.308 is the most common hunting/sniping round?

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Drjones

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Hi all.


From all I've read it seems that the .308 is the most effective and most common round for general purpose hunting/sniping.

I'm thinking of getting into hunting, which is why I ask.

I guess the Remington 700 is about the best base gun to start with?


Thanks
 
It all depends on what you're hunting, where.

.308 boltguns of most makes will work, but sometimes a shorter, bigger bore rifle would work better (bears in the brush, say) or a smaller round would be more enjoyable to shoot (for varmints or targets). what kind of hunting do you plan to do?
 
Remingtons are fine rifles, as are Winchesters, CZs, Savages, Tikas, Rugers, etc. Best bet is to shop around and find a rifle that fits you. Each manufacturer makes their stocks a bit differently, and one brand might fit you better than another. That, really, is more important than anything else as it will be a major contributing factor to how comfortable the rifle is to shoot. The weight will also vary which may be important to you. A lighter rifle is easier to carry in the field, but a heavier rifle tames the recoil better and in some cases will be more accurate (this is mostly an effect of barrel thickness as thicker barrels take longer to heat up, and therefore tend to distort less making it more accurate for multiple shots taken in quick succession).

Another factor is the whole controlled round feed (CRF) vs push feed issue. Unless you're hunting dangerous game the differences likely don't really matter but most people develop a distinct preference for one or the other. Remingtons, Savages, some Winchesters, and I think Tikas are push feed, and some Winchesters (all pre-64 bolts and the current "Classic Featherweight"), Rugers and CZs are CRF.

The .308 is certainly a good round, and it gives you the advantage of being able to buy mil-surplus ammo which cannot be said for the other .30 cal choices out there. If you're going to handload you may find .30-06 more flexible and capable of a bit more power. Either way, you'll have the ability to kill anything in N.A. (besides the big bears and maybe moose) out to whatever range you're capable of accuratly placing the bullet (practical accuracy limit for the average hunter with a solid rest is 300-400 yards). Big bears and moose will still be fair game, but the acceptable range will just be a bit shorter.
 
When you check out the various rifles for fit, etc., some other variations to check for your personal preference are:

-Location of the safety
-Whether you have to disengage the safety to open the bolt
-Whether you can open the magwell floorplate for cleaning
-If there is a detatchable magazine
-If there are iron sights (many bolt rifles don't come with sights anymore)
-If you're going to mount a scope, will you need a gunsmith or does it already have a spot for scope mounts? (I think the CZ 550 has a mount built right into the receiver)
-Trigger - Set trigger on the CZ or Accutrigger on the Savage - there might be other nifty triggers out there
-Metal - blued, parkerized, stainless steel, titanium(!)
-Stock - wood, synthetic
-Weight - lightweight if you are going to carry it in the mountains, heavier if you plan to shoot it more than a few times a year

I believe the Remington 700 is available in a variety of the above features

I recommend taking a hard look at the CZ 550, but you can't go wrong with a great American Remington, Savage, Ruger or Winchester.

And to save you a lot of digging into CRF vs. Push Feed: Controlled Round Feed - as found on Mauser actions and pre-64 Winchesters - holds onto the cartridge as you feed it into the barrel. The major advantage of this is that you can feed your second round in an inverted position without it falling out on the jungle floor while shooting at the upside-down tiger/water buffalo/mutant zombie/bear that just knocked you a** over teakettle when you missed your first shot.

All that said, a Remington 700 bolt action is a great way to go and .308 is an excellent round for lots of game. And you can get good deals on surplus ammo. If I had to choose only one caliber, 30-06 would be more likely, but we're all lucky in that we don't have to choose just one round.:D

Oh -- and get a good scope. Any Leupold would do nicely as a first scope. If you get a variable power (the most widely available these days), you will likely use 4X most of the time.
 
When I first got into rifles and hunting I was faced with the same question.
I was also snared by the allure of tacticality and ended up buying a Savage 10fp heavy barrell rifle in .308 and a huge 6x24 power scope. It shot great!

After the first hunting season, hauling that massive thing up and down the Sierras.....

...I bought a Winchester M70 Featherweight in .30-06 (with irons & a vxII 3x9)

I still have both rifles and really like them a lot, but I dont target shoot with the Featherweight and I don't mountain climb with the Savage Tactical. I guess you could rough it for a season like I did and all would be well, but this just goes to show why we all need lots and lots of rifles. Its just like a set of tools; you can get that one wrench from the infomercial that does it all, but the 127pc Craftsman set is sooooo much better.
 
.308 is the only .30 mil-surp ammo?

I have shot hundreds of rounds of mil-surp .30-06 ammo out of my sporterized Mauser and my friends ude it in their Garands. The .308 isn't the only mil-surp .30 round.
 
Ok, ok, I'll concede that there is mil-surplus 30-06. But, it is not as easy to find, nor as plentiful as .308. Our military is still using .308, and it's been since the early stages of the Vietnam war since our military last used significant quantities of 30-06 (not sure exactly when they made the change to .308 though). I'm sure someone can find mil-surplus supplies for almost any round that some military has used in the last 100 years, but some will be far more plentiful than others. Not to say 30-06 can't be found, or even that's necessarilly hard to find, but you have to admit that .308 mil-surp is more plentiful and easier to get.
 
Not to say 30-06 can't be found, or even that's necessarilly hard to find, but you have to admit that .308 mil-surp is more plentiful and easier to get.
Click to expand...

Cheaper maybe. Any copy of the Shotgun news will find you milsurp 30-06, No not US Made but neither is the 308 its all imported.

Look at J&G Sales milsurp 308 (Aussie) or 30-06

Aussi 308-480 rounds for 89.81
30-06 500 rounds for 88.50

Although the US moved away from the 30-06 in the 50's, other countries like Mexico and Korea didn't change till much later and it is still plentiful.

I am not trying to change your mind about a 308, its a good choice, but that isn't a valid reason to base your decision on.

I own both, and shoot both. I don't use much milsurp 30-06 and I handload for all my rifles. The Aussie ammo shoots real well in my Remington 700 -308 ( actually I haven't found any ammo yet that doesn't shoot well in this 700, but I haven't tried anything but full out match and milsurp.
 
I would think that the 06 is more common for a hunting round than the .308 type not to mention that its petty much not legal to hunt with that cheeper surplus military .308 type stuff. Hunting ammo is pretty much in line price wise with the 2 but 06 is on sale more oftin as thats whats sells for hunting loads. Last I knew 06-06 was just ahead of .308 for loading die sales too.
 
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