i am debating if i should by a .308 winchester?

Question

i here the .308 winchester has good long range capabilities if fitted with the right scope but could it do damage to a moose at 200 yards? is it a better long range shooting rifle than a 30-06

Answer 1

first of all I hope your not listing to these knot heads that are telling you a 308 will kill a moose at 700 plus yrds.99.9 % of shooters couldnt hit a moose at 700 yrds hell 500 yrds even.Let alone kill it
The 308 is a fine round ,almost identicl to the 3006 about 100fps slower and the moose isnt going to know the differnce. I give the 30-06 the edge simply because of ammo avalibility.you go in to any gas station that sells ammo and the will have a box of 30-06 on the shelf.you have a wider varity of factory ammo with the 06 . but which ever you chose will be fine just keep your shots to 300 yrds or less .If you put in enough range time you ll be able to strech that out some .

Answer 2

If you spent 2 second to search here - you would find this question comes up about 2-3 times a month since YA was invented. 308 is a short action cartridge - it take less wrist action to get a second shot into the chamber - this makes it a better rifle for game. The short acton is also better for small men, women, and teenagers to shoot. 308 is a smaller case - has less brass - so 308 factory ammo is always cheaper than 30-06. Military surplus 30-06 dried up in the 1970's - surplus 308 is still easy to find, and if you have buddy in the military - getting your hands on free military ball and match ammo is easy too. Power and balistic trajectory wise - the 308 is statistically .99% exactly the same as 30-06. There is nothing the 30-06 does that the 308 can't do also - the 308 was designed in the 1950's to replace the then 50 year old 30-06. The 30-06 has so far survived the 308 Win challenge. However - give it another 50 years and I doubt many people will be using these two. The new generation of Short Magnum caliber offered by Winchester, Remington and Ruger are really catching on. 30-06 and 308 are soon to be looked upon like the BetaMax vs. VHS Tape war of the mid 1980's. They both lost.

Answer 3

I have 5 rifles that shoot .308. I'm pleased with them all, and prefer my stainless steel barrel/synthetic stock Ruger model 77 for most hunting, and that is the one I would take if I hunted moose. The .308 and .30-06 shoot the exact same bullets. The difference is that the .308 case is a little smaller than the .30-06, but not by enough to make any practical difference. The most important thing is not the power of the gun, it is shot placement. Your ability to hit the right spot on the moose for a clean kill is what counts, so do your part and practice shooting until you are confident with the rifle you will use. If you don't reload your own ammo, please consider starting. By reloading you can customize ammo for your rifle to make it more accurate and usually gain a little power. I haven't hunted with factory ammo in 30 years and plan to never use factory ammo again.

Answer 4

Yes, the .308 Winchester with the proper hunting ammo is more than adequate for moose particularly at only 200 yards. Is it a better long range rifle than the .30-06? Possibly, but they are so similar ballistically that it comes down to choice and personal opinion. You can't go wrong with either one.

Best.

H

Answer 5

The 308 and 30 06 are good choices for close range shooting 200yrds or less. I have used the 06 for moose and had excellent results at just over 350. Like most said the difference is negligable. Which ever you choose try to match your bullet with the game and the esamated range you will be shooting a 165 is a good all around bullet.

Answer 6

The .308 would tear up anything at 200 yards.... it has a slightly slower muzzle velocity than the 30-06 but is still a powerful rifle.

Answer 7

With todays preimum bullets the 308 will take anything a 30-06 can take.

I would find a good 165 to 180gr premimum hunting bullet and work on a load in your rifle.

Swift Scirocco II Bullets
Swift A-frame
Trophy Bonded Bear Claw
Barnes Tripple shock X-bullet
Barnes X-bullet.
Hornady Interbond
Hornady Super Shock Tip.
Nosler Ballistic Tip
Nosler Partition (The Orginal premimum hunting bullet)
Nosler E-tip.
These are just a few of the premimum hunting bullets out there. Many of them are loaded in preimum Factory hunting ammo as well.

Answer 8

I wouldn't consider it to be the ideal 200 yard moose gun, but then again, I don't like the idea of making a 200 yard shot on something that big.

Most 1,000 yard target records have been held by rifles chambered in .308 Win at one time or another.

If I were hunting moose, I'd want something bigger than a .30 caliber. I like .35's like the .358 Win, or .35 Whelen.

Doc

Answer 9

At all ranges it's going to lag slightly behind 30-06, but the difference is trivial. And it's one of the more popular moose cartridges.

Answer 10

The .308 and the .30-06 are very close ballistically.
Now for that moose I'd rather have a .45-70 loaded with Hornady Leverevolution 325 grain.