .308. '06 may have been the king, but it is being replaced by new king the .308.  If you ever get a .308 AR, your right there.

[BillC. 26]

  Performance wise both rounds throw a 150 or 180 gr at the same speed. Yes the 30-06 can use ( and the mag box can hold) a heavier 220gr but no one really uses them in the real world. Recoil is the same, I have shot both calibers in the same model rifle with the same stock, weight, action and barrel lenght, no real difference (FN Mauser). 3/8 inch difference if short action but no real weight difference. In theory more mill surplus ammo is available for the .308 then the '06.  But no hunting with hardball so thats not much help. Yes the 06 holds a little more powder but your not going to turn it into a 300mag and max velocity rarely is the most accurate. Loaded '06 hunting ammo tends to be cheaper in most places

 

 Get the rifle that you like best, no advantage with one caliber over the other. If you worry about recoil you want to shoot a lighter weight bullet at more moderate velocity

[RUTGERS95 890]

no no no....after 5-600 yards is when you start to see difference between commercial loads.  With handloads, that is much sooner.  If you want to maximize performance, the 06 is the way to go. 

[RUTGERS95 890]

  Performance wise both rounds throw a 150 or 180 gr at the same speed. Yes the 30-06 can use ( and the mag box can hold) a heavier 220gr but no one really uses them in the real world. Recoil is the same, I have shot both calibers in the same model rifle with the same stock, weight, action and barrel lenght, no real difference (FN Mauser). 3/8 inch difference if short action but no real weight difference. In theory more mill surplus ammo is available for the .308 then the '06.  But no hunting with hardball so thats not much help. Yes the 06 holds a little more powder but your not going to turn it into a 300mag and max velocity rarely is the most accurate. Loaded '06 hunting ammo tends to be cheaper in most places

 

 Get the rifle that you like best, no advantage with one caliber over the other. If you worry about recoil you want to shoot a lighter weight bullet at more moderate velocity

you are not thinking like a hunter or match comp guy here because plenty of people use the heavier gr and reload to performance (match) capabilities. 

 

the .308 shines for AR platform but in a bolt gun, looking to optimize the round, 06 is superior

[Gravity 0]

I just picked up a remington 700 in .308, haven't shot it yet just waiting for my seekins precision rail so I can mount the scope. I chose .308 win because I also own another rifle in .308 and didn't want to add the round to the table I Handload for. Fact I've never shot a 30-06 but I love everything about the .308 and have no qualms with it for what it can do!

[NJKen 23]

If you handload you can work up to some very powefull 308 loads in a bolt gun.  I have both and I always seem to get better accuracy out of the 308.  Both calibers are just fine but I prefer the 308.  There, thats my $.02!

Ken

[mipafox 438]

I have no idea what you guys are saying about .30-06 kick. I have two friends that own them and they are a pleasure to shoot. And I am recoil sensitive. But not with .30-06 it seems.

 

I would go .30-06 in a bolt. Plus, you can have real AP ammo which is fun to play with. You can't in .308.

[Parker 213]

It's been said that the .30-06 represents the high water mark for recoil that can be tolerated by a shooter in a standard rifle cartridge. Anything more, including the ".30 and over" belted-case magnum's, folks get squeamish, pass out, or shy away from.

This link has a good chart for review that compares different cartridges and their recoil numbers. Most that generate 20 ft.-lbs. of recoil energy or less are comfortable shooters, provided the rifle is within normally acceptable dimensions for weight.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm

[RUTGERS95 890]

I just read something in shooting times on recoil on .30's....I don't care about recoil because you can wear or do things to minimize it if you are sensitive to it. 

[Parker 213]

(2 oz. lead turkey loads from a 7 lb. pump-action shotgun is the worst recoil I've ever experienced.)

 

The recoil of any shotgun or rifle cannot be predicted. There are recoil calculators out there where you can plug in the values of gun weight, charge weight, projectile weight, and velocity to determine the recoil energy, however the recoil effect is dependent on many factors which are not readily calculated. The configuration of the stock is very important:

1. The drop in the stock will determine how much muzzle rise will occur, as will how you hold the rifle/shotgun
2. The amount of cast off in the stock will partly determine whether the rifle/shotgun rising in recoil will slap you in the cheek
3. The construction of the butt pad will determine how deeply the butt digs into your arm
4. The pitch of a buttplate (the angle of the butt in relation to the barrel) so that it makes full contact with the shoulder, rather than digging in at the top or bottom
5. The surface area of the buttstock will determine how the recoil will be spread out and absorbed by your shoulder
6. The muzzle blast will affect your perception of recoil 

 

[Scrap 4]

I bought my Mossberg 930 SPX sort of spur-of-the-moment.  I had some experience shooting shotguns but not a ton.  But what I would always shoot when me and a buddy went out (he also had a few in his collection) was an original-70s era Remington 1100.  We would go have fun busting clays and at the time I didn't realize- I was shooting a trap/skeet legend- gas autoloading 12 gauge with light sporting -games loads , with a nice pad on the stock.  It was a PLEASURE to shoot...  fun and easy.  I buy the 930, take it to the range and load it up with 00 Buck... well.  Lets just say I was astonished how much it kicked.  I mean its not that it hurt so much that I could not take the pain.  It hurt but I mean I can take it.  It's the violence that got to me, it was violently bashing into my shoulder ... i was almost thinking, "This isn't fun!  I am not really having fun shooting this, and I can't honestly say I'd be comfortable grabbing this to use in a HD/combat situation if it isn't comfortable and controllable."   A LimbSaver *changed everything*.... I mean it was night and day, went from bad to great.  literally a blast to shoot, pun intended... fun, easy, comfortable and controllable. 

 

I also am lucky that my MCS T5A stock for my 700 comes with a 1" Pachmayr Decelerator recoil pad... which is equally if not more amazing.  Sniping has never been so easy

 

 

IF I was rich enough to *really* collect guns, I mean I am proud of my (meager by most standards but still nice to me) collection but I cannot have everything or most of everything.. I can have a couple of things and a couple more things.  IF I could collect whatever i wanted, of course I would add .30-06 to my portfolio and in addition to the (several) M1 Garands I'd have at least one or two .30-06 bolt-action rifles, including a 700.  Something about hunting a big animal like a mule deer with a Remington 700 .30-06 ... classy classics.  But I don't really hunt, can't afford things I wouldn't really use, and love my tactical .308s