308 or 30-06?

[Forestclimber]

I want to buy a high powered rifle in either 308 or 30-06?  I'm leaning towards the 30-06 because of the different types of ammunition available (lower cost?). Which would you get?

[Ranger99]

i don't think you'd be disappointed with
either choice you make.
i've had and used both but only
have .308 now.  it's a toss up.
what ammo is more readily available
in your area? if both the same, is there
a price difference? what would you really
rather have? you probably are already
leaning toward one or the other.
if not, you should try to fire both if
possible to see if you may have a
preference.  they're both equally as good.
(to me anyway. i'm sure you'll get a different answer soon)
good luck

[FPH]

I have both.  The .308 is my preference.  However, the .308 is a tack driver, so that may make me bias.

[Bigeasy]

Both are similar in performance.  The '06 offers maybe 100 fps with similar bullet weights.  The '06 needs a long action when used in a bolt gun, where the 308 uses a short action, so you save a little weight, if that matters.  If you reload, brass is a little cheaper and more available in 308, as is ammo, especially if you search the net for cheap practice stuff.  I own a fair number of both, and base my choice and use on the particular gun in question more than the cartridge its self.  Battle and ultra light rifles - the 308.  Traditional hunting rifles - the 30-06.  The 308 is more popular as a target round, but both can be more accurate then the shooter, depending on the rifle and load.  So, clear as mud, right?..
 
Larry

[facetious]

Up to 165gr. I think it is a toss up but a 180gr. and up I think the 30-06 has the advantage .

[Dee]

As someone said past the 180 grain the 3006 has a "little" more range, but the 308 is inherently more accurate due to the more efficient cartridge design, and the fact that the action is shorter, and thereby stiffer than the long action 3006. I have had several of both, and the 308 to me makes more sense, but that is me.

[Forestclimber]

I think the accuracy point has convinced me to get the 308. 

[Mikey]

I thoroughly disagree that the 308 is 'inherently' more accurate than the 30-06.  I think that line is a buncha hype sponsored by ammo makers who simply wanted the 'newer' 30 caliber cartridge to become more popular than the 'older' 30 caliber cartridge.  By that reasoning the 57mm case of the 8mm is 'inherently' more accurate than the 30-06, which it may well be.
I have never seen a valid comparison of the 308 vs the 30-06.  There is always something that invalidates the entire 'study', like differences in ammo, newer vs older rifles, or something different here or there - just enough to make the entire article about as valid as pablum vs oatmeal as a case filler in 32 S&W vs 38 spl. 
Shaving a few ounces off a action for a medium length cartridge is, to me, simply pandering to a market infused with thoughts of 'lighter is better'; better than what, developing the necessary strength and skills to 'man up' a mountain side with a rifleman's rifle, hold a set of crosshairs on a 300 yd target after snaking through a brushy sendero?  Do you really think a few ounces will make the difference there.
As for accuracy - hell, the British 303 outshot the 308 at the Wimbleton 1,000 yd matches, and it wasn't because they used English targets.  In fact, as I recall, the 303 even outshot the 30-06 until Sierra developed its 190 gn bullet for that 30 caliber for longer range shooting.  I guess teh 57mm length 303 case was 'inherently more accurate than the 62mm length 06 case.
If ya want you can go all the way back to, who was it, Townsend Whelan or was it Jack O'Conner, who opined that the best thing you could do with a 8mm is rebarrel it to 06 - wasn't there the question about that as to whether the bore he used was .318, or .323 with the correspondingly wrong ammo?? 
If I wanted lightweight and low recoil I would opt for a 260, but I prefer the 6.5 Swede for the same reason I pefer the 06.  More rifle, more oomph and more knockdown where it counts. 
For that matter, if I want more knockdown I will go to the 8mm, or the 444 for that matter. 
Both 30 bore calibers may be similar in peformance but those similarities end quickly.  I'll just betcha that the same people who absolutely believe in the 308 will tell you that the 06 is obsolete in the face of any of the 300 magnums on the market today when you really have to ask yourself why you would want or need a 300 something or another magnum to shoot a 200 lb Whitetail and when the 06 comes within the same range of 'similarities' as the 300 Winchester.
Can you shoot bear with a 308 - yeah, if you want to chance it.  Can you shoot them with a 25-06 - yeah, if you can outrun them.  Can you plant a big bear with a heavy load in a 06 - yep.  Can you drop a Moose or a large bull Elk at 400 yds with a 308 - maybe but I'd prefer the 06 for that as I know it works.  Can you get the same heavy load from a 308 to be as good as from a 30-06 - doubt it. 
Get what you want for what you are going to shoot.  I feel the 308 is the lighter of the two 30 bores.  jmtcw.
 

[Dee]

Mikey, not to argue, but why don't you check out virtually EVERY SWAT COUNTER SNIPER TEAM in America. Most Military Sniper Units. Camp Perry big bore shooters ect. It has nothing to do with AMMO MAKERS.
The 308 cartridge is INHERENTLY more accurate than the 3006. It is a LONG PROVEN FACT. There are some cartridges that are just plain MORE INHERENTLY ACCURATE than others. The 223, and the 2506 are two other examples of INHERENTLY ACCURATE cartridges.
A shorter action is a stiffer action. Plain and simple by the way.

[45-70.gov]

as a cast boolit shooter


they  both have more case capacity then needed.......given the 308 the edge


with jaketed bulleits....hardly any difference between the two
you will get the same power with less powder  in the 308...cheaper and less recoil
but not enough to make a bit of difference


with the price of  slugs..casting may be in all our futures.....just one consideration
might be the one thing to help you decide


i reload  my many 308s....for years
i just got dies to reload 30-06,,,,,,for a friend......i never shot my 30-06 enough to get dies for it

[Dave in WV]

I own a 30-06. That said for me the 308 has an advantage of a shorter action on most rifles. Short actions are easier to scope since most of today's scopes are being made with tube lengths that are too short. Picking the nit about accuracy is a moot point IMO. That's bench accuracy and I've never met another hunter in the field with a bench. My M70 30-06 is more accurate than my son's Ruger MKII .308. His 308 is a solid MOA rifle. His Rem 760 30-06 will shoot rings around both of our bolt actions day in , day out.  The cartridge may have the potential of better accuracy but there are too many factors for an out of the box rifle to count on it. Comparing sniper rifles to out of the box hunting rifles is like comparing a Corvette to a pick up. Me, I'm a pick up man.

[mannyrock]

 
   Again, you can't go wrong with either.  My choice is the .308.  Another advantage of this round is that the recoil is less.   (Generally 20 to 21 foot pounds of recoil for the .30-06,  and 17 to 18 foot pounds for the .308.)  In my experience, the .308 is just easier to shoot well for the average shooter.
 
    And yes, the .308 is inherently more accurate than the .30-06, though I don't think that the average shooter, at reasonable hunting ranges up to 250 yards, will really worry about a half inch or so of greater accuracy.
 
      You mention available ammunition.   I would estimate that there are between 20 and 30 different factory loadings available for the .308, so for most folks that is not an issue.
 
    As for ammunition in your area, I have always always found it easier to just pick up a Cabela's catalogue, select the ammo I want, order 3 or 4 boxes, and have it delivered to my front door, than driving around to different stores, wasting gas, and trying to find out what ammo they do and don't have, and what good prices they may or may not have.   
 
Mannyrock
 
 
 

[45-70.gov]

if the SLIGHT edge in horse power in the 30-06  is even a consideration


LOOK INTO A  338

[Mikey]

Dee:  you are arguing, and in the wrong direction.  Most every squat pooper team and military sniper units use the 308/7.62x51 because it is a military issue round.  If the M14 and M60 had been chambered in the 7.ooey-gooey that is the round that would be favored by so many.  Give it a break.  You are basing preference and use on precedence, which btw is the same arguement the current administration would use to ban assault rifles. 
Choose what you will but by your own logic the 6.5 Swede is a better round than the 308, which it is and inherently more accurate too, yet we don't have any 6.5 military or squat sniper rifles in that bore, yet; however, when we finally do go to a 6.5 mm bore I'm sure we willhave the same, ummm, discussion...... imo.

[45-70.gov]

260 REMINGTON

[Ranch13]

Pickone. The 308 has the advantage of more available milsurp rounds these days. Not much of recent manufacturer milsurp in the 06.
I own and use rifles in both cartridges, and to date have not been able to tell any difference in the affectiveness on game, nor on the target.
The 308 does offer a bit less recoil than the 06, and may account for many folks ability to shoot the cartridge well.

[roper]

http://riflemansjournal.blogspot.com.es/2011/04/cartridges-sibling-rivalry-308-vs-30-06.html

I've got two pretty nice 30-06 that I used for hunting and when comparing the two some will say animal never know the different.  I sure know the difference  reason I use the 30-06.

[D Fischer]

I'm on my third 308 in about 50 yrs. Also on my third 30-06 in about the same time. I've never shot the first head of game with a 30-06. I like the short barrel 308 rifles, 20". Don't think you can get that in a 30-06. Doesn't really matter what you choose. 308 does have a reputation of being more accurate but it's accuracy in a hunting rifle that isn't gonna make in difference in the outcome of the shot. I like the 2165 gr loads in 308 but have used the 180 gr bullet's with no problem. I like the 180 gr bullet's in the 30-06 but ai suspect it handles the 200 gr fairly well also. My 308's handled the 200 gr but accuracy noticeably fell off.

As far as stiff action goes, the only place I can think where that would matter is in competition. want to stiffen up a long action, one piece base for the scope. This subject is really about Ford's and Chevy's. Some people swear by one and some by the other; they both do the same thing!

[spruce]

This has been discussed (and argued!) since the .308 was introduced in 1952(?).  Logic tells me if a definitive answer hasn't been reached after all those years then it probably won't.
 
If I was looking for a .30 caliber for medium game I could be satisfied with either one. 
 
I would probably choose the .308, more for nostalgic reasons than anything else as I lugged one up and down the hills of Fort Knox many years ago!
The .30-06, in years gone by, had a decided advantage in that it better handled the heavier weight bullets of 200 grains or over (and it still does), but with modern premium bullet designs the advantage of the heavier bullets has been appreciably diminished.
 
Either is a good choice for an all around cartridge for the lower 48.  If I were hunting grizzly or browns I'd feel better with something bigger than either of them.

[Drilling Man]

  A 30-06 drives heavier bullets MORE than 100 fps faster than a 308, and to me, a 30-06 is a big game hunting cartridge, so i've always choose it over the 308 Win. for big game.
 
  For deer, ANYTHING half way decent will work for deer, but i'd choose the 30-06 every time if i even thought i'd hunt something bigger than deer in the future.  I don't need either one to kill a deer!
 
  As for accuracy, get real!  In hunting rifles, NO ONE will ever beable to tell a 308 from a 30-06, and you can load the 30-06 down if you want to...  I've got more than one sporter 30-06 that will shoot around 1/2" or better with hunting loads...
 

 
  Around here, 30-06 and 30-30 ammo is always best priced or on sale.
 
  DM

[Cheesehead]

Ranch13 hit the nail on the head, since the 308 is currently a NATO round.

[T.R.]

These cartridges are so close to each other performance wise that any real difference is in the realm of theory.  30-06 has been around longer and used in three wars.  Wherever game has been hunted on this planet, the 30-06 has been there and got the job done.
 
I favor the .308 simply because I prefer a light carbine with 20 inch barrel.  I've toppled a stack of game with my carbine and none got away.
 
TR
 

[45-70.gov]

the 308 will work better in a shorter barrel....[higher preasure round]
the 30-06   with the  heavier bullets has the edge


i  like short barrels more than i like heavy slugs
but i can have  both too

[facetious]

One thing I haven't seen is what he is going to use it for?

[Lloyd Smale]

I like them both. As to one being more accurate it may be but hasnt been shown to me with my guns over the years. Ive had tack driving 06s and 308s and have had duds in both too. Has more to do with the quality of the gun they anything else. If the 308 is any better in that respect it would take a bench rest shooter to sort it out. As to the average guy buying a hunting rifle theres no difference. I decide between them like this. If i want to use a short light gun i grab one of my 308s. If a sporter weight gun 22 inch or longer is what i want to use that day id prefer it in 06. Lots of people will claim the 308 runs right with an o6 for velocity but that to hasnt proven to be the case for me. Keep in mind that factory 308s are loaded to quite a bit higher pressures then factory o6 ammo and since there both used in the same guns theres no reason why a guy cant load 06 ammo to the same pressures. When you do this the 06 leaves the 308 in the dust. Say what you want but its just common sense. the 06 has a bigger case holds more powder and will push ANY bullet faster then a 308. Id say the differnce is much closer to 200 fps then 100fps. Its just as much more powerful then the 308 as the 300 win  mag is over the 06
 
I dont buy into all this short rounds are more effiecient line of crap. Sure put 45 grains of powder in each and the 308 will give better velocity but who cares. Take the same bullet and put 50 grains in the 06 and look at your chrono. 5 more grains of powder sure isnt going to keep food off my familys table. I shoot alot of deer every year crop damage shooting. We hunt about a dozen differnt fields that vary in size.  When i pick a gun for that day it depends on the field were hunting. Ive shot enough deer that i know what it takes to put them down effieciently. I dont ever go undergunned as i think it would be silly to just to prove that it could be done. Ive shot enough deer with  both that i limit myself to 300 yard shooting with a 308 350 at the max. With the 3006 i will limit it to 350 to 400 max. Anything longer then that and I defineatly will grab a mag rifle out of the safe. I know ill get posts now from guys who will say a 308 will kill deer at 500 yards and so will a 06 but ive shot enough to know there marginal. Unless a guys idea of a fun night is tracking deer that ran off.
 
As to accuracy ill say this. Ive got 4 o6 rifles right now and 2 308s and have had many others. The flat out most accurate sporter weight rifle in ANY caliber ive ever owned is my rem 700 sps 06. It shot so well that the plastic stock got tossed in favor of a nice wood stock and that gun will shoot 3/4s of an inch for 5 (not 3) shots at a 100 yards EVERY time. Many (probably half) those groups are closer to 1/2. It does it with cheap bulk ww 150 power points not match bullets! take a heavy barreled 308 with match bullets and sure you might beat that but id bet not by much and who wants to haul around a heavy barreled deer rifle.
 
My take on it is this. They both have there place but if  I was a hunter that only was planning on buying one rifle to shoot everything from antelope to elk and moose and hunted mostly open country it would be the 06 hands down. If i were a hunter (and was) that only hunted up here where shots come at closer ranges and alot of walking was done id probably grab myself a nice 18-20 inch light weight 308 and not look back.

[mannyrock]

   Good analysis Lloyd.  Hard to argue with any of it.
 
    But, I reach a slightly different conclusion.
 
   I would guess that 99% of all big game is killed at less than 300 yards.  So, I wouldn't carry a .30-06 just for that 1% shot.
 
  I weigh 145 pounds.  And, I can tell you that for a smaller guy like me, the felt recoil between the .308 and the .30-06 is quite considerable.   As the U.S. military found, the recoil of the .30-06 is right on the edge of what an average guy can handle.    I  don't want to just handle recoil, I want to ignore it and shoot very well.  A .308 lets me do that.
 
   And, if for some reason, I would ever need the power of a .30-06 round (moose hunt at long range?), I can simply buy a box of Hornaday Light Magnums for the .308,  in 180 grain weight, with virtually the same velocity and foot pounds as a regular .30-06 shell.   
 
    So, for someone who wants a lighter rifle, a shorter rifle, and softer recoil, that he can shoot really well, the .308 is the ticket.   If someone is going to routinely be in big open country, and try to take shots beyond 300 yards at large game, I believe he would be better off with a .280 Remington or a  7mm magnum anyway.
 
   One poster noted that the .30-06 shoots more than 100 fps faster than the .308.   I say that this seems to prove my point.  When you are dealing with velocities of 2,8500 feet per second, who cares about 100 fps one way or another.  Give me all of the advantages of the .308, and I happily give up that 100 to 200 fps difference.  Properly hit with a Corelokt, no big game will ever know the difference. (Except maybe that huge moose at long range.)
 
   As for barrel length, I have found that shortening a standard 22 inch barrel in .308 to 21 inches makes a world of difference in the way the rifle handles, without any significant loss of velocity or increase in muzzle flash.  Extremely handy!
 
   Again though, if he can handle the recoil of the .30-06, he can't go wrong with either.
 
Best, Mannyrock
 
 

[nomosendero]

Both are great and I like both alot & use both, though not the 30-06 that much. These things are hard to answer when the OP does not say what he will do with the rifle or what other rifles he has, both relevant to give an accurate answer.

[charles p]

Both are great calibers.  I own both.  There is no accuracy disadvantage to a 308.  As an older hunter with disabilities, I use my Model 7 Rem in 308 on most outings.  Deer fear it and fall to it equally well.  I only use 150 grain bullets in the 06 and 308.  Have never found the heavier bullets to offer a killing advantage, just slightly more recoil.

[tomtomz]

I prefer the 30-06.  It feeds the 1919M4 nicely.

[Swampman]

I've owned both and .........
 
"the .30-06 is never a mistake." ~Townsend Whelen ~