Hi I'm looking for some input on a decision I have to make. My wife recently got into hunting, which is awesome, so I'm going to have her hunt with my .308. That means I get something new. It's going to be a general purpose gun for whitetail, black bear and hopefully someday Elk. I was leaning toward getting a 30-06 barrel for my Thompson ProHunter but then started to think is it worth getting new dies and brass for a somewhat negligeable difference in performance from the .308. So the question is if it were you would you save the cash and go to a .308 barrel or would it be worth it to get new dies and brass and have a little more knock down power. I know we've beat the .308 v 30-06 question to death and I'm not looking to bring it back. Just an opinion question since I know many of you have both. Thanks
Big enough difference?
- Thread starter BLS700
- Start date
The moose will not know the difference between 308 and 30-06, so save your money and stick with 308.
A good 180 grain bullet from a 308 will do everything a good 180 grain bullet from a 30-06 will do.
A second 308 for either yourself or your wife is a much better proposition.
Jimro
A good 180 grain bullet from a 308 will do everything a good 180 grain bullet from a 30-06 will do.
A second 308 for either yourself or your wife is a much better proposition.
Jimro
If there were a good possibility you were going to hunt animals larger than deer, and do it a lot, the 30-06 might offer you a slight advantage. And if that were the case I'd probably skip the '06 in that case and go straight to something bigger.
But if we are all honest most of us will hunt mainly deer with a rare chance to hunt something larger. I think the 308 will do you just fine. I started with 30-06 and have only fell in love with the 308 within the last 10 years or so. You can't make a wrong decision either way.
But if we are all honest most of us will hunt mainly deer with a rare chance to hunt something larger. I think the 308 will do you just fine. I started with 30-06 and have only fell in love with the 308 within the last 10 years or so. You can't make a wrong decision either way.
The .308 factory loads are higher pressure than factory 30-06 loads. Therefore, yes, if hand loading, with modern guns in good condition, a 30-06 can show considerable velocity advantage over the .308, if you load the 30-06 to its safe potential. As you indicated, you are a hand loader; there is no reason you cannot get a significant increase in velocity over the .308.
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Saltydog235
New member
I love the 30'06, I have 16 of them in various makes and arrangements. The round definitely will get the work done on anything in NA and most game around the world. That said, I own one .308 and love it as well. For the simple facts of economy and your apparent familiarity with the .308, I'd opt for the .308 barrell and hope they both showed a love for the same load.
mattamuskeet
New member
If you neck size for your current rifle for optimal accuracy, then you will most likely have 2 sets of brass if you get another .308. If that is the case, it might be fun to get another caliber. Maybe something based on the .308 case, like the .338 federal. On the other hand, if you were to get a long Prohunter barrel, it would be interesting to load for it since you would have a few more inches of barrel and more performance. And, you can experiment with a wide range of OALs since there is no magazine. It would be like having a different caliber. You can't lose.
I really do not understand your reasoning. First I would have bought my wife a 243 for her to hunt with. Second if I was going to step up from a 308, it would be a 7mm Rem Mag or 300 Win Mag not a 30-06. More reach and power. Not that I would go after anything that a 30-06 could not handle. Not much Elk or Moose in PA. And tags for them else where are on a drawing basis and could take years to get an out of state set of tags for either.
So what was your reasoning other than you want a new gun (good reason).
Jim
So what was your reasoning other than you want a new gun (good reason).
Jim
RaySendero
New member
BLS700,
I reload, too. Since I don't like to mix fired cases between 2 different rifles of the same caliber, I'd go with the 30-06 so it would be a problem.
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And then get some new dies!!
warbirdlover
New member
.300 Win Mag will take anything in North America and if you put a limbsaver pad on it you can shoot it all day. I've used one exclusively for 15 years. Nobody else will tag your deer! They drop on the spot and if you hit them where you are supposed to (boiler) the meat damage is negligable. (Gutting them can be messy).
Thanks for the input. Here's some stuff I guess I left out. I have extra brass unfired and unopened for .308. I do neck size my brass so I would have to keep them separate. I was thinking of using the Nosler brass for one Remington for another to avoid getting them mixed but I did think of the 06 having that added bonus since there'd be no mistake. So I wouldn't have to purchase any new brass. Also, since I do necksize that's another die I'd have to purchase so basically I think we're talking about $100 worth of dies and brass to start it off. My wife can shoot a .308 and I felt like the best bang for our collective buck was to add the barrel since my current .308 is shooting sub .75 groups off a bench and my prohunter already has the trigger work done and has put up groups in the .5's with the .204 barrel. So for what I get accuracy wise for the cost of a barrel I could not match by getting her another gun.
Starting from scratch I too would have done the .243 for her.
Now, I would stick with the .308's or...
...get yourself a .30-06 IF you'll have it reamed to Ackley Improved, maybe the most versatile North American cartridge. You can still use off-the-shelf .30-06 but the small change improves velocity up to 100 fps -- what I call the .308 Magnum so kids today will understand and appreciate it.
Now, I would stick with the .308's or...
...get yourself a .30-06 IF you'll have it reamed to Ackley Improved, maybe the most versatile North American cartridge. You can still use off-the-shelf .30-06 but the small change improves velocity up to 100 fps -- what I call the .308 Magnum so kids today will understand and appreciate it.
Hog Buster
New member
Hunting and shooting is addictive. Buy another caliber, then another, then another. Pretty soon if you hunt, shoot and live as long as I have, you will have owned most of them..... I’ve spent 90% of my money on guns, the other 10% I wasted.
308
I have two 308's, a 270 and and 300 WSM. I totally skipped the '06 for whatever reason. Now, I am very happy that I have done that. All four of my rifles are sub moa with my handloads and I neck size the 308 and 270's.
Keeping the brass separate for neck sizing is very simple, you just need to keep your boxes labeled and clean up the brass before you switch guns. Keep dubious notes and you will have no problems.
Why would a 308 barrel be more expensive than an '06 barrel though. I'm not following that one. I would think it would be the other way around.
I have two 308's, a 270 and and 300 WSM. I totally skipped the '06 for whatever reason. Now, I am very happy that I have done that. All four of my rifles are sub moa with my handloads and I neck size the 308 and 270's.
Keeping the brass separate for neck sizing is very simple, you just need to keep your boxes labeled and clean up the brass before you switch guns. Keep dubious notes and you will have no problems.
Why would a 308 barrel be more expensive than an '06 barrel though. I'm not following that one. I would think it would be the other way around.
It isn't the cost of the barrel. Those are the same. It's that I already have bags of brass, dies, neck sizer die, powders that the .308 likes etc. The powder wouldn't apply but I'd be looking at new brass and dies. I do keep my cases marked with what load it is and for what gun. It shouldn't be an issue in that respect but having it be an 06 would ensure no confusion. That isn't a selling point to me either way though as the previous poster said it shouldn't be an issue with proper labeling. Also, as previously stated, there is a good chance I'll never get to hunt elk and it would end up a whitetail/black bear gun in western pa. Shots are usually pretty short so I'm starting to lean to the .308 and put the extra cash into the optics.