Is .30-06 the same as .306 and therefore smaller than .308?

Question

Sorry but I am a beginner and finding calibres really confusing!

Answer 1

The .308 is actually a shortened version of the venerable .30-06. The .308 gets its name from the actual diameter of the bullet. The .30 -06 is so called because it is a nominal .30 caliber that was adopted by the U.S. military in 1906. Both shoot the same .308 diameter bullet. I have no knowlege of any .306 caliber. There may have been such a thing at some time in the past but I know nothing about it and have nothing in my books about it. Both the .30-06 and the .308 are inherently accurate rounds and both have been used to take many long range trophies. However, the .308 seems to have a slight edge over the .30-06 as far as accuracy is concerned.

Don't feel bad about having trouble understanding the various ways in which a caliber receives its name. There is the old blackpowder naming method where the caliber was given as the first number folowed by the number of grains of powder. A couple of examples of this old naming method is the .45-120.... .45 caliber bullet with 120 grains of powder or the .32-20.... .32 caliber bullet with 20 grains of powder. Then comes the method of changing the neck of a cartridge to create a new caliber and then combining the new bullet diameter with part of the old cartridge name such as the .25-06. The neck of a .30-06 was reduced to .25 caliber and a new cartridge was born. Some calibers combine the bullet diameter with the muzzle velocity of the bullet to form a name for the caliber. This is true of the .250-3000. It was given the 3000 in its name because it was the first caliber to fire a bullet at a muzzle velocity of greater than 3000 ft. per second. Then along came another wildcatter and used the .250-3000 cartridge brass and reduced the neck to .22 caliber and called it the .22-250. Why not follow the naming method already in use for such wildcat rounds? Who knows? He just used the bullet diameter along with the second number of the parent cartridge to name his new cartridge. All the while, the Europeans were using the metric method of naming cartridges. This gave rise to names such as 7.62 X 39. This is a cartridge that had a bullet diameter of 7.62 mm and a length of 39 mm. After that comes the combination of the metric name and the U.S. name such as the 7 mm-08. That is a 7 mm bullet in a necked .308 case Confusing? Well, I guess!! So don't feel bad about not understanding how a cartridge is named. The more you are around guns and shooters and the more that you read, the better you will become in making sense of the confusion that is in the naming of cartridges.

Answer 2

No. These two great calibers are in fact not the same. While these two share the same .308 bullet diameter, the 30-06 is longer, hence, "long action" cartridge. The .308 is shorter, and once again, hence "short action". The 30-06 and .308 also share similar bullet weights, with the most popular weights being 150, 165, and 180 grains. Note, the 30-06 is just a bit more powerful than the .308, due to more powder capacity.

Answer 3

Good luck if you're looking for consistency in the nomenclature. It does eventually make sense, but it takes a lot of learning, with few shortcuts. If you're interested in learning about these things, I'd suggest you start with (1) Frank Barnes' book, "Cartridges of the World" and (2) a handloading manual. I realize you aren't likely to be interested in loading your own cartridges soon, but each of the manuals offers a wealth of information about bullets, cartridges, and ballistics, and each gives you a different perspective and information that the others don't have.
The US Army adopted its first small-bore cartridge in the 1890's. Its military designation was different, but today it's usually called the 30-40 Krag. In the Spanish-American War it was found to be inferior to the 7x57 Mauser used by the Spanish, and after a few years of development, the Army adopted a new rifle, the Springfield Armory model of 1903 (and you'll still see "Springfield '03" in writing and perhaps gunshops--it's a very fine rifle). It used a new cartridge of the same caliber but used the year as a designator to tell the difference between the two 30 caliber rounds. In 1905, the Germans came up with an innovation that made the 30-03 obsolete already, and minor modifications were made in 1906 to the American cartridge, hence the 30-06. In the 1950's, the cartridge again was changed, but the bullet of the 30-06 was retained, and the new round, when marketed commercially, was called the 308 Winchester. The Krag-Jorgensen rifle, the '03 Springfield, the M1 Garand, and the M14 rifle all have nominal bore diameters of .300" and groove diameters of .308", as do most but not all other 30 caliber rifles.

Answer 4

The 30-06 caliber is .30 inches in diameter. I have never seen it listed as .306. It is the same bullet diameter as the .308, though the cases are very different and it has more case capacity than the .308. If you are using a rifle, you need to be sure of the markings of caliber on the barrel (legend) and use only the exact same ammo. Sometimes other cartridges will chamber but will have very disasterous results if not exactly a match!

Answer 5

The 30-06 and .308 are both 30 calibers, both 7.62 millimetes rounds..... 7.62mm = .30 inch

The 30-06 is a longer cartridge than the 308, having a little more power.....there are more rifles out there that are 7.62 as well....

Russian Mosin Nagant - 7.62 X 54 mm
M1 Garand - 7.62 X 63 mm
M1 Carbine - 7.62 X 33mm

30-60 = 7.62 X 63 mm
.308 = 7.62 X 51 mm

Answer 6

Rancy? go back to playing halo, grownups are talking here. 7.62x39 is a russian military round, not even close to .308 in size or ballistics. Both the 30-06 and .308 are in fact 7.62, the 30-06 is longer, the 308 is shorter.

Answer 7

Below is a list of the rifles that can be perchased hear in The uk, they go up from the lowest to highest in caliber.
i thought it may help you since i know you have been getting a bit confused, Hope the e mails were of help.
If you get stuck again and i can help, drop me another line.
.17 hmr
.17 Mach II
.17 Rem
.204
.204 Ruge
22
.22 Hornet
.22 LR
.22 Magnum
.22 WMR
.22-250
.22-250 Rem
.220 Swift
.222 ]
.223
.223 WSSM
.243
.243 Ackley
.243 WSSM
.25-06
.257 Roberts
.257 Weatherby Magnum
.260 Rem
.270
.270 WSM
.275
.280 Ack Imp
.30-06
.300 Weatherby Magnum [
.300 Win Mag
.300 WSM
.303
.308
.308 Boltface
.30R
.338 Lap Mag
.338 Win Mag
.35 Wheelen
.375 H&H
.375 H&H Mag
.400/450
.416 Rigby
.470 Nitro Express
.50 BMG
6.5 mm
6.5mm Carcano
6.5x284
6.5x54
6.5x55
6mm BR Norma
6mm BR Rem
6mm PPC
6mm Rem
7.5 MAS
7.62
7.62X39
7.62x51
7.62x54
7.62X54R
7.92
7.92mm
7mm Rem Mag
7mm STW
7mm WSM
7mm-08
7x57
7x64
8mmx50R
8x57
8x60 Magnum
9.3x62
9.3x74R

Answer 8

The 30-06 is just what the top guy said, it's 7.62 diameter by 63mm long. The 308 is 7.62 diameter by 51mm long. H above me got it backwards, the 308 is shorter than a 30-06. They are both the same diameter. 7/62mm or 30 caliber.

Answer 9

There is NO such thing as a 306 caliber...30-06 and 308 are considered .30 caliber bullets and are the same diameter bullet in two distinctly differing cartridge sizes(Another words the brass casings are completely different sizes)

Answer 10

Yes Davey, they are confusing but the .30-06 Springfield is the same diameter as a .308 Winchester only shorter. Both the .30-06 & .308 are 7.62mm diameter. The .30-06 is smaller than the .308 because it is shorter, but both shoot the same diameter bullet. Ballistically they are similar. There is no such thing as a '.306.'

Bullet diameter for both is: 7.62mm; case length: 63.25mm for the .30-06 & 51mm for the .308 (sometimes called the 7.62x51 NATO).

Best.

H

You're right Boker, what I was trying to say was: "The .30-06 is the same diameter as the .308 only that the .308 is shorter." Thanks Boker.

H