.308 over .30-06 not a caliber war

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

What does .308 offer over .30-06 (besides a shorter action)?

The answer is very little. EXCEPT for lots and lots of premium & match grade factory ammo loadings.

What does .30-'06 offer over .308? Also very little, except a little more oomph, which could help you with wind bucking at range.

There is no mention of any foreign cartridge as their inspiration, least of all, mon Dieu , a French cartridge.

I think that that is precisely the gentleman's point, that we wouldn't mention it in the written records, even if it were true.

 

[R.W.Dale]

Actually I've read a report where the war DPT took a really hard look at what made the 7.5MAS cartridge tick. Ever notice how similar the 140grn French loading is to the 147grn NATO load

 

[ftierson]

Of course it's not a caliber war...

After all, they're the same caliber...



Forrest

 

[elmerfudd]

The big advantage of .308 over 30-06 was for military loadings. With the light bullets used in the M1 Garand, the 30-06 had almost no advantage over the .308 in terms of power or ballistics, but it was longer and heavier.

 

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

When it comes to bolt actions and hunting or long range shooting in the U.S., the 30.06 is extremely hard to beat for a couple reasons.

1. The larger case capacity is just that - larger and can hold more powder for long range.

2. You can find 30.06 cartridges in just about any store that sells hunting ammo in all 50 states last I knew.

3. It handles a bit bigger pill for big game than the .308 does. This matters when you're looking at the largest game on this continent.

4. It can take any and all game available on the American continent.

Dave

 

[ar10]

Was the .308 designed/built/developed as a sporting bullet or was it designed/built/developed for military use then adopted for civilian use. Or is the argument more like which came first the chicken or the egg.

 

[hps1]

The 7.62 was designed as a military cartridge for use the the T44 (experimental) rifle, later designated the M14. Ballistically, it was very close to equal to the M2 ball ammo that was currently in use in the M1 Garand. It had advantage of lighter weight allowing an infantryman to carry a few more rounds of ammo than with M2 ball. Both the new 7.62 Nato and the M2 ball used 150 gr. bullets.

Shortly after the military developed the cartridge, Winchester came out with the 308 Win. designation for sporting use. Again, ballistically, the 308 Win. falls close, but just short of 30-06. Factory 30-06 ammo is available with heavier bullets than the .308.

As far as claims that the .308 is "inherently more accurate" than the 30-06, I have owned a couple of 30-06 target rifles that would do anything any 308 target rifle that I have owned would do and the 308's always stayed home on 1000 yard match days .

Regards,
hps

 

[USSR]

I think that that is precisely the gentleman's point, that we wouldn't mention it in the written records, even if it were true.

Okay, I can play this game too. I surmise that the development team was comprised of GI's that during the invasion of Germany, peaked over the fence into Switzerland and saw the 7.5 Swiss and thought to themselves "Gee, why didn't we think of that." Of course, this was kept out of the written records.

Don

 

[R.W.Dale]

7.5 Swiss and thought to themselves "Gee, why didn't we think of that."

BUT the comparatively heavy GP11 loading isn't much different than the 30-06 loads the US army was using at the time.

The 7.5x54 loaded with a 140grn spitzer at 2800fps is pretty much the equal to our 7.62x51

 

[USSR]

krochus,

The point is, THERE IS ZERO DATA TO SUPPORT THAT THE 7.5MAS HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE DESIGN OF THE 7.62X51, WHILE THE .300 SAVAGE IS MENTIONED BY THE PEOPLE INVOLVED IN IT'S DEVELOPMENT. If you have any data that the 7.5MAS was indeed a starting point, or considered, or admired by some of the people on the design team, I would be happy to hear about it. However, having similar ballistics is meaningless, as there are many cartridges out there that share similar ballistics, and they share absolutely nothing in regards to the cartridge development/design.

Don

 

[R.W.Dale]

I've tried to find the War Department report but I cannot. IIRC it was even posted here on THR. Granted it was from WWII and probably predates the 7.62's development.

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

The .308 is more efficient especially from a carbine.

 

[Chrome]

Thanks for the comments guys. Lots of info to read through.

I understand few use the Mauser action, but it is an action I've always been fond of. Still yet, I'll likely be using a 700 action. From what I've read, sounds like .30-06 maybe the way to go for my intended uses. Besides, I've got a few .30-06 hunting rifles anyways.

Later,
Chrome...