308 or 30-06 question again?

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boxjeff

New member
I recently posted that I have been wrestling with the decision to purchase a 308 or 30-06 version of the Remington 7600. I thought I had decided on 30-06 after reading responses to my post stating that there are more variants of 30-06 then 308 and that 30-06 can be found everywhere and is more ubiquitous then 308. I then was at a recent gun show and found mostly cheaper surplus ammunition in 308. The suppliers told me that it is hard to find 30-06 surplus any-longer as armies don't use it any longer and most of the 30-06 ammo is gone.

Any feedback? It looks as if 308 might be the caliber to go with, not 30-06?
 
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If you can't decide, then just flip a coin.. either way you will be happy.

.308 surplus (actually 7.62 NATO) is definitely more abundant than .30-06 surplus ammo, but its also not known for its accuracy. Maybe you buy surplus to plink with and off the shelf for hunting.

As far as options for those two calibers off the shelf, I guess technically yes, one will have more than the other and therefore is more versatile, but I gaurantee you the other caliber is the second most. I find more .30-06 where i live, but maybe in other places it's .308. Seriously, there are more than enough choices for both calibers. And if by some miracle you figure out a situation where there isn't an off-the shelf option suitable for it, learn to reload.
 
You can buy surplus 30-06 for less then 50 cents a round.

200 rounds for $98 plus $8.95 for shipping from the CMP. It's good accuate ammo, non corosive, boxer primed.

https://estore.odcmp.com/store/cata...pmax=&note1=&note2=&note3=&note4=&note5=&max=

It's made for the M-1 Garand and would work well in your 7600 (or any other '06 out there.

That's cheaper then you can reload '06 ammo for (figuring $35 per hundred for the bullets, 3.50 per hundred for the primers, and 25 per lb of powder).

If you have to buy the brass to start reloading, the the cost of the reloads get close to about 90 cents a round.

This ammo is issued to CMP GSM Clinics & Matches.
 
I have both and both are great shooters.
The .30-06 shoots 200 grain bullets great.
It doesn't prefer 150 or 168 grain bullets. It shoots 175 grain bullets well.
The .308 prefers 150 and 168 grain bullets although it shoots 175 well.

For a hunting rifle, I would say they both are good choices and you could flip a coin or go with your preference, unless you have a real need for heavy (200 -220 grain bullets). If so then go with the .30-06.

One think I would consider in your choice of a single rifle is what type of barrel you need.

My .308 has a heavy barrel and I use it for range shooting primarily.
Range shooting creates barrel heating and I prefer a heavy barrel because I don't like to wait for the barrel to cool every two shots.
When did you ever see a .30-06 with a heavy barrel.

My CZ 550 .30-06 is a great shooter and puts 2 shots into the same hole most of the time at 100 yards before barrel heating becomes a major problem and the 3rd round moves out about 1/4 inch. For hunting that is perfect since if you need more than 2 shots you probably shouldn't be hunting.

The .308 will shoot at least 10 shots before barrel heating causes the same effect on point of impact.

So if your looking for a hunting rifle, go with what you prefer or based upon bullet weight because everything else won't make much of a difference.

If you want to shoot at a range and also go hunting, if your are as impatient as I am, you might want to consider barrel type and go with a .308.
 
Boxjeff, reloading is a whole other ballgame. Judging by your current level of knowledge, I would advise you to wait a while before considering reloading.

As to the .308 / 30-06 debate, let me offer you one bit of advise. I own a Remingto 760 - the predicessor to the 7600 you are considering. Mine is chambered in 30-06. While I dearly love it and it shoots beautifully, I would actually prefer it to be chambered in .308.

With a bolt-action, the longer action that a 30-06 requires isn't really a big deal. However, with a pump-action that extra length equates to a longer stroke on the pump. Couple that with the longer overall length and the difference tips the scales in favor of the short-action .308.
 
Thanks Doyle!

Also, on the barrel heating topic...How many shots will the 308 shoot for before I would have to cease-firing and wait until the rifle cools off and is over heating dangerous?
 
Depends on how heavy the barrel is and how rapidly it was fired.

An average hunting barrel will start to have accuracy problems at about five rapid shots. The barrel will cool enough in a few minutes for accuracy to return to normal.

It is possible to fire a rifle rapidly enough to make the barrel to hot to safely handle. That's about the limit of the danger involved.
 
I've used the 7600 in 270 & 308 for years.it will stay pretty accurate in 3'' for about 9 shots in rapid fire after 20 shots you should let cool.skin contact after that WILL leave a blister.:D THE 308 is alot of fun to shoot the7600 makes a fine deer rifle also.:D
 
boxjeff, the 7600 is really a hunting rifle and as such doesn't handle barrel heating very well. In a real-world hunting situation you aren't going to be blasting away with multiple shots. Therefore, practice with it should be along the same lines. Shoot once, let it cool, shoot again, etc.
 
In a hunting rifle, I prefer 30-06. True, you can find cheaper surplus 308 out there than 30-06. But, I don't really like shooting more than 20 rounds of 30-06 in a session anyway.....in fact, I don't really like shooting more than 10 rounds of it to make sure that I've got my scope set the way I want it.
 
I was originally looking for soothing to target practice with and hunt infrequently. What's out there in a larger caliber like 308 that I can blast away at the range without the over heating problems?
 
Sounds like my situation.

I like range shooting and need heavier barrels to allow some serious shooting without having to wait every few rounds to let barrels cool, but I still want lighter barrels for hunting rifle so I don't have to carry the extra weight.

As I indicated above, I have a heavy barrel for my .308 and a hunting barrel on my .30-06.

Best of both worlds but twice the cost.

I went with a .308 Savage 10 FP Law Enforcement model for the heavy barrel and really like it. It was very accurate out of the box. I have shot lots of reloads through it. Of course, it is more accurate with hand loads than factory ammo, and it likes good ammo.

Don't presume that just because you can buy cheap ammo in .308 that a good rifle will shoot it well. My Savage shoots factory ammo well under 1 MOA but it shoots surplus ammo more like 1.5 to 2 MOA depending on the source - Portuguese and German seem to perform much better than Greek surplus. Either way it is not as much fun to shoot 2 MOA when you can consistently shoot under 0.6 MOA with hand loaded ammo. That is unless all you want to hear is the bang.

I went with a CZ 550 in .30-06 with a hunting barrel and it is also a great hunting rifle that is very accurate. It shoots factory ammo around 1 MOA with its favorite factory ammo about 0.8. It really likes hand loads and managed to average under 0.6 MOA last weekend with a new 200 grain load.
 
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I was in a position similar to your's not too long ago and opted for the .308. Here's why:

If I need a heavier bullet than the 180 grain I'll get a different caliber. The 30-06 will take down, with good shot placement, any large game animal in North America. The .308 is close on it's heels but I would prefer something larger of caliber or flatter shooting than 30-06 for Bison, Moose, Bear. That means I need another rifle for those game animals.

Everything else can be taken with the .308 and I'd venture that if forced one could take any game animal with the .308 that they would use the 30-06 for. As noted the .308 is abundant. The 30-06 was the "do it all" round for hunting if one was going to have only one rifle. I'm not constrained by only having one rifle so it's not a factor to me.

If you are hunting deer and antelope I would think the .308 is plenty heap big medicine. Those seem to be the most commonly hunted large game. Elk and moose, as well as bear, don't seem to be hunted as much by the "average" hunter. Within it's capabilities and range you can also do well on moose and elk, but I find other calibers better. I also like that the .308 is a bit flatter shooting, think bullet arc from barrel to target, and the shorter action is quicker to chamber another round without raising my head from the stock on a bolt action rifle.

I suggest you consider the game animals you will hunt most frequently and select a caliber that is sufficient for that. If done properly you will most likely have a caliber that could be used in a pinch on the larger species of game you would hunt but it may not be optimal. There must be a reason Col. Cooper selected the .308 caliber as a general purpose rifle out to 300 Yards for hunting. It may not be optimal for all conditions but it will do in a pinch.

That's my $0.02.

Biker
 
A .270 generally shoots between 130 grain and 150 grain bullets.

Because the cartridge is the same overall size as the .30-06, it shoot a bit faster and, therefore, flatter.

I have found that .270 ammo is more expensive and has fewer choices available than the .30-06.

Like the .30-06 is makes a great hunting rifle for game up through mule deer for the average hunter.

Also like the .30-06, I have never seen one with anything but a hunting barrel. I have a lightweight M70 that is a really nice hunting rifle because it is light to carry. But mine heats up even faster than my .30-06. The first two are usually touching if I do my part.
The third round is out 1/4 inch high right, the fourth is another 1/4 inch even higher right and the fifth is out further still.
It definately is not a range rifle unless you like to stand around a lot to let hot barrels cool.
 
Let me suggest something else to you. If you want to hunt, then by all means buy yourself a hunting rifle. However, if you want to do quite a bit of target shooting, get ANOTHER rifle that won't damage either your shoulder nor your wallet. Even though .308 kicks slightly less than 30-06, it is still painful enough that you are not going to want to go blasting away at the range with one. The solution for both problems is to pick up an inexpensive .22 autoloader. You can get a very good one brand new at Walmart for less than $200. If you shop around for a used one, it will be even cheaper.

With a .22, you can shoot all day long for $20. With even the cheapest .308 surplus rounds you can burn $20 in a matter of minutes. Using the .22 can teach you good shooting skills that will serve you well when you shoot the bigger rifle.
 
In a hunting rifle I wouldn't use surplus. I would use white box or equivilant. And Winchester, Federal and Remington all make 308, 30-06, (and 223 for that matter) in a white box equivilant. Which means cheap practice especially if your using a similar bullet weight for hunting as the white box stuff.

Thats one of the reasons I own a 30-06 instead of a 270 and a 308 instead of a 7mm-08. The 270 and 7mm -08 are great rounds but neither will do anything the 308 and the 30-06 won't and there is no cheap practice ammo for them.
 
What's out there in a larger caliber like 308 that I can blast away at the range without the over heating problems?
Click to expand...

Short answer is no. The longer answer is that cartridges such as .243 or .260will take longer to over heat a barrel than .308. They will still work fine on medium game.

If you want to "blast away" then you need a very light cartridge and or a very heavy barrel.

Consider a two gun solution, a .22 target rifle and a centerfire deer rifle. Use the .22 to blast away and the centerfire for slow aimed shots and hunting.
 
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