Would anyone else care to give praise to the .308 ?

[Shangobango]

I have 3 rifles in .308. That caliber just gets the job done.

Add in the wide selection of ammo that is currently available when you can’t get your hands on many other calibers or at least have very limited choices in other calibers, what is not to like.

 

[Farmerj]

Aaah yes…308 Winchester…

What other calibers strive to achieve…

 

[The Hedgehog]

My .308 gets the job done. It's the only rifle other than a .22 that I've ever owned though. I've taken deer, elk, antelope, and black bear with it.

Use enough gun

 

[Mountain Mule]

Use enough gun

Is a .308 not enough gun to take these animals within 200 yards? I have never lost an animal due to "not having enough gun". If I'm wrong, enlighten me.

Edit: trust me, I have definitely thought about getting a gun with a little more behind it; unfortunately its not in the budget for a while.

 

[Mustangs Rule]

308 sucks it’s too mainstream.

I felt that way for the longest time too. i loved the older and odder calibers and the rifles they came in. I had a ,257 Roberts, 250-3000 Savage, 35 Whelen (2), 30-40 Krag, 280 Rem, 6.5 Swede, 7x57 (3), now the 280 AI. I still have a 270, had two 338 Win mag and had a 300 Win Mag.

What just keeps happening is my .308 is the "no fuss" rifle/caliber combo. The catridge is just so effiecient, gets almost the velocity/performance of others that are using so much more powder, and it just easily achieves a high level of accuracy. "No fuss"

Over the years I have just gotten so comfortable with it. It sits in the safe off season, does not change POI, and the game animals just drop dead.

What has really been an upgrade us using Barnes and Lapua bullets too. They just kill so well and lose no weight and are so accuarte in my Sako.

Another thing I read about the 308 was it's ability to shoot different bullet weights close to the same point of aim. They sure work great that way for me.

My heavier slower 168 grain Barns TSX shoot about an inch high at 100 yards and my much fatser 150 grain TTSX shoot 2.25 inches high, making a perfect longer range situation for shots 250 to 350 yards which is just fine for my needs.

And as mentioned earlier, using 30-30 150 grain Barnes bullets at the 30-30 velocities offers a real low recoil yet effective round for deer close up.

My 308 just keeps giving and asks very little in return, like with the light cast loads for small game. Add in the short action too with the reduced bolt throw.

Over and over I just keep reaching for it and leave other rifle/calibers in the safe.

 

[The Hedgehog]

Is a .308 not enough gun to take these animals within 200 yards? I have never lost an animal due to "not having enough gun". If I'm wrong, enlighten me.

Edit: trust me, I have definitely thought about getting a gun with a little more behind it; unfortunately its not in the budget for a while.

Use Enough Gun

Use Enough Gun The last elk I shot was a cow, taken about 190 yards away. An easy shot. Just as I fired, and elk behind her, moved closer and she hopped forward. There was nothing I could have changed at that point. Had she waited a full second later to jump, my bullet would have gone through...

www.hunttalk.com

 

[Northwoods]

.308 is a great cartridge. Second only to the king, .30-06.

 

[Nicoli7153]

I felt that way for the longest time too. i loved the older and odder calibers and the rifles they came in. I had a ,257 Roberts, 250-3000 Savage, 35 Whelen (2), 30-40 Krag, 280 Rem, 6.5 Swede, 7x57 (3), now the 280 AI. I still have a 270, had two 338 Win mag and had a 300 Win Mag.

What just keeps happening is my .308 is the "no fuss" rifle/caliber combo. The catridge is just so effiecient, gets almost the velocity/performance of others that are using so much more powder, and it just easily achieves a high level of accuracy. "No fuss"

Over the years I have just gotten so comfortable with it. It sits in the safe off season, does not change POI, and the game animals just drop dead.

What has really been an upgrade us using Barnes and Lapua bullets too. They just kill so well and lose no weight and are so accuarte in my Sako.

Another thing I read about the 308 was it's ability to shoot different bullet weights close to the same point of aim. They sure work great that way for me.

My heavier slower 168 grain Barns TSX shoot about an inch high at 100 yards and my much fatser 150 grain TTSX shoot 2.25 inches high, making a perfect longer range situation for shots 250 to 350 yards which is just fine for my needs.

And as mentioned earlier, using 30-30 150 grain Barnes bullets at the 30-30 velocities offers a real low recoil yet effective round for deer close up.

My 308 just keeps giving and asks very little in return, like with the light cast loads for small game. Add in the short action too with the reduced bolt throw.

Over and over I just keep reaching for it and leave other rifle/calibers in the safe.

Really like the Barnes bullets. I load a 168gn .30 cal TTSX and have dropped Elk, Muleys and Whitetail with it.
A friend that is a former Army sniper turned me on to them. His wife shot a cow Elk in the breaks, bullet travelled from behind the shoulder on a quartering shot and lodged in the opposong hindquarter. He was able to recover the bullet from the hindquarter. When he weighed the bullet it had only lost 2 gn in weight.

 

[Mustangs Rule]

And here is yet another thought. Like many of us I once dreamed of an African Plains game hunting trip to Africa. I actually had one planned but a positive cancer diagnosis with my wife ended those plans,

During that "drool" period of planning i read all the quotes, statements an suggestions by African professional hunters about caliber perfromance on plains game.

Twice I read about a guide stating that a hunter came to Africa and took all his animals cleanly with one shot each. One used a ,270 Winchester and the other used a .308 Winchester.

The ,270 offers some extra range, and the .308 offers greater bullet weight and frontal surface. Kind of very funtional toss up.

 

[WVmike]

There is a reason that the military has used that round for so long and I have a Remington 700 ADL with a choate stock in .308 and I could bang it against a tree and treat it like absolute crap (not going to) and it would still shoot lights out with just about any ammo that I have used over the years. I'm sure it will be even better with reloaded rounds which I will be starting to full on reload this year.

 

[Mustangs Rule]

Really like the Barnes bullets. I load a 168gn .30 cal TTSX and have dropped Elk, Muleys and Whitetail with it.
A friend that is a former Army sniper turned me on to them. His wife shot a cow Elk in the breaks, bullet travelled from behind the shoulder on a quartering shot and lodged in the opposong hindquarter. He was able to recover the bullet from the hindquarter. When he weighed the bullet it had only lost 2 gn in weight.

And that is the functional merit of a Barnes bullet. You are not paying the frieght for a heaviet bullet, slower, more drop, more recoil, that sheds lead and 15 to 20% of the weight. And Barnes kill differenetly. Those spinning sharper petals are like a propeller cutting their way through meat and bone and do not cause as much meat to be ruined by blunt trauma.

 

[Mountain Mule]

Use Enough Gun

Use Enough Gun The last elk I shot was a cow, taken about 190 yards away. An easy shot. Just as I fired, and elk behind her, moved closer and she hopped forward. There was nothing I could have changed at that point. Had she waited a full second later to jump, my bullet would have gone through...

www.hunttalk.com

So what are your thoughts on bow hunting? Do you think a bow is not adequate for elk because it's not enough to go through both hips when you make a bad shot/something goes astray?

I understand that more gun can take out the error in a real life situation and give you much more leeway if you're off and make a bad shot. But I also understand that thousands of people, including very experienced hunters, enjoy their .308 for elk and seldomly have issue with its performance and still count on it in the field. Different strokes for different blokes. I don't think I would go smaller than a 30 cal for elk, but still do believe it is enough gun, especially on a budget for those that cannot afford a new setup.

 

[The Hedgehog]

JFC

 

[S-3 Ranch]

Really like the Barnes bullets. I load a 168gn .30 cal TTSX and have dropped Elk, Muleys and Whitetail with it.
A friend that is a former Army sniper turned me on to them. His wife shot a cow Elk in the breaks, bullet travelled from behind the shoulder on a quartering shot and lodged in the opposong hindquarter. He was able to recover the bullet from the hindquarter. When he weighed the bullet it had only lost 2 gn in weight.

My 150 ttsx & tsx , running 3000fps = same performance as a .270 @400 meters, not saying much but these new monolithic copper bullets give a .308 a little more pepper @ range till 2000fps is reached

 

[T.R.]

I sent my 99 Savage to MagnaPort in Michigan and their process did not even mar the blueing at all. The result is complete elimination of muzzle jump with reduced recoil. - TR

 

[ludville1]

Finally got a .308 late last year...in a Winchester Model 70 Featherweight. I like to keep rifle brands with their own calibers when possible...my 2 Winchesters: .308 Win. and .264 Win. mag., Weatherby Mark V: .257 Wby. mag. and .300 Wby. mag., Remington: Model 700 LSS 7mm Rem. mag., Browning X Bolt Maple Medallion...well that came down to .30-06 or 6.5 Creedmoor, went with the Manbun because I already had a .30-06. Anyway, haven't killed anything with the new .308 yet, but it's super accurate using Federal Non Typical 150 soft points, and has mild recoil.

 

[Mustangs Rule]

So what are your thoughts on bow hunting? Do you think a bow is not adequate for elk because it's not enough to go through both hips when you make a bad shot/something goes astray?

I understand that more gun can take out the error in a real life situation and give you much more leeway if you're off and make a bad shot. But I also understand that thousands of people, including very experienced hunters, enjoy their .308 for elk and seldomly have issue with its performance and still count on it in the field. Different strokes for different blokes. I don't think I would go smaller than a 30 cal for elk, but still do believe it is enough gun, especially on a budget for those that cannot afford a new setup.

I say "use enough bow" for elk.

I think a .308 is just fine for elk, especially with Barnes bullets. The right sub 30 cal is fine too, .270 has proven itself over and over and has the leeway that makes up for a marginal error in placement. .308 and .270 would be my elk minumums.

Going to the 6.5's they are fine but I think they lack that extra leeway.

A few elk back I shot one in Utah with a .270. Just caught the corner of one lung. Had the power to really open it up still and cause massive bleeding. Elk dropped and never got up.

I think a lesser caliber would not have been that effective. Could my placemnet been better, sure. But I had just a few seconds to get prone get out my short shooting sticks and make my 200 yard shot in the very first few minutes of legal daylight on a foggy morning.

Use enough gun.

 

[smw110136]

I won a .308 at a Ducks Unlimited banquet a few years ago. Outside of sight-in, I've fired it twice and killed a whitetail doe and a cow elk. I think it'll probably get a lot more use on medium-sized game in the future. My only complaints of the .308 is it's just so boring, too straight forward, works just like it should every time.

 

[The Hedgehog]

I say "use enough bow" for elk.

I think a .308 is just fine for elk, especially with Barnes bullets. The right sub 30 cal is fine too, .270 has proven itself over and over and has the leeway that makes up for a marginal error in placement. .308 and .270 would be my elk minumums.

Going to the 6.5's they are fine but I think they lack that extra leeway.

A few elk back I shot one in Utah with a .270. Just caught the corner of one lung. Had the power to really open it up still and cause massive bleeding. Elk dropped and never got up.

I think a lesser caliber would not have been that effective. Could my placemnet been better, sure. But I had just a few seconds to get prone get out my short shooting sticks and make my 200 yard shot in the very first few minutes of legal daylight on a foggy morning.

Use enough gun.

 

[WhitetailHillbilly]

I started out hunting with a 308 when I was very young and loved it. Then I bought my first rifle a 30-06 and thought I was a bad arsh! (I was 13). In my 20's I bought a 270win and couldn't believe how flat it shot. I knew nothing about MOAs reticles or dial turrets so I felt like it extended my range, then in my 30's started shooting 7mm Rem Mag. All that to say that now that I'm in my 60s maybe a little wiser I can say I truly appreciate the 308 win and what a great all around choice it can be. I understand now why I was started out on it. Mild recoil with serious knock down power and ballistics to take you out some serious long range shooting. So from one old timer to another, yeah I can give some love to the 308!