308 Winchester Caliber Opinions...

[Marcos Rodriguez]

Hi fellows! As an user of the 308 caliber I´m are concerned about how this cartridge is seen around the world in performance in hunting and in precission.
How many of you use this shot to hunt?
Thanks!

 

[wesheltonj]

Killed White-tail and Elk with one. Great round. The only problem is some countries may consider it a military round and you might some problems with entry, especially of you bring an AR-10. I hear that the US military is considering bring it back as the main round

 

[Ragman]

I LOVE the .308 Win....it's my all-time favourite round. However, more and more I'm finding myself in shrinking company as people become infatuated with the flashier short magnums. Those guys love to point out to me the superior ballistics of those calibers, but since I don't like to shoot long distance, they have been unable to convert me. I have killed coyotes, mule deer, many whitetails, black bear, elk and moose with mine...all with very satisfying results. I wouldn't hesitate for a second to use it on a PG hunt on anything except maybe eland. Now if only I had it's little brother the 7mm-08!

My largest animal so far with my .308 Win. Made it 30 yards and tipped over backwards!

 

[crs]

Although I have other rifles, my .308 is my go to gun when something must be killed - no excuses.
I know an African outfitter that has used his .308 on all plains game including Eland.

Given the opportunity, I have other big bore rifles for fun and for DG. I rarely have a need to shoot at game at more than 400 yards a my .308 is good to that distance.

Very nice moose!

 

[curtism1234]

How's it is viewed depends on who you ask. Traditionalists love it for it's longevity, low cost, and the fact it just works. As Ragman stated, it can be viewed as too light for large game and many prefer the 7mm rem mag, 300wsm, etc. Current trends appear to be going back towards standard cartridges with the 7-08 probably seeing the greatest growth. I would not be surprised to see the 308 grow.

I own a Browning BLR lever gun in a 308 and I fall somewhere in the middle. It is a great round for game under 300 pounds but it does seem to lack a punch compared to say a 7mag.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

I bought my older son a Tikka T3 in .308 Win. He used it in Africa for various animals including an Eland. I'd say using one on Eland is a bit risky, but it was and can be done.

Wonderfully accurate and easy to load for if you do your own.

 

[CAustin]

Hi fellows! As an user of the 308 caliber I´m are concerned about how this cartridge is seen around the world in performance in hunting and in precission.
How many of you use this shot to hunt?
Thanks!

I have a 308 In a Ruger M77 Compact that I enjoy using! All people need to see is how you use "shorty" to take down pigs and they will understand the case for using the 308.
In the hands of a skilled shooter such as yourself the 308 placement is on target and very deadly.

 

[CAustin]

That's a heck of a nice moose you got there @Ragman . It speaks volumes about the usefulness of the 308

 

[Ragman]

Very nice moose!

Thank you sir! I should mention that fully dressed he weighed 689 pounds. Live weight I estimate he would have pushed 1000 pounds. He was killed with Federal Fusion ammo, either 150 or 180 grain...I just can't remember now.

 

[Ragman]

That's a heck of a nice moose you got there @Ragman . It speaks volumes about the usefulness of the 308

Thanks Charlie! I agree. I have killed a very large number of big game with that rifle (my father has killed much more with his Savage 99 in .308) and none of them could read a ballistics chart! Lol!

 

[mdwest]

I've got 4 .308's in the safe and its the #1 caliber I reload for...

I think its just about the perfect option for anything up to elk sized game at moderate distances here in the US.. and the wife just took a gemsbok, kudu, blue wildebeest, zebra, and a blesbok all with one of her .308's two months ago (all shots were between 60 and 130 yards)..

If I think I might need to stretch shots out a bit.. or if I am chasing a substantially bigger critter than an elk, I'll step up to my 7mm WSM or the .375H&H, etc..

but typically one of the .308s is the first rifle I grab when Im headed out on a hunt..

 

[Longwalker]

I used a .308 as my only rifle for many years to hunt everything in my area of Canada. Deer, Moose, Elk, Bears, and smaller animals. I am not a long distance shooter. I have not shot at an unwounded animal farther away than 300 Meters. I have never had a well placed shot fail to kill animals cleanly, including several moose and elk that were almost 300M away. If forced to choose one cartridge for all my local hunting it would be the .308.

 

[SETH RINGER]

Love the .308 family! Grandkids shoot a couple .243, got a 7MM-08 BLR to loan to buddies, and I shoot a Savage 99 in .308 and a re-barreled savage 99PE in .338 Federal quite often. All game takers.

 

[MarkD]

my Kudu was takin with my ph's 308. 100yds dropped right there and never even twitched.

 

[Dr Ray]

Hi fellows! As an user of the 308 caliber I´m are concerned about how this cartridge is seen around the world in performance in hunting and in precission.
How many of you use this shot to hunt?
Thanks!

I agree with you on the subject and I feel the same about my 270. The only thing I could criticise if you could call it that, is the fact that the barrel twist may be a bit slow for really heavy bullets.
On big game like water buffalo the 308 is commonly used in Australia. The locals tend to use the 308 but it is too underpowered. I'll be using a 338 W M next month with 225 gn bullets.
Overall as many have stated, it's the bullet placement that does the job.

 

[Ross Reamy]

By far my favorite caliber, it's hard to find a .308 that won't shoot.

Here in the states I shoot deer/pigs/coyotes with 168gr AMAX but for our SA hunt I loaded up 168 TTSX and my wife and I had outstanding results with those!

 

[stug]

My friend has a Sako A7 in 308. He shots mainly 178gr eld-match from it. I've watched him shoot red deer at 700 yds with it, and sub MOA 3 shot groups out to 900yds, resting over his daypack. Also seen him neck shoot a deer at 350yds, sitting shot, resting elbows on his knees.

 

[Ray B]

My first centerfire rifle was a Model 700 308 Win. I hauled it all over the place. On my times in Alaska I didn't feel undergunned, though I never ran into a Griz on any of the trips/hikes. Had that been the case, I would have wanted something a little bigger. For the past several years I used it for the live fire portion of the hunter education course and it proved useful for even fairly small students. anymore it tends to sit in the safe a victim of its "all-around"ness. I prefer smaller cartridges (257, 7/08) for deer size game and larger (338,375) for elk/moose sized game. But if limited to one cartridge, the 308 is in the top few choices.

 

[Marcos Rodriguez]

hahaha.... Thanks fellows!
I´m happy to see a lot of good hunters who loves the same bullet I use and adore...

 

[Marcos Rodriguez]

I have a 308 In a Ruger M77 Compact that I enjoy using! All people need to see is how you use "shorty" to take down pigs and they will understand the case for using the 308.
In the hands of a skilled shooter such as yourself the 308 placement is on target and very deadly.

Yes... It would be right...
But here, in my country, people are very hard to understand...