Who here is a .308 Winchester hunter?

[Willy Dee]

I try to avoid caliber wars. I hunt primarily with rifles chambered in 270win, 30-06 Springfield, or 308 win. I like all of them. I recently aquired a 308 model 7 that Bullshot was kind enough to sell to me. I really like how compact it is and easy to shoot. Bullet and powder technology have come so far that it really enables a great range of functionality for most caibers.

 

[Sasquatchewan]

Why do you think .308 is such a great American big-game cartridge?

What do YOU think about the .308 Win, Tom?

 

[Sam Colt]

I just looked at my Winchester Silver Tip cartridges and they do not have "Silver Tip" engraved anywhere on them. I'm ot sure how much they are saving by not engraving them, but to me it's another sign of the overall decline in the pride American companies have in their products and workmanship. In fact, I would not be surprised if these new cartridges were being made in Japan.

 

[morley.tyler]

What do YOU think about the .308 Win, Tom?

View attachment 208027

 

[Islander]

I am no longer a 308 hunter. Found one last year, so I am now a 308 owner.

 

[Cheesehead]

Why do you think .308 is such a great American big-game cartridge?

 

[Addicting]

I really like the font of the Win stamping. Unfortunately, it’s the only Win this thread has.

 

[RobertD]

Here's my reasoning

 

[MarvB]

You cut firewood with it??

 

[tzone]

Why do you think .308 is such a great American big-game cartridge?

I used it to shoot a doe this year and the deer died. So, it works like the other ones I use. I'm not saying it's great, but it's easy.

 

[Dougfirtree]

I'll be dead in the cold, cold ground before I use that trojan horse of a cartridge, designed to make us all comfy with NATO's new world order and emasculate our M-1 toting freedom warriors!

 

[Dougfirtree]

Here's my reasoning

Jeez, he's got some tines on him, eh?! Congrats!

 

[morley.tyler]

new world order

I don't think the Hulkster feels too emasculated.

 

[Dougfirtree]

View attachment 208060

I don't think the Hulkster feels too emasculated.

I don't know, I think that stubble is just drawn on with charcoal...

 

[JohnCushman]

I have a .308 as a back up to my 30-06 when I'm away from home.

 

[morley.tyler]

I don't know, I think that stubble is just drawn on with charcoal...

 

[LopeHunter]

Fifty years ago I lived in Steamboat Springs, the heart of some of Colorado's best deer and elk country. Back then I only had one centerfire rifle, a .30-06, and that was my deer, elk and antelope rifle. My wife (then) wanted to hunt with me so I got her a Ruger 77 in .308 Win. For most of my previous Army training, we had M-14s, so I was very familiar with the .308/7.62 cartridge. To my thinking, the .308 was just a junior .30-06 that shot just about as hard as a .30-06 but kicked less.

With the end of that marriage my use of a .308 also ended until 2007 when I borowed a .308 with FMJ bullets from my South African PH so I could shoot a Cape Grysbok without the bullet tearing a huge hole in his cape. I then remembered how fun a .308 was to shoot, so when I got back home I bought myself a .308.

I mainly bought that .308 to shoot steel at our range, and about 5 years ago I "upgraded" to a Weatherby Vanguard also in .308 Win. I currently have a Lepold VX 3i 6-18x40 CDS scope on it, and I enjoy hearing it ring the steel gongs out to 430 yards on my weekly trips to the range.

As for hunting with my .308, so far i've only used it on one hunt, a triip to Kodiak Island for Sitka Blacktail deer. I still think the .308 is a great deer and antelope round and for elk it would probably be the number 3 rifle in my safe behind my .300 Weatherby and 7mm Rem Mag.

I agree re elk and the .308. Sure, a .22 Mag can drop an elk with optimal placement though for elk I like a bit larger kill zone target and the ability to have a chance to not just hit lung but also take out the opposite shoulder. Watching a mortally hit elk step down the side of a steep canyon is less fun than might imagine. I picked the .308 for my first rifle to use "out West" about 30 years ago because it was a decent overall rifle out to 300 yards and lots of ballistic info was available online at the time. These days, a phone application can show you all sorts of ballistics for various cartridges and bullets but back in the day the .308 information was easy to locate. I now use .338 Win Mag for elk. I use a 7mm-08 for the rest of my hunts. Side note: This thread is not generating the off-season vitriol I anticipated. Are we becoming a kinder, gentler tribe?

 

[Brian in Montana]

Cartridges get overthought a great deal these days. It's pretty simple with the .308 - there's not any one area in which it REALLY excels or stands out, it just does everything very well.

 

[TomTeriffic]

What do YOU think about the .308 Win, Tom?

View attachment 208027

Why Tom Terrific is fond of .308?

His grandfather had a beautiful Husqvarna Model 3000 Crown Grade bolt-action rifle made in 1962. She was chambered in .308. Since boyhood he has always thought THREE-OH-EIGHT to be synonymous with THE DEFINITIVE AMERICAN BIG GAME CARTRIDGE. .308 will decisively kill everything in America from prairie dog to moose (provided the hunter does his part) and can even be had in a heavy, soft-shooting Browning BAR. Thrifty and plentiful .308 ammo can cost under a buck a pop and this 1952-introduced classic American hunting caliber is always available when none other is stock. The big debate is whether .300 Savage or .36-06 Springfield spawned this little 3-0-8 wonder. .308 is always a number American sportsman can count on. .308 Winchester is the "12 gauge" or ".38 Special" or ".45 ACP" of rifle cartridges. There are so many rifles past and present chambered for it to boot! If .30-06 is the 454 Big Block Chevy of American CF cartridges, then .308 might be the 350 Small Block Chevy of American CF cartridges. My humble opinion.

 

[Cheesehead]

Why Tom Terrific is fond of .308?

His grandfather had a beautiful Husqvarna Model 3000 Crown Grade bolt-action rifle made in 1962. She was chambered in .308. Since boyhood he has always thought THREE-OH-EIGHT to be synonymous with THE DEFINITIVE AMERICAN BIG GAME CARTRIDGE. .308 will decisively kill everything in America from prairie dog to moose (provided the hunter does his part) and can even be had in a heavy, soft-shooting Browning BAR. Thrifty and plentiful .308 ammo can cost under a buck a pop and this 1952-introduced classic American hunting caliber is always available when none other is stock. The big debate is whether .300 Savage or .36-06 Springfield spawned this little 3-0-8 wonder. .308 is always a number American sportsman can count on. .308 Winchester is the "12 gauge" or ".38 Special" or ".45 ACP" of rifle cartridges. There are so many rifles past and present chambered for it to boot! If .30-06 is the 454 Big Block Chevy of American CF cartridges, then .308 might be the 350 Small Block Chevy of American CF cartridges. My humble opinion.

It’s like a Greatest Hits post