Seems with all the new stuff on the market today, you don't hear a lot about the 308 much anymore. Seems like I have always had one but don't shoot it much. I decided today I would get mine back out and knock the dust off it and see if I can make it shoot. Its a tank and most definitely not a carry rifle but its fun off the bench. Mines a 26" heavy barrel Remington 700 in a H-S stock with a Timney trigger and a Vortex PST scope. I've had it a while and haven't even got a good load for it yet.

I have a iwi galil ace carbine in 308. Nothing wrong with the 308 but nothing real special about it either.

I love that it was around to neck down to .260. That's what I shoot most for long range. I have bigger and faster, but the .260 is my fav.

I have a couple 660"s and an M1A in .308, there's nothing wrong the caliber, and they are accurate, but I personally prefer the 30-06.
My go to load is 41gr. IMR3031, Rem. 9 1/2 primer, and 165gr. Hornady Spire Points, I would prefer to shoot the 150gr. HSP, which is all that I load for the 06, but after trying both, the 165 is more accurate in my .308's probably due to them having a different rate of twist.
Agree, with the latest and greatest calibers coming on the market, the old standbys are being put on the back burner and not being talked about much anymore.

My centerfire bolt guns are all 308, 243, 223. Guess im pretty boring. 308 works just fine for me though.
The one with the can is going to idaho with me this spring. The other is getting turned into a 16" 223 as soon as my barrel arrives.

Youngest son still loves his 308

Idaho springer last year. 165 grain sierra tgk in the chest, he sprinted about 30 yards and dropped stone dead. No tracking required, no death moans, just lights out.

It should be a shooter, Bill.

I've had a love/hate relationship with the 308 since its inception. Built the first one in this end of the world while still in high school in '52 or '53 on a 98 Mauser, using a brand new surplus Browning water cooled machine gun barrel under the watchful eye of a great friend/mentor who was an accomplished gunsmith. At the time, the Army was working on the T65 round, later known as 7.62 NATO upon adaptation. It was my 2nd center fire rifle, the first being a 92 Win. in 38-40.

There was little to no loading data or brass at the time. Made brass from plentiful GI 30-06. Didn't realize I should be reaming necks and I'm sure that had a lot to do w/poor performance as I had to reduce loads drastically to get any accuracy. Anyhow, I was less than impressed with the cartridge, but after all, while beautiful inside, it was, in fact, a MG barrel, probably not conducive to tiny little groups. Remember, moa groups were very special in that period of time, unlike today. Later re-barreled that rifle to 6mm Rem.


My next 7.62 NATO was a National Match M1 Garand which served admirably in Service Rifle competition and a Rem. 40XC for NRA rifle course, which was superb in accuracy, but from which the first round downrange was a FORS (Remington's acronym for "fire on release of safety"). Since safety was not used in the course of fire, that was not an issue, so used those two rifles to their full ability using primarily 168 & 190 gr SMKs for a number of years. Both capable of moa accuracy.

All of the above have gone down the road. Next was a Savage Scout which I bought to replace my beloved Dtech 243 WSSM for coyote work after the ARs became persona non-grata on the ranches I hunt. Fine rifle, just didn't fit like the AR.



My last, and current version is a Browning BAR, Mark 3 DBM which is a bit of a disappointment in the accuracy department. The only thing I have found it shoots really, really close to moa is 110 gr. Varmageddons, and it still will never fill the shoes of the Dtech, but is going to have to do as nothing fits like an AR.



The 308 is a very capable cartridge and the 110's are the hammer of Thor on coyotes; fur friendly.....not so much. My favorite powders are the old H4895, Varget works well, also, and the old Ball C is not bad either.

I was recently reminded of IMR 4064 and plan to try some loads with that powder in the BAR, as it performed well in the 40XC years ago.

Regards,
hm

Nice bear

I shot a Savage 112S for my silhouette rifle, that was alomost fifty years ago it knocked over rams at 500 meters. I had a little Savage 99 in 308 that someone had wacked the barrel to 16 1/4", it was an awesome still hunting rig with a Weaver V-4.5 on it. 180gr RNs did the job in it. my best day was an eight-point first thing in the morning, then tracked a big doe to fill the freezer and then snuck up on one when I went back to have lunch with my dad and help him drag a doe up to where the boys could drag them out.

I always thought that a little Sako Mannlicher stocked 308 would be the near perfect big game rifle(I think I read too much of Wooter's work). Over the years I've killed deer with 22 different rifle cartridges, 4 different muzzleloader calibers and 2 different shotgun gauges. The 308 does stand out.

I love the .308. It kills big timber deer and hogs deader than Madonna's virginity.

I don't know why but seems I've always got a 308 of some type in the stable. I guess one reason is I have so much brass and bullets. I made 7mm08 out of all my Lapua brass but still have a bunch of different brands. Even being a heavy rifle and it kicks like a cranky mule, its fun to shoot and it knocks the crap out of my steel swingers.

The only .308’s I have ever owned is one I have now, a Bergara 14 Hunter, and an M1A Socom. The Bergara is very accurate with 130 gr. Barnes TTXS. Took a nice Georgia hog with it, dropping it on the spot. Then I decided to try it on coyotes, found some 110 gr. Varmageddons (also very accurate) and dropped three coyotes stone dead with hardly a twitch. Recoil from my Bergara is basically mild. The M1A is a great shooter and reliable with military ball 7.62x51 ammo.

The .308 has proven itself in the fields on game, competition, in the military and law enforcement. There’s nothing special about it, but also there’s nothing really not to like. If you maintain reasonable expectations, the .308 is very capable.

My Bergara .308, setup with an ATN 4k Pro digital for coyotes.

Those are some fine .308's gents...I use mine all the time...I built it on our forged upper/lower combo, put a 16in fluted stainless barrel on it, with a 3.5lb trigger and my YHM Phantom QD suppressor...

Here it is with my first badger...
image000001 (2) by Jason Mosler, on Flickr

and here it is with a coyote that I shot up in Nevada...

20190923_111000 by Jason Mosler, on Flickr


So many kills...so little time...

While I don’t currently have a 308, I wouldn’t mind to add one back to the rack. The one I had was a mid 2000s era 700 SPS Varmint. It was the green plastic stock version from Dicks Sporting Goods, back when they had a hunting sections and sold firearms. It wasn’t anything special, but it shot well. I think of the 308 the same way as I do the 223 and 270. While they’re not new, don’t have catchy names, and aren’t designed around big long heavies, they just flat work within reasonable ranges. Plus it’s not hard to find a box of ammo on a shelf.

What bullets are you shooting, Mo? I've used 110 Varmageddons and 125 gr. NBT and looks like your load is easier on fur than mine. Fur no good down here, so not a problem for me, just curious.

Regards,
hm

I used to have a 15" T/C Encore barrel in .308 that was very accurate and counted for several antelope and deer. I'd have to go way back to Photobucket days to find a picture of that thing. It got replaced by a much handier 13" .30-30 Ackley for my Contender.

My son shoots a Marlin SX7 (I think that's the model) in .308 and has killed a pronghorn, six elk, and three oryx for sure, maybe some other stuff I can't think of. It's surprisingly accurate for an entry level rifle, shooting factory Barnes Vortx 150 grainers into less than an inch. That's good enough that I haven't even worked up a load for it yet, and may not before he moves out and takes it with him.

I run Hornady factory whitetail ammo with 150gr sp’s. They group well, drop coyotes and don’t do too bad on fur. I’ve also had luck with the Barnes Tac Tx and TTSX for when I venture into Commiefornia. The Barnes fly extremely well.

I just remembered that I bought one of the early Remington VLS Varmints in 308 back when they were the laminated stocks with narrower forends with black ebony tips and checkering.

I had a hot shooting load with 125 Ballistic Tips, and took it out to South Dakota to pound a few prairie dogs. Recoil was a bit much for that endeavor, so I sold it to a gentleman that wanted it for cast bullet benchrest.

Thanks, Mo. Years ago I found Hornady 150 & 180 gr. Spire Points to be the only bullet other than a NP that would hold together from my 308 Norma or 300 WM. I had forgotten that and may try again to get my BAR to shoot a 150 around MOA. So far only thing it shoots well is the 110 VG.

I gave up a long time ago on the TX and TTX. I must be doing something wrong but they just will not shoot in any of my rifles.

Regards,
hm

It's funny, I hunted primarily with a .30-06 for ~18 years. I then I decided I wanted less recoil so I moved down to the .24 and .26 calibers. They are a pleasure to shoot. I hunted with them for ~15 years. 2 years ago, I started hunting with the .308 and wondered why I left the .30 cals. The .30s put game down better in my opinion. I can hear it now....It's all about shot placement.

I shot a .308 in F/TR for a few years. It's a good round. After a 3 relay course of fire, it wears me out. That's where the small calibers shine.

In case no one mentioned it, It is all about shot placement.

I've never hunted anything with the 308 but like to shoot steel and load it. Recently have started using a LR-308 just to see how it worked. It's been fun and accurate.

I forgot to mention in my previous post that I used a .308 (PH’s gun) in Namibia to take a very nice Warthog and Springbuck. I don’t know specifically what bullets the guide had, but they were apparently pretty tough constructed. Had the appearance of a very small hollow point.

I use to hunt with a Remington LTR in 308. It puts the smack down on deer right nicely.

A friend of mine gave me a Remington 660 in .308 about 30 years ago. I've taken a couple of truck loads of deer with it. One of my favorite rounds.

The .308 Win is one of my favorite cartridges. I had a Remington 788 in .308 win that printed clover leaf groups. I don't know why I sold it, but I did and have hated that decision ever since. I've had for years a HK 770 and Winchester 100 carbine in .308. I've kill plenty of deer with both rifles. The Win 100 is my most favorite deer rifle. For a sixty year old rifle it shoots 1.5" to 2" groups which is fine for deer in WI woods. I shoot Speer 165gr Mag tips out of both rifles. This week I just received an AR-10 in .308 win. I could have gotten it in 6.5 Creed but stuck with the .308 Winnie. Haven't shot the AR-10 yet, but I'm looking forward to it.

I looked for quite a while for a .308 Mod 100 before giving up and going with a BAR.

Can't wait to see the AR10 wearing some of your beautiful wood furniture.

Regards,
hm

.308 has always been my go to round for deer and several coyotes. My current favorite is a. Christensen Ridgeline 20”. Also have a Model 70 Featherweight that sees occasional action, it has a nice walnut stock, so trying to keep it pristine. I’ve had quite a few others over the years as well. I just like the cartridge and it has been effective for me.

.308 will always have the love.
The trend these days is to drive the long heavies faster than the .308 can, so it has fallen out of favor somewhat.

Will I ever own one ?
Probably not.
6.5 Manbun fills that niche for me.