308 Winchester--nice compromise

[getitdone1]

I've been through a lot of guns and cartridges. For most of my life I've avoided the 30 caliber except for the 30-30. Had several guns chambered for that cartridge and one at present. Guess I tried to avoid the "commonness" of the 30-06 and 308 to some extent. Now I think I made a mistake and really like my Browning BLR take-down with 20" bbl. and chambered for the 308 Winchester. My practical use for it here in Indiana is for varmints and self-defense though for the latter I'd opt for something different, given the choice.

The 308 Winchester seems so versatile. You can load it with 180 gr bullets for big game or 130-150 gr bullets for medium or 110-130 for varmints. It's a wicked round with those lighter bullets and I sure wouldn't want to be on the receiving end. I've always been a fan of the old 30-30 but the 308 will out-do it by quite a bit. I'm not about to turn my back on the 30-30 but I think most of you will agree with this.

Any of you here pretty much of a one gun man and use the 308 Winchester most of the time?

Don

[TedH]

One gun man?

I've got a .308, but it's on fairly specific duty. It's a Remington 700 Varmint with a 26" Heavy barrel, HS Precision stock, and a 16X scope. I shoot only one load, a 168 gr. Berger VLD, and it's a one hole shooter. With this rifle, if I can see it, I can hit it.....well pretty much.

[FWiedner]

I've always passed on the .308 in favor of the .30-06 when I had plans to use the gun in the field. No predjudice. Just the way it turned out. I've got several tack-driving .30-06s

I do have (4) .308s in my inventory though. One is pretty much dedicatated to night-time hog hunting (Night vision/semi-auto (LR-308)) and the other's are Milsurp Mausers, permanent project guns.

Would be (5), but I rebarreled a Savage 10 in .308 Win to .358 Win. Another project gun, I guess.

[vancelw]

I'm a "new-gun-each season" type of guy.

But my trusty is a Ruger All-weather .308. It's a first year model with the black zytel stock and green inserts.
I love it. I've taken pronghorn, whitetail, hogs, black bear, mule deer, coyotes, porcupine, prairie dogs, bobcat.....I wouldn't hesitate to use it on anything in North America with the proper load. I would even use it on any African game except dangerous game.

I used Remington 150 gr Core Lokt forever because it shot better than most things I tried it with. Lately (since my bear hunt) I've been using handloaded 165 gr GMX Hornady bullets. I think I need to drop down to 150 gr so they will open up a little better. The 165s are not too good on coyote because they punch right through, but they worked great on bear and deer sized animals.

I like the short action and it will do anything my .30-'06s will do with 165gr or lighter bullets.

[AJMD429]

It does come close to being able to 'do it all', with the right loads. One wouldn't go wrong if one's only rifle was an M1A, for instance. Accurate, 'reasonably' compact (and 'reasonably' light weight vs. many rifles, with the proper stock), and enough firepower if needed to hold back a truckload (or two) of gang-bangers (or storm-troopers, which is probably the real reason government seems bent on banning such firearms).

I'm a "new-gun-each season" type of guy. But my trusty is a Ruger All-weather .308. It's a first year model with the black zytel stock and green inserts.

I have a Ruger 77/44 in stainless/synthetic, and it's like that - weight and length almost identical to my 77/22 'all weather', so it's always handy and while the 44 Magnum is no 308 Winchester, it IS kind of a handgun-version of that concept - very versatile and with careful bullet selection can cover nearly full-spectrum of handgun needs, plus it is available in a rifle, which though not approaching 308 in terms of versatility, covers a broad range of under-100-yard needs.

Between the 308 Win and 44 Mag, LOTS of bases are covered, though many would likely opt for 45 ACP instead, to cover some of what society is dishing out these days.

[geobru]

My primary gun for over 30 years was this BLR in 308. I bought it new just before I got married. It worked very well on deer and elk over the years while we were raising our family. When I look at the worn receiver and the checkering that is worn smooth from carrying, I think of the days that I packed that gun and the memories that I have of those experiences.








This gun shoots really straight.


These are three of the nicer blacktails that I took with this 308

[Old Ironsights]

I've kind of reached the same conclusion.

I have 2 .308s, A Savage 99C and my HK91 clone.

I've found that while I can get a tiny bit more accuracy out of High $$$ loads in both guns, from the knee I can shoot "minute of deer" out to 400yds with either ... with imited practice, Iron sights & cheap russian JSP &/or FMJ milsurp. (heck, I consistatly ring the 300yd 18" gong offhand with de-linked POF mg ammo...) Hard to argue with SP Hunting ammo that can cost as little as $.50/rd. Easy to buy a hundred rounds a month (average) and stock up at that price (compared to say, Federal Fusion...)

Even cheap Glass adds another 100+ yds to that, a bipod another 100.

So, if I had to head for the hills in a hurry and I can't take them all with me, I would grab the .308s and my .357s.

[86er]

I feel the 308 is a very versatile cartridge and works well when tailored to the situation. My own 308 is a Savage 99 and it is not as accurate with 180+ weight bullets as it is with 165 and 150 grain. Drop below 150 and the accuracy falls off again. I am not sure why, but in my case the rifle limits the versatility of the cartridge by changing bullet weights.

My good friend Mike uses a BLR in 308. He has a 2X7 scope on it sighted in 2.5" high at 100 yards. That is his all-around gun that he has taken around the country for all kinds of game. He happens to shoot a 165 grain Nosler Partition for most everything, but has used a 180 gr (dont know what kind) for bison. He also has a 30-30 that he uses specifically for morning hunts out of a stand where the shots are known distances out to 100 yards. If it is foggy, heavily wooded or some other circumstance that may limit visibility he will use a 170 grain FP (made for 30-30) driven to around 2400 fps out of the BLR just for the use of the optics.

Inside his scope cap he has etched the scope information. He made two red dots with nail polish that indicate the zero setting for his most used 165 gr load. He has 180 - 6U3L and 170-4D2R etched on the scope cap to indicate how to click for a 100 yard zero with the other two loads he uses.

My friend Omar borrowed my 308 in South Africa on his first hunt ever. He shot small Impala up to large Oryx and Wildebeest with a 165 grain NP @ 2550 fps and it worked great with 1 shot kills on everything.

Good choice!

[Old Savage]

Geobru, great pics. I have a pristine BLR 243 that is almost 25 years old. And a 40 year old 88 in 308. 1100 rds through those two. The 308 is ammo picky, half inch is hat best with Fed 150s and 5 inch plus with Win 180 RN.

[getitdone1]

Geobru,

Like Old Savage says: Nice pictures. Real nice. A very good example of what they call "honest wear" on that BLR of yours. I'm sure it's been well cared for. Your good experiences with that gun over so many years really shows!

Don

[Marlin32]

I have the BLR in 308 (had a win 307 once too)
My BLR doesn't shoot heavy bullets as well as lighter ones. I prefer heavy bullets for most game, I had Grizzly make me up some 200 grainers (still have some old Win Silver tips in 200gr also, but just a few) For deer I use the 180's, but the gun shoots the best with the 165 NP's and it likes the Hornady Light Mag rounds that they quit making also.

Because it doesn't shoot the heavier bullets well, (well enough under 200yds) but I would like it to be much better for longer shots on bigger game. I do bring it along usually if nothing else as a back up gun.

[Blaine]

Awhile back, I got a Ruger GunSite Scout. I put a Leupold Scout scope on it. The adventure has yet to begin because my range was closed for repair when I got back from my long trip. I decided to go with 150gr because I can find a ton of cheap 150 FMJ, and the 150gr hunting fodder should have the same POI (should ). It's not a compromise for me (I never felt under-gunned with a 30wcf....levers look stupid with a scope)

[Les Staley]

Love the 308..at one time had four Polytech M14s..had several USGI barrels/bolts/op rods/FCGs, rebuilt one with all Winchester parts, one with TRW parts. One I installed a SAK barrel and head spaced a Winchester bolt that would hold 1 MOA all day long with Aussie surplus. That one wears a Smith Enterprises optics mount and keep it scoped..sure ain't no lightweight..kept that one and one other with battle sights..sold the other two.. Stocked up on 7.62x51 NATO when it was cheap and I had disposable income..should be good to go...

[JB]

I use a 308 for just about everything. I use 150 grains for deer sized game and 110's for ground hogs and coyotes.

[tman]

My primary gun for over 30 years was this BLR in 308. I bought it new just before I got married. It worked very well on deer and elk over the years while we were raising our family. When I look at the worn receiver and the checkering that is worn smooth from carrying, I think of the days that I packed that gun and the memories that I have of those experiences.








This gun shoots really straight.


These are three of the nicer blacktails that I took with this 308

Got the same gun. It SHooTS with 150grn bullets.

[geobru]

Geobru, great pics. I have a pristine BLR 243 that is almost 25 years old. And a 40 year old 88 in 308. 1100 rds through those two. The 308 is ammo picky, half inch is hat best with Fed 150s and 5 inch plus with Win 180 RN.

My BLR doesn't like the Winchester Power Point either. I also have an 88 in 308 that I haven't been able to consistently shoot at or below 1 MOA. It seems to be about 1.25 MOA, which is fine for a hunting gun, but I will pick away at it to see if I can find a load that it really likes. I spent most of my time finding a load for the BLR and the 88 has gotten fed hand me downs built for the BLR.

Geobru,

Like Old Savage says: Nice pictures. Real nice. A very good example of what they call "honest wear" on that BLR of yours. I'm sure it's been well cared for. Your good experiences with that gun over so many years really shows!

Don

Yep.. When I look at this gun, I know that every dent and ding was put there by me. It took a lot of years, but these pics prove that you can remove the shiny Browning finish and the checkering by rubbing with a wool coat! The wear on the gun definitely hasn't affected the performance of this rifle!

Got the same gun. It SHooTS with 150grn bullets.

I have shot the best groups with 150's but 180's aren't too bad either. The 150's have put the smack on deer, and 180's for elk. If I lived somewhere where you can see varmints, it would be fun to see how the lighter bullets perform.

[Old Ironsights]

When I get the chance, I'm going to see how well Sabots work in the Savage for light game/varmenting...

[Lastmohecken]

I used to love to experiment with all kinds of rifles and calibers from the 25-06 and .270 to the 375 HH Mag and 45/70, 444 Marlin, 35 Whelan, the 350 Rem mag is another favorite of mine, but the .308 just never seemed to trip my trigger for most of my younger years, then around 1990, being a leveraction fan, I Bought a brand new BLR in .308.

I bought the BLR for the rifle more then the caliber, and resigned myself to the fact that I would just have to give up my faster and flatter shooting .270 bolt action for the faster handling BLR with a that slug of a cartridge the .308, but I knew it really didn't matter because most of my game got shot on the near side of 200yds with 150yds being the average, for my style of hunting, with of course some close range wood's shots thrown in for good measure.


For some reason I started off with 180gr bullets, probably found a deal at Wal-Mart or something, anyway, I eventually standardized on the Winchester 180gr Silvertips and fortunately bought a case if them, and have been hunting out of them ever since. I thought I was going to be giving up something in the ballistics dept, but was pleasantly surprised to find out I could shoot just as far, and that 180gr silvertip hit like the hammer of Thor for me on everything I used it on.

I find the .308 to be easy on the shoulder, easy on the ears, and kills everything as well as about anything I every used. It's my favorite centerfire rifle cartridge of all time. Someone tagged the .308 as the Workhorse round, and I wholeheartedly agree. Nothing fancy, just a well rounded, balanced cartridge that can handle 99% of my centerfire hunting needs and do it with one bulletweight, too, even though there are many to choose from.

[AJMD429]

When I get the chance, I'm going to see how well Sabots work in the Savage for light game/varmenting...

I'd like to 'sabot-ize' with a 500 S&W sometime, not so much to get better ballistics, but just to see the potential as a 'shoot any kind of projectile that will fit in a sabot' survival-gun.

[Mike Armstrong]

I've only got one .308, the rifle barrel on a Savage/Valmet combination gun made in Finland; the other barrel is a 12 guage shotgun. It's about as good a pig gun as you'll ever find. And the .308 barrel is really accurate, even with the Barnes bullets we have to use in my part of California.

I use a Burris 1.5X "shotgun" scope on it for both barrels--sighted in the rifle barrel to it but found that I can also use it for the shotgun barrel. A little slower than without the scope, but that's not all bad; it keeps me from blowing birds to bits by shooting too soon (the shotgun barrel is improved modified choke, pretty tight).

When I'm hunting pigs I keep the shotgun barrel loaded with an all-copper sabot deer slug, just in case I need it for something "up close and personal." Hasn't happened yet--the .308 takes care of them all by itself.

[MacEntyre]

For most of my life I've avoided the 30 caliber except for the 30-30.

I've done the opposite... I shoot 30-06, 308, 300 Savage, 30-30 and 32-20... (yeah, 32-20 is not technically a 30 cal... but it's real close.) Making light loads for them is tons of fun. I buy every weight of bullet I come across in 30 cal, when bargain shopping at gun shows. I even load crayons.

The BLR in 308 is a great gun. I love the short throw of the lever.

- MacEntyre

*

[tman]

30-06 shines with the 220 grain for Africa. Light magnums loads duplicate 300 WM for long range elk. Other than that, the .308 does better with a shorter barrell and a smaller lighter action. Everything in life is a trade off. For all around North American game, the BLR in 308 with a 4x scope, handles well in the brush and at long distances. If u know your gun, you are good to go.