Is the 308 dead?

[Poe]

So with the discovery of the fact that you can pretty much kill anything with a 6mm bullet is there really a place for the 308 anymore? You can get a fair bit more barrel life out of a 308 but even for a longer range target rifle is there much of a reason to go 308 anymore over something like the 6.5 creed?

 

[KY_coop]

I still shoot 308 in a target gun. It usually humbles me in windcalling. They definately get pushed around more by the wind. The vast majority of hunters around me will never shoot enough to see the difference and 308 is still available in many loads at almost any store that sells ammo. My opinion is 308 aint going anywhere. Atleast not for eastern whitetail hunting.

 

[MuleyFever]

At moderate ranges is there any reason to not go with a 308? The only thing I can think of is recoil but is it enough to matter?

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I hunt with a 308 all the time. Love that gun. It might be dead in the precision/long range scene though.

 

[NWBLKTAIL]

I like mine mostly for range time, long strings of fire without much worry, great barrel life shoot it as much I want. Lots of components.

Albeit mine was gifted to me, not sure I would have got one otherwise. Maybe I don’t know. It’s grown on me and I’ll never change it or part with it. Just handy and reliable

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Nahhhh. Will never die.

 

[Poe]

If a person was to build a rifle for mainly targets and possibly the occasional hunting trip for 800 yards and in is there much of a reason to go 308 over 6.5. I am asking because I love my .223 and 6 creed but the barrel on my 260 is on its last legs and I am debating if I should stick with 6.5 or switch it up to 308

 

[gbflyer]

No reason. .308 is great, the others are more pleasant to shoot.

 

[StupidLightweight]

The .308 by any measure is almost dead for new guns, but what amazes me is the thread on here from .223 devotees claiming it's the greatest round for practice. It has great barrel life and kills well, but the recoil is stout and the ballistics suck, so I don't get the appeal unless you go with really short barrels.

The 6.5 Creedmoor is the new .308, and it's better in every metric but barrel life. I'm puzzled to hear people claim that everyone needs a .308 because it's anathema to the logic behind the ".223 for everything argument."

 

[43.6N]

I’ve been seriously considering a short barreled 308 to make power factor for NRL this season.

I couldn’t quite get there with 147’s out of an 18” 6.5cm without running pressure.

 

[BBob]

I started with a .308 and hunted with one for 30 or so years. Still have two. One is my range practice gun. Has enough wind drift and recoil to keep you honest and when you change it up to a lighter recoiling and better wind hunt gun the hunt gun feels like you’re cheating.

 

[Wolfshead]

I hunt with one all the time.
When I was looking for rifle ammunition in the local sporting goods stores during the pandemic, the only calibers available anywhere, were 308, 30-06, some 30-30, maybe a box or so of some other, but absolutely no 6mm whatever.
That’s here in the northeast, maybe different out west.
Just something to think about

 

[flyfisher117]

Definitely not dead. Just ask the middle aged dudes on Facebook that get triggered every time I troll them with 6.5 CM comments.

.308 has no place in my collection. It just doesn’t offer anything I care for or need.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

The .308 by any measure is almost dead for new guns, but what amazes me is the thread on here from .223 devotees claiming it's the greatest round for practice. It has great barrel life and kills well, but the recoil is stout and the ballistics suck, so I don't get the appeal unless you go with really short barrels.

The 6.5 Creedmoor is the new .308, and it's better in every metric but barrel life. I'm puzzled to hear people claim that everyone needs a .308 because it's anathema to the logic behind the ".223 for everything argument."

If you are sitting on a pile of cheap ammo, then it may well be great for practice.

 

[TradLife406]

I started hunting with a 308. It definitely worked. But dang 15 year old me had a hard time understanding that it drops six feet at 55 yards. I definitely missed a lot. Also back then there wasn't much info readily available on shooting. Not like we have today. And it was all based on Fudd principles.

My kids are pretty spoiled. They get semi custom rifles in hot rod calibers. Shooting tripods, turret scopes and accurate dope. Ha they still miss. But a hell of a lot less than I did.

Ended up selling that old rifle this spring. Honestly not sure I'd ever go back to one. It's not a bad round. There's just more efficient rounds these days.

I still have Dad's Win 88 lever 308. I should bust that out, put a decent scope on it and use it next season for a tag. Wonder if someone could rebarrel it so I can suppress it.

 

[mlawrence125]

I just ordered a 308 barrel during the black friday sales. Want something shorter with efficient factory offerings I don't HAVE to handload everything for. Will it replace my 25CM or 284 Win, no, but its a round I have lots of experience with, can be found everywhere, and is versatile enough for subs to light and fast, or moderate speed and heavy bullets.

 

[Sccritterkiller]

I only hunt with 308 18" supressed, I reload and I like the bullet options available. I shoot 135gr to 200gr for subsonic. Don't plan on changing.

 

[cnelk]

I just bought a 308 yesterday for a new hunter in the family.
Going to work up a load for it

 

[eightyeight mag]

308 win will never die.

It's a great round for plinking, hunting, punching paper at distance.
It's an awesome round for reloading. So many different combos to play with.
Factory round availability is off the charts from cheap milsurp to premium bullets.

But... if your shoulder is made of glass and you don't like to have a challenge with wind calls then the 308 may be dead.

 

[hunting1]

Nope, I ring 800 yard steel at ease with mine and 175's. I have plenty of .264 options as well but the 308 is still my favorite!