JeeperCreeper
Member
I'd say .30-06 is my favorite caliber.
But I'd say when I need a rifle to go and do rifle stuff, I always grab my m44 in 7.62x54r.
But I'd say when I need a rifle to go and do rifle stuff, I always grab my m44 in 7.62x54r.
308, 30-06, 7.62×54r, whats your favorite and why
- Thread starter Kyle S.
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Legionnaire
Contributing Member
My preference is the .308. I like the .30-06 just fine, but prefer a short action. I also like the .308’s offspring: 7mm-08, .260 Rem, .243 Win ... and the Ackley Improved versions of each. One can do a lot with a .308 case.
No experience with or interest in the Russian.
No experience with or interest in the Russian.
Mr. Hill
Member
.308. I prefer it’s recoil over that of the 30.06. The recoil impulse doesn’t feel as sharp. Purely subjective.
2ndtimer
Member
I second Mr Hill. I prefer the .308 for the reduced recoil, shorter action, lighter weight, cheaper ammo options. Also, don't like the 30-06 because it has too many people worshiping at its altar. And while I am sure there are many accurate '06's, I believe the .308 has greater accuracy potential due to the case dimensions. (Name a long skinny benchrest case currently in wide use.)
MachIVshooter
Member
With bullets of 165 gr. and lighter, they really are. 180 gr. & up, however, the increased case capacity and action length gives a respectable advantage to the '06. .308 tops out at 2,450-2,500 FPS with 200 grainers, while the '06 can drive them at 2,700. The step from .30-06 to .300 win mag is a good bit more than that, though; the .300 Win Mag can drive that 200 grainer over 3,000 FPS
gsbuickman
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Ha ha, this reminds me of that age-old 1980s debate when Max Headroom was around, Coke or Pepsi ??. Then again that's about the same point in time that we had the MCI or Sprint long distance calling Wars going on but I bet there are a lot of folks here that don't know anything about either one 
. With that being said I have a beautiful Russian Mosin Nagant M44 with a really nice bore and a 7.65x55 Chilean Mauser that can be loaded hotter than the 308 or 30-06' w/ lower chamber pressures so what would I need either one of those for? ? ...
. With that being said I have a beautiful Russian Mosin Nagant M44 with a really nice bore and a 7.65x55 Chilean Mauser that can be loaded hotter than the 308 or 30-06' w/ lower chamber pressures so what would I need either one of those for? ? ...
cdb1
Member
Okay I’ll bite. How can you load a 7.65x55 hotter than a.308 or 30-06 with lower pressure?
gotboostvr
Member
I'll take a 308 over an aught six 100/100 times.
Shorter action, wider platform availability, cheaper ammo. If a 308 won't cut it, a 30-06 won't be noticeably better and I'll step up to a significantly larger caliber.
Shorter action, wider platform availability, cheaper ammo. If a 308 won't cut it, a 30-06 won't be noticeably better and I'll step up to a significantly larger caliber.
First, what IS a 7.65x55? quickloads dosent have a listing, closest it has is the 7.65x53, or 7.5x55. Second im curious also, since ive never even heard of a 7.65x55.
dh1633pm
Contributing Member
I'll take all three and have all three.
Sav .250
Member
30-06-----------no more explanation required. Big plus,a wider range of loads. Commercial that is.
bannockburn
Member
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I grew up with the .30-06, mainly with rifles chambered for it, like the M1903-A3 and of course, the M1. Just another link to a bygone era.
I have built my rifle collection around common cartridges from .22 to 30 06. I use .308 and 30 06 for deer hunting because I can find ammo just about anyplace. I can most likely walk into any back woods hardware or sporting goods store and find ammo for every gun I own.
TN Outlaw
Member
I like all 3, alot. Plus the 7.7Jap as well. For my hunting and shooting all 4 pretty much mimic one another.
The 30-06 is king for nostalgia and has earned at least most of its praise. Great American "jack of all trades" rifle cartridge. For handloaders, it becomes a different cartridge with 220gr. Great round.
7.62x54R is awesome for getting into surplus rifles and/or getting into '06 performance range for dirt cheap. If you don't handload you can still afford to shoot surplus at a very low cost and that in and of itself is cool to me with how much performance your getting at that low cost.
7.7Jap is special to me as my 1st rifle. My grandfather gave me a type 99 before I could even hold it up. I remember going to his house on the weekends and begging him to take it out of the gun cabinet so I could look at it. I still have that gun although like an idiot I sporterized it as a young teen but it still works great, is accurate enough and I get pretty decent performance even with the shorter barrel.
The 308Win is my go to of the ones listed. It truly does anything I would want to do with any of the others mentioned, but does so in a shorter lighter package with less recoil and more accuracy potential. It gives nothing up to the '06 that I would ever need and I only experience the gains from it. If nostalgia or the looks of the cartridge is what drives folks to the '06, there's nothing wrong with that. To each their own, but there's nothing that I would ever do in the woods or at the range that a 308 couldn't accomplish but the 30-06 could. So for me personally, 308win.
The 30-06 is king for nostalgia and has earned at least most of its praise. Great American "jack of all trades" rifle cartridge. For handloaders, it becomes a different cartridge with 220gr. Great round.
7.62x54R is awesome for getting into surplus rifles and/or getting into '06 performance range for dirt cheap. If you don't handload you can still afford to shoot surplus at a very low cost and that in and of itself is cool to me with how much performance your getting at that low cost.
7.7Jap is special to me as my 1st rifle. My grandfather gave me a type 99 before I could even hold it up. I remember going to his house on the weekends and begging him to take it out of the gun cabinet so I could look at it. I still have that gun although like an idiot I sporterized it as a young teen but it still works great, is accurate enough and I get pretty decent performance even with the shorter barrel.
The 308Win is my go to of the ones listed. It truly does anything I would want to do with any of the others mentioned, but does so in a shorter lighter package with less recoil and more accuracy potential. It gives nothing up to the '06 that I would ever need and I only experience the gains from it. If nostalgia or the looks of the cartridge is what drives folks to the '06, there's nothing wrong with that. To each their own, but there's nothing that I would ever do in the woods or at the range that a 308 couldn't accomplish but the 30-06 could. So for me personally, 308win.
bc38
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30.06. when i went looking for a " long range rifle" (250-300 yrds. yes i know but when most of your hunting is done with muzzle loaders or shotguns, thats a mighty long way) i wanted a .25, but i fell in love with a used custom 03. 0.06. ya can buy 30.06, 308 anywhere, 7.62x54R not so much
The thing with this is like others have said they are pretty close. I would say for 99% of the people that have experience with 54R it is with surplus and a surplus gun that god only knows how Olga packed it away 70 years ago while wondering if she was going to see her family again.
I would say out of a good rifle, with good loads they are all in the same ballpark.
I like 7.7 as well....also 7.5 French is also real close.
Again with the surplus stuff you have to get a "good" rifle and that makes all the difference.
Personally I enjoy seeing just how well I can make the old guns shoot....and really after I get to the point where I think this is as good as (I) can make it I loose interest. Right now I am back to Carcano....finding out Graf has the bullets I want and just ordering several boxes I am back down this road. With partazan ammo I am lucky to hit a basketball at 100 yards....with the little work I have done before the bullets started to dry up I was down to a softball, and think I can get to baseball with a little more work.
Varminterror
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- 14,958
How fast the bullet is flying outside of the barrel isn’t the entirety of the comparison between these 3. I see this silliness all of the time on boards, guys justify the x54R by touting ballistics similar to the .30-06... A vulture isn’t an Eagle just because they both fly high...
Never the Russian.
denton
Member
I've had various Mosins, including a couple of nice Finns. They are all gone now. My 308 and 30-06s remain. The 7.62x54R is a good cartridge, no doubt. But I like the guns that shoot 308 and 30-06 better.
Ok , you are going deer hunting today. You are a long way from home. You find out you didn't bring ammo or something else happened to it. You don't have ammo. You have to go buy some. Nothing but small towns for miles. What rifle do you think would be your best chance for finding ammo for? That would be how I decide what rifle I want.
I cannot imagine using that as the criteria. Why would I go to the trouble of bringing my own gun, but not my own ammo?
What happens if your ammo is stolen or it got lost some how? I know a guy who went to go shooting but forgot his ammo. It can and does happen.
Any of them will do nicely and in the real world there's very little difference between the three.
On the other hand, accuracy-wise I've had by far the best luck with .308 so that's the preferred caliber. Just a personal preference, YMMV.
On the other hand, accuracy-wise I've had by far the best luck with .308 so that's the preferred caliber. Just a personal preference, YMMV.
PlumRotten
Member
Wait a minute....what if your gun is lost or stolen? Then which one would you choose?
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