Another Dumb Question- 308 or 30-06 for 18th B-Day?

[DogBonz]

HI All. Yet another dumb question here. My nephew will be 18 at the end of next month and my sister (his mom) and I want to buy him a rifle for his birthday. I just thought about getting him a 30-06 because of it’s versatility. My father, who is getting him a scope, is saying 308. Now my father and I have basically the same reasons for the calibers that we are debating. Both have great versatility and can take any game in North America. Both have cheap surplus or inexpensive practice ammo available as well as many “premium” match and hunting ammo widely available. Both have similar ballistics.

So if you had to buy a rifle for someone’s 18th B-Day, would you 308 or 30-06?

PS. Recoil is not really an issue as he is a big boom junkie.

Thanks in advance,

Fred

 

[Bottom Gun]

I would go with the .30-06 because it is slightly faster than the .308 and the .30-06 can use up to a 220 gr bullet.

.308 surplus ammo might be a cost savings but how likely is he to shoot up a bunch in a hunting rifle?

I own rifles in both calibers and have taken large game (deer and elk) with both calibers.
Based upon MY experience with the two cartridges, I feel the .30-06 has a slight advantage over the .308.

 

[cameron.personal]

Hands down the .308!

Better dope available, better supply of cheaper ammo available.

.308 gives you 95% of the .30-06 performance in a better package.

 

[ozwyn]

bolt action, semi automatic?

I think the type of rifle should play some part in caliber selection.

It sounds like a hunting rifle, versus a Milsurp, so the best answer might be flip a coin

 

[ArmedBear]

There is one really good reason to get a .308 hunting rifle, and that's if you want a light short-action rifle. A short-action 20" rifle can be really handy!

If you intend to get a full-size rifle with a 24" barrel anyway, the .30-06 will do everything the .308 will do, and a lot more on the higher-velocity and heavier-bullet end of things.

Surplus or no, if he wants to shoot a lot, he'll want to load his own rounds anyway. I think it's fair to say that the .30-06 offers more opportunities for the casual garage reloader to experiment than any other round. Look in any reloading book and any powder company's booklet for hard evidence.

 

[35Rem]

I am a 308 fan, but...

The 30-06 will be cheaper for him to shoot, go look at prices of ammo at walmart (or anywhere else)...308 is about 30% to 50% more expensive.
The '06 is more versatile, heavier bullets=bigger game, still lots of surplus out there for it.

 

[one-shot-one]

$0.02

your compareing apples to apples.
find the rifle that you like, that fits you well and has the features you want.
then if it is availble in both .308 or .30-06 decide, do i want a short action with a very slite accuracy advantage or the ability to have 220 grain bullets for bear and moose? because 165 grain bullets from a .308 will drop nearly any critter in north america if the rifleman does his part.

 

[JimmerJammerMrK]

If recoil isn't an issue, go with the .30-06.

 

[Harley Quinn]

You are better off with the 308 in todays world of ammo, imho.

The bolt is a longer throw, they do have some good guns in 06 and it is a great round, but you will have to be the final judge, jury and executioner.

 

[jkingrph]

My father got my first big rifle as the result of a sales contest for an office machine company he represented. I got a Winchester M70 featherweight 30-06 and that made me an '06 lover. It probably would have been a similar story had it been another caliber. Honestly, if you have no need to throw heavier bullets faster, then either is ok, but then the '06 is a 100 year old classic and still one of the most popular, if not the most popular round world wide for sporting rifles.

 

[martinc64]

Get the 30-06.

Others have already mentioned the pros and cons of both calibres so I will add only this.

He's an american and therefore constitutionally required to own one (or at least one) firearm chambered in each of the following calibres:

.22 lr
12 gauge
30-30
30-06

Proof of ownership of a 1911 exempts you from ownership of any one of the above mentioned calibres except the .22lr.

The .308 is unarguably an excellent and capable round but it isn't on the list.

 

[General Geoff]

There's no practical difference between .308 and .30-06, except that .308 has a shorter action, and a shorter case than .30-06. Perhaps it would matter to a reloader, but otherwise they're identical performance-wise.

 

[Hutch]

If plinking ammo price is the deciding edge, ODCMP (the Civilian Marksmanship Program, www.odcmp.com) has surp M2 ball ammo MUCH cheaper than any .308 out there, AFAIK. This is a complete turnaround from 5 years ago, and will likely turn around again in the future, but right now, cheap Ought Six is cheaper than cheap 308.

 

[Sunray]

The only descision necessary is does he want a long or short receivered bolt action or semi-auto. Ballistically the .308 and .30-06 are identical. The 100 fps velocity advantage the .30-06 has in like bullet weights, doesn't make enough difference to matter.
I'd let him decide what chambering he wants.