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.308 for deer ?

Question for the guys owning both the .308 and .30-06, preference of one over the other and why?
I have both and appreciate both. If i were forced to keep only one it would be the 06 just because of variety of ammo from light to heavy as well as the reduced recoil rounds ive become pretty fond of for it. No slight on the .308 its a proven performer.
 
I have both and appreciate both. If i were forced to keep only one it would be the 06 just because of variety of ammo from light to heavy as well as the reduced recoil rounds ive become pretty fond of for it. No slight on the .308 its a proven performer.

I've always been a fan of the '06 for the same reasons......but in AR in .308 is in my future.
 
The .30-06 is a historically important and significant cartridge. The .308 Winchester is nowhere near as iconic.
 
The .30-06 is a historically important and significant cartridge. The .308 Winchester is nowhere near as iconic.
Well i wasnt gonna go there, im not sure about rest of the country but i believe down south there may be some old blue laws that if you cannot produce your 06 and a shotgun of some type you can be detained on suspicion of communist tendancy.
 
The need to start arresting antifa on suspicion of communist tendancy.

2A isnt' a suggestion. ;)
 
Question for the guys owning both the .308 and .30-06, preference of one over the other and why?

Hello Whitey. I've got them both... 2 of each. When hunting from an enclosed stand I'll mostly sling a 30.06. I can rest the rifle, get a good shot picture, shoot out to some distance if need be and suck up the recoil. The .308, due to the lighter weight and shorter barrel, I take a .308 on standing "Drive" hunts or when I'm on the move to track deer or pigs. As far as shooting and dropping game, for my purposes one is as good as the other.

JB :cool:
 
the 30 caliber round has taken everything on the continent, and has been doing it for over 120 years, the us krag Jorgensen service rifle shooting the 30 government cartridge as well as the 1985 Winchester 30 govt. were both shooting 30-40 ammo, the old 1893 marlin and 1894 winchester was the 30wcf (30-30 )version, when the government switched to the 1903 springfield the cartridge was a 30 cal, 30-03, that was later converted to shoot the spritzer ammo and referred to as the 30-06, in the 1950s the 308 was born by shortening the same 30-06 round with the advancement in powders. the 308 case is the parent of the 243 Winchester round, as well as the 338 Winchester, todays 300 magnum is still a 30 cal pushing at greater speeds

two Saturdays ago I had a nephew come to the farm to sight in his deer rifles, a 243 tc and a open sighted rossi version of the model 94 Winchester in 30-30, he stated that he was going to use the rossi in the thick stuff, after zeroing his T/C rifle at 100 yds , I asked him to take it out to a 18" square hanging target I have set up at 300 yds., after explaining bullet drop and where he should hold he was happy to be able to clang the target at 300 with the 243, when I asked if he thought a 30-30 would be viable at that range he said there was no way to hit that square at 300 yds with a 30-30, so I asked him if I could shoot the carbine Rossi

I told him that I was going to make a spine shoot on the target, and setting on our shooting bench off hand with the Rossi and 150 gr federal blue box, I hit the target in the top 3 inches about 3 inches apart shooting offhand two shots two hits on the 18" square steel target at 300 yds.

I handed him his rifle and told him it was the man shooting the gun not the gun that made the difference,( I also did not want to push my luck so I quit while I was ahead, but that little rossi will shoot)

he stated that it did not clang as loud as when it was hit by the 243, and I explained that at 300 yds the 243 was packing over 1000 ft lbs of energy while the 30-30 was only hitting with about 650 lbs of energy, then he asked if that was enough to kill a deer at 300yds and I explained to him that the 30-30 was still hitting the target at 300 yds with 30 percent more energy than a 45acp at the muzzle, and that 150 gr corelock 308 at that distance is delivering 1350 ft lbs of energy

I got long winded but the 308 will kill anything on this planet , with proper bullet placement

I love the 308, I now own 6, ammo can be found anywhere ammo is sold, so buy you a good rifle, and a lot of ammo and learn what your ammo is doing at different ranges
and as far as deer ammo is concerned you don't need the greatest and lasted 3 buck a round ammo, the old soft point ammo has been getting it done for a long time
 
Thank you for taking the time to help your nephew, and explain to him how things work.

And thank you for actually SHOWING him how it worked too.
 
Had an old, got it new, Rem mod 660 in 308. It was my go to rifle for a lot of years, lot of deer killed with it. Somehow it's ended up at my son'e house. Still have two more 308's, just like the cartridge. 308 is as good as any on game. As for heavy bullet's, I haven't bought a commercial round in close to 45 yrs, all handloads. Best shooting bullet's for me are the 165gr and 180 gr, but, I've tried 150gr and 200 gr. I strongly suspect that the 200gr on a dangerous up close encounter would save the day, awesome penetration but not near as accurate as the 165 and 180 gr bullet's. Oh yea, I only shoot cup and core bullet's. Tried premium's on paper a few time's and never found them worth the money.
 
I have two deer rifles, depending on where I am going to hunt.....brush or fields.
My brush gun in a Marlin lever in .35 Remington. I bought it new in 1986 and have got many deer with it. About 125 yds. is my suggested max though longer shots have been made.
My field gun is a Remington 700 XCR Compact in .308. If I weren't married, I would sleep with this rifle. My longest kill so far is 245 yards, but she ought to run out to 600 yards easy. You will never regret buying a .308. Do your homework by reading as many reviews as you can find on different models, and save more money. You want to put good money into the scope as well. Money well spent now will bring you great pleasure and prevent you from spending more later. Savage makes a good rifle, very accurate, and reasonably priced.
 
I see no issues with using a .308 rifle for deer, my other choice is .243.
I have a remington pump .06 that likes to take my shoulder with it but is also a good deer rifle.
 
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