308???

Nelly · Jun 5, 2003

OK I have a question for you experts out there, I'm not to keen on guns Im just happy with the ones I have, But anyways a buddy of mine just Bought a 308 I have know Idea what kind, but he bought it because he eventually wants to shoot 500 yards and then 1000, he has no idea about rifils ( niether do I )so is this a good gun to do it with??? I kinda opened my big mouth and told him that I thought a 300 magnum or a 7mm would be better. The only reason I said this was cause for one I own a weatherby 7mm and could not be more happeir with it, and then I have so many rave reviews for the 300. so am I right or was I being and Idiot??? If Im right could some one please give me some ammon to back my thoughts up!!!!! Thanks
Curtis

kilowatt · Jun 5, 2003

Curtis,
I have a friend in Woodland that has two .308 Norma Mag rifles or should say he did. I believe he told me that he sold one but still has the custom stocked one left in safe.
Could never get a decent pattern and also seem to have problems when bolting in another round, would jam.
He has since gone to a .338 Mag. new. He told me that he bought my new/old .300 Win Mag in by Savage that I had sold to his nephew a couple of years ago, it was stainless and composite stock.

Brian

RLH · Jun 6, 2003

U.S. snipers use .308's. they're specially made on a remington 700 action. nothing real remarkable about them, other than really well made barrels and good triggers. the .308 is a real capable cartridge, if you're rifleman enough to get the max out of it. the trick is to know how far you are shooting and where your rifle hits at that range. main reason the military uses the .308 is because it is a NATO round. it isn't near as fast as a lot of other cartidges, but in a good rifle with a rifleman holding onto it, it will do anything any other rifle will do. speed, trajectory, all that stuff is just numbers unless you know what to do with it. what if the wind is blowing? you're right, the .308 isn't a hotrod, but you put a good in the hands of a guy that can shoot and he'll show you some stuff.

Nelly · Jun 6, 2003

Thanks for the replys, I will have to tell my buddy this I remeber him saying snipers use them I think that is one of the reasons ( the MAIN reason) that he bought this gun. So RLH what did you mean about this 308 cartridge not as fast as other ones?? I told you I don't know to much about rifles, Since my buddy is new with rifles why would he buy this gun?? Should he have bought a diffrent gun..??? That is more easir??? hey also if anyone wants to get into detail a little school lession on rifles for me I would mind

Curtis..

Cooter · Jun 8, 2003

If this friend of yours doesn't know squat about guns, cailbers, ballistics, etc., why is he wanting to shoot out to a 1000 yds? This doesn't make any sense. Is he just planning on killing paper or going after furry little animals? If you're an accomplished rifleman and know what you're doing, a .308 will do just fine. If what you say about your friend not knowing poop about guns and ballistics is true, he doesn't have any business shooting at anything besides targets. Just my 2 cents........

Coot

Nelly · Jun 8, 2003

cooter, yeah all he is wants to do is shoot tagets, Not that far now but eventally. And he is learning as much as he can. I was just asking so I could find out info for my self and him I didn't say nothing about killing anything just that he wants to accomplish shooting that far SOMEDAY.Just trying to get info from those who know more then me and him about guns!
Curtis

RandyWeaver · Jun 8, 2003

The .308 is a great long-range rifle, but I would not use it for long-range hunting. As was mentioned above, the .308 Win. - or 7.62 NATO - is commonly used as a sniper rifle by the armies and police forces of many countries. It is also commonly used as a 1,000 meter target rifle. Despite all that, it is not a long-range hunting round suitable for the average rifleman. The average hunter does not have the time to build the experience with his rifle that is necessary to dope the wind and gauge conditions for an accurate long-range shot with the .308. Comparing the trajectory of even a hot 168-grain .308 match load to that of any .300 Mag. is like comparing a 50-yard football pass to a 50-yard throw of a baseball. For punching holes in paper - even at 1,000 yards, it's fine. For hunting, I'd go with a hotter round. Find a former sniper and ask him his preference; chances are, he'll name a .300 Mag., .338 Lapua, or, for the ultimate "AT&T" rifle, a .50 BMG.

RLH · Jun 9, 2003

the best snipers, i mean the guys with lots of real kills, not training shots at targets, used '06's and .308's. because that's what was available and it didn't take mule to pack the ammo and the rifle. the .50 bmg is great if you have a bunch of backup. you light one of them off and everyone and their dog knows exactly where you are and they'll catch you real quick. even today, the standard military sniper rifle is a hotrod model 700 remington in .308 winchester/7.62 NATO. they don't pack those 50 pound Barrets in real live sneaky like sniper situations. i think a lot of police snipers use .300's. but the .308 is the one the military uses. Carlos Hathcock bought his model 700 remington .30/'06 and redfield scope, that he used to make all the kills in viet nam with, off the rack in a gun store in saigon. the marine sniper program was just trying to get re-started from years of dormancy and they didn't even have any rifles, so they went downtown and bought some. same with mawhinney. they both did use m-14's on occasions also. but most of their work was done with off the rack remingtons. if you're wanting to learn about cartridges and balistics, go buy a good reloading book. they're must be 20 different factory cartridges that use a .30 cal bullet. the .308 is just one of them. it is one of the slower, smaller powder capacity .30's. but it will do great things if you can make it.

Nelly · Jun 9, 2003

Hey guys thanks for the replys they helped out alot do any of you know a good reloading book that gets into detail, on rifils and balistics, cartridges and all the bells and whistles..??
Curtis