russlate
Member
After many years without a hunting rifle, last Wednesday I picked up a Savage 99 in 308 ( to go along with my FN/FAL ) with 22" barrel..
At first I felt kind of remorseful over getting it in such a sensible caliber. I'd been dreaming of something like a CZ550 in a mannlicher stock in 7x57 ( I have an FN49 in that caliber ) but this Savage kind of fell into my lap.
On hearing Thursday night about the events in Fallujah, though, I decided having a hunting and a homeland defense rifle in the same caliber wasn't such a bad idea. ( That was over there, but the Rodney King riots were in L.A. and I do live less than 70 miles from California ). Now I understand why they make varmint rifles in 308. Not saying I'm paranoid, just being prudent.
Anyway, never paid that much attention to the 308 before. Maybe 100 feet per second difference between the 308 and 30-06, but I hear the 06 is becoming a bit more anemically loaded, and the 308 mostly stays a bit more on the heavy side. Plus using the Hornady Light magnum loads boosts the 308 velocities to equivalency with 30-06 standard loads for 150, 165, and 180 grain bullets. And 308 200 grainers won't match 30-06 220 velocities.
Anyway, can someone else fill me in on any practical differences I might have overlooked between 30-06 and 308? If the more moderate 308 loads equal reduced kick from a hunting weight rifle, that won't bother me a bit. 30-06 is over the line for me, kind of like I can handle the 41 mag in double-action rapid-fire but not the 44 mag.
Except with the heaviest bullets, sounds like 308 can be used on anything the 30-06 can.
At first I felt kind of remorseful over getting it in such a sensible caliber. I'd been dreaming of something like a CZ550 in a mannlicher stock in 7x57 ( I have an FN49 in that caliber ) but this Savage kind of fell into my lap.
On hearing Thursday night about the events in Fallujah, though, I decided having a hunting and a homeland defense rifle in the same caliber wasn't such a bad idea. ( That was over there, but the Rodney King riots were in L.A. and I do live less than 70 miles from California ). Now I understand why they make varmint rifles in 308. Not saying I'm paranoid, just being prudent.
Anyway, never paid that much attention to the 308 before. Maybe 100 feet per second difference between the 308 and 30-06, but I hear the 06 is becoming a bit more anemically loaded, and the 308 mostly stays a bit more on the heavy side. Plus using the Hornady Light magnum loads boosts the 308 velocities to equivalency with 30-06 standard loads for 150, 165, and 180 grain bullets. And 308 200 grainers won't match 30-06 220 velocities.
Anyway, can someone else fill me in on any practical differences I might have overlooked between 30-06 and 308? If the more moderate 308 loads equal reduced kick from a hunting weight rifle, that won't bother me a bit. 30-06 is over the line for me, kind of like I can handle the 41 mag in double-action rapid-fire but not the 44 mag.
Except with the heaviest bullets, sounds like 308 can be used on anything the 30-06 can.