.308 Win or .30.06? Which caliber has the nose in front in your country?

[CBH Australia]

I’m 24 and I can tell you that not all young shooters want the creedmore. I am 30-06 man.

You could have said .243 just for shits and giggles.

Our military went from .303 to .308 to .223 or NATO variants as the general standard issue chambering of service rifles.

One special services squad were issued Tikka M55 rifles on .22-250 for Urban counter terrorism operations of the time

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C303744&ved=2ahUKEwib5PPloef0AhX_zTgGHUkUBzUQFnoECBIQAQ&usg=AOvVaw21lGgMcCzwB_pPccs3a3DC

Sorry, I digress. I have not used a .30-06, I was told they are more common up north but I haven't seen them in my circle but I get the feeling they are very popular in the US, even with the young blokes

 

[mark-hunter]

Hello community,
I notice the following that for 10 years,it was absolute the .30.06 in my country,but now the .308 Win.is currently ranked first among all the others.
Since the boar invasion the ranking in Germany is (today,by new sold guns)
.308
.30.06 /8x57
9,3x62

Regards
Foxi

I will estimate the current popularity as follows:
1. 30-06
2. 308win
3. 8x57
4. 9.3x62

Maybe 20 years or more ago, was like this:
1. 8x57
2. 30-06
3. 308 win
4. 9.3x62

9.3x62 is excellent cartridge, but i think that due to recoil, maybe price of ammo, and a lot of power - more then needed, it was not considered as "all round caliber", so hunters were choosing the calibers ranging from 7 to 8mm. In last years especially with appearance of various semi-auto rifles on the market (benelli, browning, sauer, haenel) chambered in 9.3x62 and with large number of boars around, this caliber gains in popularity. Goverment forestry services used 7x64,which is still very popular among hunters community.
In the national hunters magazine,some twenty years ago was published a study of what is optimum caliber for boar. They took everything in consideration, power, ammo availability, terminal effect on game, shooting distances, types of hunt, stalking, highstand, drive, etc... nuomerous factors. And they concluded at the time, that optimum boar caliber was 8x57, but if I remember correctly, if eliminating other factors (like price or availability of ammo,and similar) that would be 9.3x62 - this was at the time, when 8x57 was most popular caliber, and great majority of hunters had 8x57 bolt action rifle. (see my table above)

 

[Speedbattle999]

The 308 & 30-06 are _both_ fine cartridges. That being said, the 30-06 will do anything a 308 will and a little more. If there is an advantage to the 308 it might be the availability of surplus GI ammo.

 

[Dudders]

I am another UK hunter that uses a 30-06 there are a few of us about.
Every year the landowner donate's a stalk to a charity the last two winners used a 30-06.

 

[Challer]

See the section on "If I could only have 3 rifles." 30-06 took the lead there (my un-verified look see). No doubt the vast majority of all 556/762 sold in the US is for AR pattern paper punching. Leaving #3 30-06 in sales as the true hunting round here. It can be more than you need but rarely with detrimental effect. It can also be less than you need if you bump into the wrong beast. I feel is better to learn how to handle recoil through training and fitting, and no go all lightweight. I had a girlfriend once that was maybe all of 110#. Could handle 375 all day.

 

[Challer]

The 308 & 30-06 are _both_ fine cartridges. That being said, the 30-06 will do anything a 308 will and a little more. If there is an advantage to the 308 it might be the availability of surplus GI ammo.

The problem as I see it is that GI ammo doesn't have the bullets we prefer.

 

[Marcos Rodriguez]

Despite my love for the 308win, which makes me the happiest man on earth, no regrets, no blame, I know the 3006 is a more powerful shot ...
But is it really necessary? Maybe not ...
In my country there are many people hunting with 300 winmag, 3006 spr and 308win ...
The 308win leads! ...
They are very popular ...
I used the 3006, several times, the 300win too ... The animals that I shot down never, never realized with what caliber I shot them
I think we (hunters) are exaggerating when choosing which bullet to hunt with! Animals only die once ... it would spare us with a 3030 ... the 308 is also a powerful shot.
everything else goes into tastes
Greetings!
!

 

[Boyd Brooks]

When I was asked to join my moose hunting camp, I was the only one shooting a 300 win mag. One fellow had a 338 win mag and the other four gentlemen shot 30-06’s. No one had a 308. Now some have switched things up to the WSM’s, me to My Taylor, but two guys still carry 30-06 but still no 308’s.

 

[Tbitty]

In the U.S., the Creedmoors, the PRCs and the Noslers are the cartridges du jour. I'd surmise these are selling 100 times rifles chambered in '06 and .308.

I recently was helping to look for a rifle for Father-in-law. He's retired USMC, and wanted a .308 purely from familiarity and having shot some of mine to get an idea of various recoil, etc. In my searches, I found that the .308 was largely sold out in most places, while there were an abundance of the 6.5 Manbun's and similar new-age chamberings available.

I'd read this to mean there is a higher demand for the "old reliables" like 308 and 30-06. Of course, it might be that the demand for new stuff is forcing higher levels of production and/or bigger vendor orders to have stock of the more popular stuff..

 

[Lars Blomqvist]

Hello community,
I notice the following that for 10 years,it was absolute the .30.06 in my country,but now the .308 Win.is currently ranked first among all the others.
Since the boar invasion the ranking in Germany is (today,by new sold guns)
.308
.30.06 /8x57
9,3x62

Regards
Foxi

Hello,
I do most of my hunting in Sweden and here the 308W is a very popular caliber, When I was young, some 60 years ago, the 30-06 was beside the 6,5X55, the very most popular calibers. Like the most of all calibers, both are of military original, as well as the 308W.

 

[Dr Ray]

As CBH says in Australia the 308 is probably the most common caliber/cartridge.
I used the 30/06 for many years and these days I use the 270 for up to red deer.
I have a 308 in Kimber too.
My pick is the 270 but the 308 and 223 cartridges/rifles are the most popular in Australia.

 

[1dirthawker]

this is an older thread, but still an interesting one.

the .308 was designed to duplicate the 30-06 with 150gr bullets. it does it in a shorter, more efficient case. the 308 cannot duplicate the 06 with bullets heavier than 150 gr, as it gives up powder space that it cannot afford with longer and heavier bullets and maintain the same performance as the 06.

so, if a 150 gr bullet is enough, then realistically the 308 should be identical to the 06. (i suspect the longer, mono metal bullets might change this dynamic a little bit as a longer bullet will take up powder space for the 308) if one believes they need a bullet larger than 150gr, then there is no question the 30-06 will do more.

as far as the most bullets sold, i would say the 308 would win that easily. it is used in the AR platforms, and being a more current military round it has that availability of rounds available of a surplus or military type (FMJ).

i think the 308 is a fine rifle, i think for hunting and versatility, the 06 is better. and as stated before, i think more hunters use the 3006 than the 308. especially up here in alaska.

 

[Hogpatrol]

An interesting survey of the most popular hunting cartridges in use in south/central Alaska was published by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game back in 2000. Very large animals, such as moose and the great bears are hunted here, as well as deer, goats, black bear and caribou, and the Alaskan list reflects this.

The number in parenthesis is the percentage of hunters using each caliber. Note the abrupt fall off in popularity after the .30-06, .300 Win. Mag. and .338 Win. Mag.

ALASKA TOP TEN CARTRIDGES (Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game survey, 2000)

1. .30-06 (20.9%)
2. .300 Win. Mag. (18.5%)
3. .338 Win. Mag. (18.4%)
4. 7mm Rem. Mag. (8.5%)
5. .375 H&H Mag. (6.3%)
6. .270 Win. (5.8%)
7. .308 Win. (3.5%)
8. .300 Wby. Mag. (3.5%)
9. .45-70 Gov. (1.4%)
10. .280 Rem. (1.1%)

 

[Ryan]

In the U.S., the Creedmoors, the PRCs and the Noslers are the cartridges du jour. I'd surmise these are selling 100 times rifles chambered in '06 and .308.

They're getting a toe hold in the market, particularly the Creedmoor, but I'd safely bet the 308 and 30-06 are still outselling them. If you want to know what's selling well look at what's offered in left handed. Manufacturuers won't chamber a rifle in lefty unless they know it sells. As a good example a very basic Savage Axis comes in both 308 and 30-06 (and 300 Win Mag) but in 6.5, the only choice is the Creedmoor, same with their stainless Storm and Precision models.

 

[R.M.C.]

I think the 30.06 is more popular in my neck of the woods and I also think it's more versatile than the .308. The option to buy over the counter 200 grain bear claws and multiple 220 round nose bullets is my reasoning for hunting with my 30.06 . But they're both fine cartridges.

 

[CBH Australia]

When I was asked to join my moose hunting camp, I was the only one shooting a 300 win mag. One fellow had a 338 win mag and the other four gentlemen shot 30-06’s. No one had a 308. Now some have switched things up to the WSM’s, me to My Taylor, but two guys still carry 30-06 but still no 308’s.

I always get the feeling the .30-06 has always been a favourite in the U.S. and still is

 

[CBH Australia]

An interesting survey of the most popular hunting cartridges in use in south/central Alaska was published by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game back in 2000. Very large animals, such as moose and the great bears are hunted here, as well as deer, goats, black bear and caribou, and the Alaskan list reflects this.

The number in parenthesis is the percentage of hunters using each caliber. Note the abrupt fall off in popularity after the .30-06, .300 Win. Mag. and .338 Win. Mag.

ALASKA TOP TEN CARTRIDGES (Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game survey, 2000)

1. .30-06 (20.9%)
2. .300 Win. Mag. (18.5%)
3. .338 Win. Mag. (18.4%)
4. 7mm Rem. Mag. (8.5%)
5. .375 H&H Mag. (6.3%)
6. .270 Win. (5.8%)
7. .308 Win. (3.5%)
8. .300 Wby. Mag. (3.5%)
9. .45-70 Gov. (1.4%)
10. .280 Rem. (1.1%)

The data is from 2000, I have read much since 2000. You might find it published online that the 6.5 Manbun has better ballistics than a .300wm.

Better for what I'm not sure but the popularity chart trend may have changed.

 

[Hogpatrol]

For the average new hunter, take a cheap Savage 6.5 CM off the rack, put an average scope on it, buy a box of any ammo and unless a total klutz, go shoot 1" groups at 100 meters/yards. Ought six must be chambered to accept any ammo known to mankind that's been manufactured since WW1, the .308 since the early 50s' hence, it's doubtful the same scenario holds true. I don't own the CMs but have hunted with the '06 and .308. Never worried I was undergunned.

 

[CBH Australia]

For the average new hunter, take a cheap Savage 6.5 CM off the rack, put an average scope on it, buy a box of any ammo and unless a total klutz, go shoot 1" groups at 100 meters/yards. Ought six must be chambered to accept any ammo known to mankind that's been manufactured since WW1, the .308 since the early 50s' hence, it's doubtful the same scenario holds true. I don't own the CMs but have hunted with the '06 and .308. Never worried I was undergunned.

Mmm,

You dont have a man bun and the question compares .308/.30-06.

I'm sure 6.5cm has its place but not in this race.

I'm not sure just any shooter would be printing 1moa straight off. Perhaps the gear is capable but Ive seen people who have shot a lot who don't group well.

 

[Hogpatrol]

@CBH, Newbies here go from being bored with black rifles to the CMs in bolt actions. The junior hunters are using .223s for deer . Most of the hunters I speak with at the range are using 7mm or larger magnums. These are people that hunt big game all over the U.S., Canada and Alaska. I haven't seen a hunter there with an '06 or .308 in years.and the only ones I've encountered were the service rifle guys.
As far as not grouping well, these are off the bench. My Africa hunting buddy markm bought a Christiansen Arms in 28 Nosler, and with factory ammo off the bench, was hitting a six inch gong at five hundred meters every shot. The quality of barrels has increased exponentially over the last few years and the manufacturers have keyed in on that part of the rifle. They're putting their money in the barrel and then mating it to a two dollar tupperware stock. Having said that, 1" ,100 meter groups at my range are commonplace.