COTW - .308 Winchester

[AJ]

The U.S. Army had been using the outstanding .30-06 cartridge for 40 years and was looking for a replacement that would be somewhat shorter in length to make it better for automatic firearms. Experimentation began with the .300 Savage and ended up with the experimental T65 round. Winchester introduced the commercial version of the T65 as the .308 Winchester in 1952 while the adoption by the U.S. Army was in 1954. The .308 bullet exactly duplicated the ballistics of the .30-06 with standard M2 ball ammunition but the overall cartridge length was over a half-inch shorter.

The .308 Winchester is almost identical to the NATO 7.62x51mm and in most cases the rounds are interchangeable. The specifications do have a slightly different dimension for the headspace. This might play a role when shooting .308 commercial bullets from a rifle chambered for 7.62x51mm.

The .308 Winchester is found chambered by almost all manufacturers in bolt action, semi automatic, single shot, pump, and lever actions. Its short overall length enables rifle manufacturers to offer it in any type of rifle. This cartridge is also inherently accurate. It is popular for long distance shooters and has become a standard for military snipers. It still is a very popular cartridge for Hunter Benchrest Competition.

The .308 Winchester has developed into a great sporting cartridge. There is a very large selection of different loads for this caliber for a wide range of applications. This caliber has bullet weights ranging from 110 grain to 190 grain and usually generates from 2000 feet per second up to 3000 fps. For varmint use the 125 grain Ballistic Tip is outstanding in this cartridge. For deer hunting, the 150 grain bullet is the most popular, but the cartridge is still a fine round when fed the 165 grain or 180 grain bullet. Since it is so popular it is readily found at most if not all places that sell rifle ammo. The cost is average with other popular cartridges like the .30-06 Springfield and 270 Winchester. Darn near every manufacturer offers ammo in this round. Since Hornady introduced the Light Magnum line of ammo others like Federal have followed suit. These high intensity loadings make the .308 Winchester equal to the .30-06 Springfield loads.

Comparing the 150 grain, 165 grain, and 180 grain bullets in the .308 we find the ballistics are hunter friendly. When sighted in dead zero at 200 yards the bullet drops less than 9” at 300 yards. This places the bullet about 1 ¾” high at 100 yards. This allows the hunter to hold “on hair” out to 300 yards and still place the bullet in the vitals. These all have at least 1400 ft-lbs of energy at the 300 yard line.

The .308 Winchester is also a very easy cartridge to reload. There are a variety of powders that work well. The cartridge likes the medium to fast burning rifle powders. High quality brass is available from Lapua and Norma but Lake City Match brass is readily available and is outstanding.

It is not the flattest shooting cartridge, but when the shooter is capable, it is a very adequate round to shoot game to 300 yards. There are other cartridges that are better suited to individual tasks but the .308 Winchester does them all. It is a very versatile round that will be around for a very long time.

[snapper]

More info. on the .308...but basically says the same thing!

.308 Winchester

The .308 Winchester has won more benchrest matches than any other cartridge above the 6mm caliber. And continues to win more Hunter class benchrest matches than all other cartridges combined. The .308 is also one of our most popular big game cartridges, not only in the U.S. but in many other countries as well.

Soon after World War II, the U.S. government issued contracts to Winchester and Remington for assistance in the development of a replacement cartridge for the .30-06. The result of those efforts was a shorter version of the .30-06 called T-65. Later the name was changed to 7.62mm NATO.

Realizing that any cartridge adopted by Uncle Sam was sure to become popular among civilian shooters, Winchester beat Remington to the punch by dressing the 7.62mm in civies and calling it .308 Winchester. It was a good move. The .308 went on to enjoy the popularity as a big game cartridge, not only in bolt action rifles but in pumps, single shots, autoloaders, and lever actions as well. Which pretty much sums up the primary reason for the .308's success. Its short overall length enables rifle manufacturers to offer it in any type of rifle.

Choosing the .308 instead of the .30-06 in a bolt action, slide action or autoloading rifle doesn't make sense simply because the shorter cartridge can never be made to equal the performance of the longer cartridge. But in a lever action rifle such as the Savage Model 99, the .308 is far superior to the .30-30 class of cartridges.

For hunting deer size game at close to medium ranges, the .308 Winchester loaded to about 2800 fps with a 150 grain bullet is an excellent performer. The .308 is by no means one of our better elk cartridges, but when loaded with a good 180 grain bullet it will suffice. H380, H335, IMR-4895, RL-12, and W-748 are excellent powders for the .308 Winchester.


Source: Hodgdon Data Manual, 26th Edition

[AJ]

Thanks Snapper. I took some of my information from that very article.

[borch]

Good info guys!

Gotta love that .308!

[Strut10]

My first rifle was a Savage 99-C in .308. I've not been without at least one .308 sporter since. At one time, me, my dad & brother all had 99-C .308's. Now, a couple of us use .300 Win. Mags on whitetails from time to time. It's been an ongoing observation that the .308 with a 180gr. bullet plants more deer on the spot than the big .300 Mags. [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] No kiddin'!! We've seen it time and again.

I've got a special spot inside for the "little" .308!! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[markyj987]

Great info, AJ and snapper...

Maybe this will be the answer to my rifle dilemma.

[wyohunter]

good info guys, i like this cotw idea....maybe someday my wildcat will make it...naaaah

[AJ]

Originally posted by wyohunter:
maybe someday my wildcat will make it...naaaah

<font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Whats your wildcat? Did you design it?

[robk]

well i just went and got a 308 barrel for my encore and decided to give it a go. i know it;s history and i know it is a great caliber and still ver popular. i know my 30 cal bettert han my 25 cal so i let the 25-06 go and took on the 308 which i know from vietnam and my dad shoots his 30-06 and it;s a great round also but i tthink with my shoulder surgeries i decided to go with a roudn that wasn't as harsh on your shoulder and the 308 was my first choice for a change of pace. i am really pumped about it and can't wait to dial it in
rob k

[robk]

happy camper shooting quarter size groups on the 2nd group and i am on for the gun season and will enjoy puttin the hurt on old bambi. quarter inch groups at 100 yards makes a guy smile lol
rob k

[JimT]

I just got my first .308,,,so far so good. I have not dialed it in yet, but am hoping to soon. It has been hot here and the barrel heats up in short order. Again, thanks for the info AJ/Snap.

[spyderpancake]

I am getting my .308 tomorrow! The Rem.700 VLS that i was telling yall about...

[HaDeRonDa]

This one too!!! Thanks for the info.