Nematocyst-870 said:
Evenin'.
From at least three threads on THR,
I've gained the impression that .308 Win
has less felt recoil than .30-06.
All things being equal (rifle, bullet, powder, etc.) you are shoving the same size projectile out of the barrel at roughly 200 fps faster with the '06 than with the .308. Last time I checked, Newton's Laws hadn't been repealed (although in today's political climate, one can never be SURE.)
Thus, I've been considering buying my first centerfire rifle
in 20 years as a .308, or even a 7mm08.
Have both. 7mm-08 is wood stocked, .308 is composite, can't notice any real difference in FELT recoil. Suspect the stocking is the reason. Neither is onerous. Both, BTW, like to make Bambi lay down very nicely.
Yet today, while picking up my CZ 452 from my gun shop,
I engaged in a discussion about that .308 v .30-06 recoil issue
with an (ostensibly) knowledgeable riflemman, also a reloader,
who argues that .30-06 produces LESS felt recoil than does the .308.
The reason, he claims, has something to do with the way the powder burns,
such that the .308 hits all at once, whereas the .30-06 is more prolonged,
stretching the felt recoil out over a longer time, allowing one's body
to adjust, to move with the recoil.
That just isn't logical to me. Both rifles are of the same caliber, both burn the same powders - one just in smaller dosages.
As one who is looking to purchase the ideal do-everything rifle, I like the fact that the .30-06 has a MUCH greater range of bullet weights than .308 (and a FAR, FAR, GREATER range than the 7mm08).
Whoa, there. The .30-06 IS a .308 diameter caliber just like (oddly enough) the .308 is. The '06 DOES handle heavier bullets much better than the .308, but the same selection is available for both. The only bullet listed in the manuals for the .30-06 that is not listed for the .308 is the 220 grain slug, and quite frankly, if I need a 220 grain .30-06, I want more rifle. Just a personal thing there. Normally, a 220 grain bullet would be used for large bears, and I ain't hunting the big boys with a .30-06. (Lived in Alaska too long to want to do that).
And while bullet selection for the 7mm is not quite as broad, there are still plenty of entirely adequate bullets available for deer/black bear sized game for it to be entirely viable.
But - just to be clear - I'm NOT a recoil junky, and am willing to sacrifice bullet weight range for less recoil.
Both my kids love the 7mm-08, and I'v grown fond of it too. The .308's inherent accuracy is hard to argue with, though. Either is a fine deer caliber.
One of the kids is a petite little blue eyed blonde daughter, the other a strapping six foot red-head son. Neither find either the .308 or the 7mm-08 cumbersome to fire, but both gravitate towards the 7mm for some reason.
Advice welcomed and encouraged, especially that based in experience.
In my experience, none of the calibers you are considering are all that punishing in the recoil department. The worst I've ever dealt with in any of the three happened to be a .30-06 that was BRUTAL. Remington 700 ADL. Hard plastic buttplate and a stock that just DID NOT fit me. Wife's rifle. She loved it. Go figure. One of the lightest FELT recoil of the trio was also a .30-06 that I fully expected to knock the bejeebers out of me. Got it for a song, as the guy I bought it from got more like patterns than groups from it. Was one of those skelotonized Ruger SS models. After removing the stock, using the dremel to round out the flat ladder supports to free float the barrel and working up a load for it, had it shooting MOA, sold it back to him for a hundred dollars more than I gave him. Think in retrospect, I shoulda kept it. All in all though, on average, a .30-06 IS gonna belt you a bit harder than a .308. all other things being equal.