DobermansDoItGoofy
New member
In praise of the 308
The 308 is very versatile ie. there's a wide selection of bullets and it's an accurate round ie. more accurate than a 30-06. Is it perfect? No. I can't think of any pefect bullet. Here are some myths: 1) It's short action doesn't allow a flat enough trajectory for pronghorn(yawning...just look up a ballistic's table and see the numbers. Not only is it flat enough - it's less suceptible to wind-drift problems...) 2) I shot an elk at 400 yards in the heart with a 308 - and to this day we still can't find that elk ( I don't doubt the honesty of that report - but I've heard that sort of report about lots of other calibers too...including the 30-06, the 270, the 300 Win...and I'll just say that there are other factors involved than just 'energy level' and 'placement' ie. what any given bullet and animal do on the point of impact at 400yds. is more of a mystery than what they do at 200 yds... )
3) The 308 is not as powerful as the 30-06. The 308 and 30-06 are virtual twins with bullets from 180gr. on down... The 308 is a little more accurate and can be used with shorter barrels. If you can't do it with a .308 - I doubt you'll do it any better with a 30-06.
However, the debate about the 308 and 30-06 and even the 300 Win being
the best elk round ... does sadly remind me of a round that just might solve the problem. There is one round that burned powder more efficiently than the above rounds, that had significantly less recoil than a 300 Win., that was inherently accurate(won lots of matches!) and came in a wide selction of bullets from 125gr. to well over 200gr. and could deliver more punch than a 30-06. It fed well due to its tapered shape and was extremely reliable.
It was the 300 H&H. Isn't it ironic that perhaps the best and most practical round - the 300 H&H - was virtually eliminated to make room for the 300 Win? Incidentally the 270 Weatherby(Roy Weatherby's 1st magnum and the grandaddy of the magnum chase...) was a necked down 300 H&H... I wish I could buy a 300 H&H today!
The 308 is very versatile ie. there's a wide selection of bullets and it's an accurate round ie. more accurate than a 30-06. Is it perfect? No. I can't think of any pefect bullet. Here are some myths: 1) It's short action doesn't allow a flat enough trajectory for pronghorn(yawning...just look up a ballistic's table and see the numbers. Not only is it flat enough - it's less suceptible to wind-drift problems...) 2) I shot an elk at 400 yards in the heart with a 308 - and to this day we still can't find that elk ( I don't doubt the honesty of that report - but I've heard that sort of report about lots of other calibers too...including the 30-06, the 270, the 300 Win...and I'll just say that there are other factors involved than just 'energy level' and 'placement' ie. what any given bullet and animal do on the point of impact at 400yds. is more of a mystery than what they do at 200 yds... )
3) The 308 is not as powerful as the 30-06. The 308 and 30-06 are virtual twins with bullets from 180gr. on down... The 308 is a little more accurate and can be used with shorter barrels. If you can't do it with a .308 - I doubt you'll do it any better with a 30-06.
However, the debate about the 308 and 30-06 and even the 300 Win being
the best elk round ... does sadly remind me of a round that just might solve the problem. There is one round that burned powder more efficiently than the above rounds, that had significantly less recoil than a 300 Win., that was inherently accurate(won lots of matches!) and came in a wide selction of bullets from 125gr. to well over 200gr. and could deliver more punch than a 30-06. It fed well due to its tapered shape and was extremely reliable.
It was the 300 H&H. Isn't it ironic that perhaps the best and most practical round - the 300 H&H - was virtually eliminated to make room for the 300 Win? Incidentally the 270 Weatherby(Roy Weatherby's 1st magnum and the grandaddy of the magnum chase...) was a necked down 300 H&H... I wish I could buy a 300 H&H today!