Why do the military use the 308 for there sniper rifle round?

Question

Why do the military use the 308 for there sniper rifle round and no somthing like the 270 or 25-06?

Answer 1

It was chosen for its inherent accuracy and sufficient killing power at long ranges. The .300 Winchester magnum is taking its place because it has the long range accuracy plus more knockdown power.

Answer 2

The .308 is a long time military round and can be shot well (moderate recoil). The rounds that are used in the M24 weapons system are not the same as those used in machine guns. Max effective range is 800m; however, 1000m is possible. The new trend in sniper systems outside of the US is to look towards the 338 Lapua for additional range. It seems that the US is again looking at a semi-auto weapon system based on an AR frame in 223 using 80+gr rounds. Specialty rifle teams will sometimes use 300 win mag or even the 50 BMG, but the current issue weapons are still 308.

John

Answer 3

It is a standard Nato round plain and simple. The military did not want to use a non-Nato round. The .308 has an accuracy advantage over the 30-06. If you look at modern bench rest ammo the powder column is short and wide. The .308 is shorter than the 30-06 so it has an advantage. This is not to say all short cartridges are more accurate. But most will agree that on the Target range the .308 is more accurate than the 30-06. The .308 is just the 30-06 1/2" shorter. With the new ball powders they could equall the 30-06 in a shorter cartridge. Shorter cartridges are lighter and cycle machine guns faster.

Answer 4

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RE:
Why do the military use the 308 for there sniper rifle round?
Why do the military use the 308 for there sniper rifle round and no somthing like the 270 or 25-06?

Answer 5

5.56x45mm and 7.62x51mm (.308) are the two main standard NATO rounds. Can you imagine how many problems could arise if every NATO country's military just picked their own cartridge? In a place like Afghanistan where you have a number of countries all serving alongside each other on a daily basis, interchangability of ammunition is absolutely vital. It's also a cost saving measure.

There are certain rounds used on a more limited basis for specialized sniping roles such as .338 Lapua or .50BMG, but .308/7.62x51 is a good round and serves quite well as a sniper round out to 800m kind of range.

Answer 6

Because the 308 Winchester or 7.62x51mm Nato has been a standard round since the 1950's. Highly accurate and able to take shots at 1000 yards and slightly beyond.

There are a few others round that military snipers use also. 338 Lapua and of course the 50 Browning.

Answer 7

The reason is simple. There is a lot of 308 caliber rounds in the military. The M-60 M-240 both use this round. The M-1A4 has uses this round in its co-ax mounted machine gun. It also uses it on the loaders gun mouth turret some times.

The 308 is a very good round being very accurate and able to take shots out to 1000 yards. and offers a short action vs having a long action for the 25-06 and 270 both biased off of the 30-06.

A short action is stiffer than a long action. think about like this take a piece of PVC pipe that is 1' long and try to bend it. Now take a piece that is 5' long and try to bend it. You can bend the 5' piece but not the 1' piece. Some countries use the 338 Laupa mag for there 1000+ yard shots. The US uses the 300 Win mag for these. The use of a 50 cal is not allowed for use on people so its use as a sniper rifle is limited to long range equipment destruction.

Answer 8

anybody who tries to say the .308 Winchester round is the best round for sniping is lost!!! there are plenty of better rounds that are highly more accurate!!! anything in the 6-6.5mm would be better at 1000 yards. the .308 is good to 800 yards and 1000 yards if you are just punching paper and hoping to read the wind just right that day!!!

Answer 9

Logistics is the main reason. Since the militray has vast stock piles of .308 for the m60 machine gun and for the m14 left over. They use a precision load for sniping, but in a pinch, if they run low on that, they can still "borrow" standard loads and keep on shooting.

Answer 10

Because it is one of the best calibers to use for that purpose.* The two (2)* longest shots made on two (2)* enemy soldiers was 1500 meters with a Model 70 Winchester equipped with scope in 308 caliber.* They are not here to verify it though.* Two (2)* shots two less enemy.*