Why is .308 such a popular varmint round when the other prefered callibers are around a .22 cal.?

Question

.223, 22-250, 220 Swift, .17 Fireball, .308? Why the jump in size? And why .308, why not a .243, 25-06, .270, 7mm-08?

Remington ,Savage, Tika, and Weatherby all offer specificaly varmint rifles in .308

Answer 1

.308 has ballistic characteristics that a lot of those mid-caliber rounds just don't have. Several off the .22x calibers shoot fast and flat to 600, 700, 800 yards, but the .24x and .25x, 6mm, 7mm cartridges just don't. They either don't have good ballistic performance at extreme range, or have too much drop over long range to be shot from the prone position that most varmint shooters (that I've observed) seem to prefer.

Answer 2

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RE:
Why is .308 such a popular varmint round when the other prefered callibers are around a .22 cal.?
.223, 22-250, 220 Swift, .17 Fireball, .308? Why the jump in size? And why .308, why not a .243, 25-06, .270, 7mm-08?

Answer 3

On the side I do Nuisance Wildlife control in my state as a subcontractor for my state.
Basically a bounty hunter, when the state call me out or refers some one to me.
I don’t have the luxury of picking the best weather for my hunts.
So my weapons must meet the need and overcome the weather.
My main weapons of choice are a 223, 25-06 and a 308.
In windy or drizzly days the 308 is the weapon of choice using 125gr or a 165gr ballistic tip.
I use a custom 308 built off a 98 mauser action with a 26 inch heavy varmint barrel toped with a Nikon 4.5 x 14 Mil Dot scope.
Once the barrel was fitted to the receiver it was sent to New York to a Cryogenics lab to be stress relieved, it was frozen to a -300 degrees for 7 days then slowly returned to ambient temperature then heated to a +300 degrees for 7 days then slowly returned to ambient temperature and then returned to me.
Then it was reassembled and mounted in a Fajen laminated thumb hole stock with a set of Harris bipods.
The 308 is a perfect foul weather varmint weapon.
The 308 handle weather that the smaller 22 and 25 calibers will faultier in.
With a quality rifle and optics it makes an ideal 800 yards Prairie dogs.
I let the weather dictate which weapon comes out of the truck.

But the 308 is a good varmint rifle in foul weather.
The 308 don’t wind drift as bad as the 22s and 25 calibers.

D58

Answer 4

I use a 308 target rifle for 300+ ground hog hunting. You can get Hornady 110gr V-max bullets. But you are not going to be doing any high volume shooting with it I can tell you that. The biggest factor is shooter fatigue. Having 1,000 + p dogs sitting there just waiting for you to shoot them will wear a shooter using a 308 out fast where as a shooter shooting a 22cal or 6mm rifle will be able to shoot for a lot longer. My 308 is not bad because of the weight (20lbs). It has its drawbacks. I can not carry the rifle on a walking hunt. This is one where I set up a bench and it sits on the bench while I pound the hogs in to the dirt. As far as rifles, you do not want that goofy looking vtr from remington. You are paying more money for it than Remingtons 700 SPS and all you get is some triangle barrel that looks like a couple rabbid squirrels chewed the barrel into a triangle. Then you get them goofy comp slots that look like three drunk monkeys hogged them out with a dull hacksaw blade. I handeled two samples and both of them had the fit and finish of a mosin nagant. One rifle was priced at $1700 the other $765. Not sure why the $1000 differance in price between the two stores either. The stock on the vtr is the same as the SPS cheap chinese injection molded plastic that is hollow Remington "Fills" the butt of the rifle with folded up packing foam to deaden the noise when shooting it. Remington in my view is going down hill fast with less quality and higher price. I am a big time remmy man every rifle I own is a remmy. I would go with a Savage 12 VBSS or the tikka t3 varmint or a Ruger m77vt. If you are dead set on the 308. Just remember that you will get tired of shooting it on long runs. Mr. B

Answer 5

Military rounds are always popular. There's some sense in using heavy bullets for certain applications, because they buck wind better, and 243 was concieved as a dual-purpose round, for varmints and deer, as the 6mm Remington was originally marketed under the name 244 Remington strictly as a varmint cartridge. The 25-06 is a little overbore, but the other quarter-bores are very good and traditional varminters. 6.5-284 may soon gain some ground for varmints, but again burns a lot of powder, and 7mm08 has better down-range ballistics and is a better choice than 308 for either varmints or deer, but only the thinking types, and likely only the handloaders among them, are going to choose it, and a lot of shooters haven't even heard of the round.

Answer 6

First the .308 is not a popular varmint round. The reason that it is a popular round at all is that there is an abundance of military surplus ammunition available. If you compare the balistics of the 30-06 to the 308 you will see the it is in no way superior. In every respect the 30-06 is just a wee bit better. If you want a varmit round you should look at the .223 (another military round) for which there is an anundance of cheap ammunition available.

Answer 7

Due to the popularity of the cartridge for the past several decades. For many people hunters or farmers they may only have the funds for 1 rifle and the 308 is a great choice. The ammo is readily available and cheap and even able to get 110 grain for varmit hunting.

If you only have the need to remove a handful of varmits each year why buy another gun? Plus some hunters find that getting in target practice with their deer gun on some varmits only makes them a better hunter. Is the 308 overkill on a small varmit, sure, but the end result is a dead varmit.

Answer 8

The .308 is the ubiqutious American round....it get's used for anything and everything and as a "general" all-purpose round it's good.

Now, anyone can find a round better for a specific need or characteristic, that why so many rounds exist and why folks are inventing wildcats and companies are introducing new ones every day. Also, new calibers sell new guns, so it's money motivated too.

Now, my idea of a varmit round is fast, light and flat....more so than .308.

.308 is great for coyotes, but terrible if you are popping prarie dogs. Guess it depends on what varmit we're talking about.

Answer 9

although D58 pointed out that the .308 is a good foul-weather caliber, I'd also say that they build "varmint" rifles in .308 because it is inherently accurate, highly available, and makes a good "target" rifle. Not everybody that buys a rifle uses said rifle for the purpose designated by its name. Varmint rifles are heavy, and people who are just getting into target shooting of various kinds might want to get a reasonably economical rifle with which to start. A $2000 custom fat-barreled rifle is a little hard to justify for a beginning target shooter or those who just shoot for fun. Obviously, there are other reasons, as has been pointed out.

Answer 10

I have never in my life heard of the .308 being considered as a varmint round, it's a heavy caliber medium to large game round.Sufficient to take any large game in North America.