308: Is It Making a Comeback??

[HighUintas]

Short barrels and suppressors are for tossers.

Ya need to put a 28" on that 308, use some Palma brass, and jack the pressures up considerably.

At least, that's what I'd do if I had a 308.

 

[kkp005]

As a lover of 223, can you blow though an elk shoulder joint at 300 yards with a 223 though?

Yes… check out the 223 thread on here

 

[grfox92]

Alot of mention of 308s being good chopped down and suppresses.

Does it do substantially better then other calibers when cut down? Not loose the same ratio of speed per inch cut? What am I missing?

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[mtwarden]

https://rifleshooter.com/2014/12/30...ato-barrel-length-versus-velocity-28-to-16-5/

 

[BarCO]

It was never gone. I have a .308 .270 and 6.5 prc, all local stores have plenty of ammo on the shelves.

 

[ARK_Ginger]

As a lover of 223, can you blow though an elk shoulder joint at 300 yards with a 223 though?

Yes. There’s a great thread with many examples of this and even on some moose. Elk shoulders are nothing to worry about

 

[id_jon]

A fast twist 308 for subs and ultra long heavies would be a neat project.

300 blackout if you're shooting subs!

 

[yfarm]

Shot a Nilgai at 320 yds 308 150gr Barnes TSX, broke both front shoulders, bullet exited, dropped both lungs and had bone fragments in the liver. One shot.18” RA Compact

 

[ARK_Ginger]

300 blackout if you're shooting subs!

I’ve got one of those and it’s neat, but a 308 with trail boss is silly quiet. My 300 isn’t really setup to dial those rainbow trajectories. Lol

 

[CCH]

It never left and will be around long after many of the flavor of the month cartridges have enjoyed their time in the sun. I won't go back to the Weatherby days of ultra high velocity cartridges that were then emulated by the mainstream manufacturers, although we did get some pretty good and long lasting rounds out of that like the .300 WM, .338 WM and 7mm Rem Mag.

In more recent years (relatively speaking), we had the extra long action (.375/8mm Rem Mag length) magnum craze for a while with the 7mm STW and .358 STA quickly followed by the RUM versions. Lazzeroni stuff was hot for a bit. Then we went the other way with beltless short mags -- I think the .300 WSM is the only one with much steam left. Good luck if you went with the Rem SAUM versions. For a fat minute we even had the WSSM cartridges. I blinked and they were gone. Now we have the long range hunting trend, and extreme BC bullets are the thing to have and the 6.5 is back -- although not new, the .264 Win Mag, 6.5 Rem Mag and .260 Remington were all pretty capable performers. Apparently someone had learned something from the 6.5 Swede. You've got your Nosler cartridges and your PRCs and a few others. All good to be sure.

Throughout all that, the .308, .270, .30-06 and .243 have kept on rocking. There are very few sporting rifles introduced that don't include the .308 as an offering and for many of the precision types it is one of only two or three options. People work very hard to find the minutia to set apart their latest and greatest from the rabble, but actual terminal effects on game with decent bullets at reasonable ranges are negligible.

.308 has worked, continues to work and will work for me.

 

[General RE LEE]

It never left and will be around long after many of the flavor of the month cartridges have enjoyed their time in the sun. I won't go back to the Weatherby days of ultra high velocity cartridges that were then emulated by the mainstream manufacturers, although we did get some pretty good and long lasting rounds out of that like the .300 WM, .338 WM and 7mm Rem Mag.

In more recent years (relatively speaking), we had the extra long action (.375/8mm Rem Mag length) magnum craze for a while with the 7mm STW and .358 STA quickly followed by the RUM versions. Lazzeroni stuff was hot for a bit. Then we went the other way with beltless short mags -- I think the .300 WSM is the only one with much steam left. Good luck if you went with the Rem SAUM versions. For a fat minute we even had the WSSM cartridges. I blinked and they were gone. Now we have the long range hunting trend, and extreme BC bullets are the thing to have and the 6.5 is back -- although not new, the .264 Win Mag, 6.5 Rem Mag and .260 Remington were all pretty capable performers. Apparently someone had learned something from the 6.5 Swede. You've got your Nosler cartridges and your PRCs and a few others. All good to be sure.

Throughout all that, the .308, .270, .30-06 and .243 have kept on rocking. There are very few sporting rifles introduced that don't include the .308 as an offering and for many of the precision types it is one of only two or three options. People work very hard to find the minutia to set apart their latest and greatest from the rabble, but actual terminal effects on game with decent bullets at reasonable ranges are negligible.

.308 has worked, continues to work and will work for me.

Very well said and your last point has been my finding as well. It’s tempting to get into ballistic tables and convince myself a new fangled cartridge will be better, but a 308 will emphatically drop deer just as well.

 

[JP100]

The versatility of the .308 makes it hard to beat.

Its not super amazing at anything, but can do so much.

Huge bullet range, works well in a 16-20" barrel, mild recoil and noise, good enough speed, easily download or make subsonics.

Ive always thought there are 3 rifles we all should have in the cupboard, a .22, a .223 and a .308.
They are the staple, then you can add on anything else you want for fun haha.

 

[grfox92]

https://rifleshooter.com/2014/12/30...ato-barrel-length-versus-velocity-28-to-16-5/

Thanks Pard!

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[CCH]

The versatility of the .308 makes it hard to beat.

Its not super amazing at anything, but can do so much.

Huge bullet range, works well in a 16-20" barrel, mild recoil and noise, good enough speed, easily download or make subsonics.

Ive always thought there are 3 rifles we all should have in the cupboard, a .22, a .223 and a .308.
They are the staple, then you can add on anything else you want for fun haha.

You have described my cupboard — all the cartridges anyway. I don’t feel that it’s bare.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

My 308 is great, it’s cut back to 18” and I’ve got half a dozen hand loads that make groups under an inch. Even with the silencer on it, it’s under 6.5lbs. My hand loads with 165ABs, 150ttsx, 127g HH, are all excellent loads for that rifle. Just can’t go wrong with it.

 

[Wolf_trapper]

Anybody bragging about their rifles ability to kill deer has me scratching my head. They aren't hard to kill. Elk too for that matter, if you hit the target they won't go far.

 

[prm]

My 308 is great, it’s cut back to 18” and I’ve got half a dozen hand loads that make groups under an inch. Even with the silencer on it, it’s under 6.5lbs. My hand loads with 165ABs, 150ttsx, 127g HH, are all excellent loads for that rifle. Just can’t go wrong with it.

How are the 127 HH on game?

 

[id_jon]

I’ve got one of those and it’s neat, but a 308 with trail boss is silly quiet. My 300 isn’t really setup to dial those rainbow trajectories. Lol

A bolt 300bo with a 30-40 moa rail is super fun. 90gr XTP subs are probably the quietest fun you can have on varmints

 

[mt100gr.]

As a lover of 223, can you blow though an elk shoulder joint at 300 yards with a 223 though?

Yup.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

How are the 127 HH on game?

Sorry, I meant 137g HH. I havnt personally used them on game yet but know people who have with excellent results. I will say that pulling the load off hammers load data sheet got me several sub 1” groups with no adjustments. It was awesome. I loaded up 20 and went to the range. After that I pressed out 50 more and I’ll probably make some more this weekend.