![\"M1](\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/308-30-06-3.jpg\")
<\/a>After much debate, the controversial replacement for the M1 was finally announced in 1957 —\u00a0the Garand-based M14 rifle. Along with this change also came the end of the .30-06 Springfield<\/a> as the US military\u2019s primary rifle cartridge, first introduced in 1906 with the Springfield 1903 bolt action rifle. The M14 was chambered in the new 7.62×51 NATO cartridge, which shortly thereafter would be re-branded and introduced commercially as the nearly identical .308 Winchester<\/a>.<\/p> The new .30 caliber round had a short-lived role as the standard cartridge issued to the American infantryman. After only five years, the M14 was ditched in favor of the M16 using\u00a0the intermediate 5.56×45 NATO<\/a> cartridge.\u00a0Despite its metric counterpart\u00a0being snubbed by the military, .308 Winchester meanwhile steadily gained popularity on the commercial market where it was frequently compared to the venerable .30-06.<\/p> A rivalry was born and ever since, competition shooters, hunters, and keyboard commandos from every corner of the country have argued over which cartridge is \u201cbetter” in the great\u00a0.308 Win versus .30-06 Springfield debate.<\/p> On the surface, .308 and .30-06 share many common traits. They both use bullets of identical .308-inch diameter in a weight range typically around 140-180 grains. Both are respected for their accuracy, moderate recoil, and impressive effective range (nominally 1000 yards, depending on who you ask). Either cartridge is suitable for hunting nearly any medium or large game on the North American continent, with the possible exception of some of the bigger bears. Military snipers and marksmen continued to use rifles chambered in both .30-06 and 7.62×51 for decades after their respective service rifles were dropped from general issue.\u00a0With so much in common, what actually distinguishes these cartridges?<\/p> The most apparent distinction between the two is case length, which is nearly a half inch longer for the .30-06 than the .308 Win (2.48\u201d versus 2.015\u201d). This shorter case length is what the military was after when they were searching for a replacement for the .30-06. New and more efficient propellants that had been developed since the advent of the .30-06 in 1906 were able to push a bullet to the same velocities with a smaller case capacity. Shorter cases meant shorter bolts and actions for the rifles firing them, which in turn would mean savings in weight and production costs. At least in theory.<\/p> This difference is still evident in today’s bolt action rifles. Most major manufacturers of bolt actions offer several calibers, but only two different action sizes: long and short. Short actions are slightly more compact, lighter, and have shorter bolts, which can be quicker to operate. Long\u00a0actions can accommodate larger cartridges at the expense of greater size and weight. The .308 Win cartridge is usually found in short actions, while the extra case length of the .30-06 requires a long action rifle.<\/p> In many ways, the .308 versus .30-06 revolves around the issue of accuracy. When .308 was first offered to the public, .30-06 was the dominant cartridge for marksmen and competitive rifle shooters. However, shooters quickly found that .308 offered a slight accuracy advantage, and the old “aught six” was de-throned as the favorite precision cartridge of the country’s top marksmen. In fact,\u00a0the increase in accuracy was so significant\u00a0that competition organizers eventually had to shrink the size of the standard bullseye in order to avoid\u00a0ties between .308 shooters.<\/p> Since that time several decades ago, both .308 and .30-06 have been well surpassed by still more accurate cartridges that now dominate the precision shooting sports. But for us “Average Joe” shooters, the wide availability and (relative) lower cost of .308 and .30-06 keeps the debate raging.<\/p> Developments in cartridge technology have more or less leveled the playing field between the two cartridges, and today .30-06 loads are not so easily outshone by .308 as they were\u00a0in the 60s. Comparing similar bullets from either cartridge fired in similar rifles, .30-06 may have a slight edge in terms of velocity, but .308 will have slightly less recoil.\u00a0The difference in bullet drop between the two will be negligible.<\/p> Hardcore accuracy geeks<\/a> will probably keep the race going for some time, but for all practical purposes, both cartridges are extremely accurate out to 600-800 yards with the right rifle in the hands of a\u00a0skilled\u00a0shooter.<\/p> With similar bullet weights, similar trajectory, and next to no difference in accuracy, it would stand to reason that .308 and .30-06 are also equals for hunting game. Hunters’ opinions on the matter will usually come down to anecdotal evidence and a critique\u00a0of the available factory hunting loads for the two calibers, but that, of course, only tells part of the story.<\/p> While it would seem that performance is very similar for factory ammo, the .30-06 still has a bit more case capacity than the .308. You’ll find plenty of hand loaders who swear by .30-06, because they can add more powder and load them slightly\u00a0hotter, giving a little extra\u00a0punch\u00a0over the .308. The success of these experimental loads, of course,\u00a0depends on the rifle being able to handle these higher pressures and the hand loader knowing what he’s doing. But again, if we assume factory ammo and the\u00a0shooting skill of the “average” hunter, distinguishing between the effectiveness of these two rounds is splitting hairs.<\/p> Looking at the selection of rifles available in these two calibers, its not hard to figure out that fans of .308 Win have far more to choose from than devotees of .30-06.<\/p> Because of its origins as the primary NATO cartridge for much of the 20th century, there have been many automatic and semi-automatic military rifles designed around the 7.62×51. As a result, there are a plethora of magazine-fed semi-auto derivatives of these rifles commercially available in .308 Win like the various clones and offspring of the HK G3, FN FAL, M14, and of course, the AR-10.<\/p>Similarities<\/strong><\/h3>
<\/a><\/p> Size<\/strong><\/h3>
<\/a>Accuracy<\/strong><\/h3>
Hunting<\/strong><\/h3>
Rifle Selection<\/strong><\/h3>