Every year when ammunition manufacturers publish the list of the best selling cartridges the top slots are no surprise. Number one, likely driven in part by the sport shooting crowd, is the 223 Remington. Number two, almost without fail, is the 308 Winchester. It is true that the 308 Winchester is extremely popular. But the 308 Winchester isn’t nearly as good as its proponents will argue. To illustrate this, we can break down how the 308 falls short in a number of different roles.
Ballistics
First of all, the 308’s ballistics are mediocre at best. The old military round just doesn’t quite have the horsepower to launch modern high BC bullets fast enough. For example, Hornady’s Precision Hunter loading lists 2600 fps out of a 24 inch barrel. Since most 308 rifles have 22 inch or shorter barrels, the real world numbers will be much closer to 2550 fps at the muzzle. That is too slow for a modern extended range cartridge.
Hunters on the plains or in the mountains where they may need to reach out have better options. For a similar level of recoil in a short action the 6.5 PRC offers a much longer effective range and higher levels of energy on target at all distances. For a the more traditional hunter the 270 Winchester will beat the 308 Winchester for wind drift, drop, and energy with similar recoil.
Moderate Ranges
However, many hunters will dismiss the ballistic shortcomings of the old 308 Winchester. After all, if a hunter never shoots past 400 yards, does he really need high octane ballistic performance anyways. While this argument may seem to make sense, a little more digging uncovers some interesting numbers.
For hunters whose goal is a 400 yard and in cartridge the 308 will work. At 400 yards Hornady’s Precision Hunter out of a 22 inch barrel will still have 1514 ft-lbs of kinetic energy. 1514 ft-lbs is nothing to scoff at and establishes a minimum level of terminal performance that is acceptable.
However, cartridges like the 7mm-08 and the 6.5 Creedmoor are both also capable impacting with extremely similar energy levels at 400 yards. Obviously, if these cartridges meet our acceptable minimum at 400 yards, they will also meet it at all yardages closer in. Essentially, the 7mm-08 and 6.5 Creedmoor offer the same effective range as the 308 Winchester. But they do so while imparting significantly less recoil. Lighter recoil means more accurate shot placement and faster follow ups. Once again the 308 Winchester has come up short.
Large Game
Finally, still others will offer up another argument. They’ll say those smaller caliber bullets are fine for deer or mountain sheep, but when elk, moose, or bears are on the menu you’ll want that big 30 caliber bullet. Once again this argument isn’t entirely without merit. Frontal surface area is worth something, particularly when hunting truly large animals.
While a larger caliber is wise when chasing North America’s largest species, the 308 Winchesters low velocity hamstrings it. This is exaggerated by the tough controlled-expansion bullets used to hunt these types of game. These tough bullets require higher impact velocities in order to expand reliably. Because of this, upgrading to a 30-06 or one of the many 300 magnums is the smart play for truly large game.
It’s an often repeated myth that the 308 offers the same performance as the 30-06. This is somewhat true with lighter weight bullets. However, for large game with heavy 180gr-class bullets the 30-06 outperforms the 308 Winchester by an appreciable amount. For example, the 30-06 Precision Hunter ammo pushes the 178gr ELD-X 150 fps faster than its 308 counterpart. The 308 Winchester isn’t quite enough cartridge to be ideal for truly big game.
Closing Thoughts
Despite all of this, the 308 Winchester does have one strength. This single attribute is likely the driving reason for its popularity. While the 308 Winchester is not the best cartridge for anything, it is also almost never the wrong answer. For the one gun hunter the 308 Winchester may be the perfect cartridge. It is not the world’s greatest plains rifle, moderate range deer rifle, or truly large game rifle. But if it has to fill in as any of those it is entirely capable.
The bullet and rifle nerds reading (myself included) like to have the perfect firearm for every task. Still, I can appreciate that many people are looking for a single rifle to be their “Old Reliable”. For those kind of people, the 308 Winchester is a fine, and arguably one of the best, choices. The world will always have a place for boiled vegetables, Honda Civics, and the 308 Winchester.