SmallCaliberCentral

I'm looking for a new rifle. I'm thinking a .308 rifle will mainly be used for paper at longer ranges. I've wanted a .308 for a while now is that a decent round? Or should I look at other options? Rifle will either be a Remington 700 or a Cooper.

By paper I presume it is to be a target rifle. And what distance are you referring too when you say "longer" ranges? I've shot many 308/762 at 1000 yards with a 40x, M1 Garand and a M14. At 1000 yards, the 308 can shoot but its on the ragged edge of velocity so the ammo combo has to be spot on, and of course, so does the shooter,

<700 yards I'd say its a good round but if the distance starts getting out there beyond that I'd start looking at the .243 (6mm) or .264 (6.5mm) choices and there are plenty to choose from. The .284 (7mm) has some good bullets too but I don't know what is really out there in short actions.

HTH

Thanks Jim. It will be roughly 700 yard shots. I've also been looking at gettin a 6.5-284 in a cooper.

6.5x284 are known to be very accurate but also have a tendency to go thru the barrels rather quickly in comparison to others in that category.

Jim is giving you some very good advice. Not taking anything away from what he is saying, I used to shoot on numerous base rifle teams while I was in the Marines. I can't say enough about the accuracy and overall versatility of the .308. We used to shot them at 600 yards with open sights at silhouettes with amazing accuracy. We didn't reload but used Federal Gold Medal Match type ammo. The .308 is, IMHO, one of the most accurate cartridges for a rifle with little or no need to do a lot of modifying. Just choose well, buy quality optics and go out and have a blast. You can take it for most hunting situations, with proper bullet choice, and it will punch paper out to whatever yardage you will probably encounter.

skipper wrote:Jim is giving you some very good advice. Not taking anything away from what he is saying, I used to shoot on numerous base rifle teams while I was in the Marines. I can't say enough about the accuracy and overall versatility of the .308. We used to shot them at 600 yards with open sights at silhouettes with amazing accuracy. We didn't reload but used Federal Gold Medal Match type ammo. The .308 is, IMHO, one of the most accurate cartridges for a rifle with little or no need to do a lot of modifying. Just choose well, buy quality optics and go out and have a blast. You can take it for most hunting situations, with proper bullet choice, and it will punch paper out to whatever yardage you will probably encounter.

As Skipper said, the 308 is great. It is about the most all around decent everyday shooting and hunting round in 30 caliber that you will find. Bill K

hello savageboy
now owning a 17hmr,,, 204 ruger and 22-250 ,,,, i have thought about what my next buy would be in a larger caliber,
ive thought about the 6br ,,, or 6.5 Creedmoor,,,,,something to think about,,,,, also , dont count out savage rifles,,,
you might go to savageshooter.com and accurateshooter.com for some free helpful info ,,,,,,,,happy shooting

savgebolt I do own a few savage rifles(.17hmr and a .204) but I prefer Remington 700s and I do love my cooper! I was hoping to get another Cooper so mine has a companion in the safe .

I'm also pondering a .300 win mag in a remmy 700 sendero sfii

The 308 has A LOT going for it in terms of economy and availability. I personally shoot mine to a mile. The 175 SMK has literal mountains of army testing showing it to survive trans-sonic crossings; of which could be fired in any other 30-cal.
Many other bullets, particularly from a particular company that sells "sexy BC's" don't cross trans-sonic safely.
Will the 308 be a good choice to your distance? Certainly. Will it be the most efficient? No.

Pick your trade-offs. Mountains of data and cheap components, with VERY long barrel life. Or, short life, limited components with higher prices. The appropriate choice for you, is yours to make.

SAVAGEBOY23, I love making holes with my .308 @ 600 with my Steyr SSG69. I know you said you like Rem 700 & Cooper but you might want to look at the Steyr Austrian sniper rifle, SSG69. They quit making them this year and CDNN Firearms in Texas bought and are selling them. Average out of the box with factory match ammo .500 & some shoot .250. Rifles with this accuracy are few & far between. Oh, and they already have a super trigger & picatinney top rail.
Jim D

I really enjoy shooting my Tika T3 in 308. It's more of a hunting rifle but will hit a 6 inch plate at 600 yards when I do my part. As far as the 308 cartridge goes, it has won many a long range match, it's really versatile and is relatively inexpensive to shoot whether you reload or not. Choose the rifle brand you want, but you'll not regret buying it chambered for 308.

savageboy23 wrote:Looking for a .30 caliber

What on earth for?
Your description of desires seems to point towards 6.5 Creedmoor.

With rifles in the safe from .338 cal on down to my .17's, I'll ask the same question......why?

I do what you want to do quite handily with a 7mm-08 Improved. Much less recoil than the .308, excellent accuracy (.3"), proven hunting field use to 600 yards using the same basic case. Go with the 6.5mm version, and it's marketed under the .260 Rem name. Improve that one like my son did, and you can ring steel at a full 1,200 yards......he does it all the time in front frustrated of .300 Win Mag shooters, much to their chagrin.

Nothing wrong with the .308, have a couple myself, but there's better rounds available now to do what you want. Although one excellent feature of the .308/7.62 NATO is the availability of surplus ammo and brass.....nothing to take for granted.

Rick in Oregon wrote:With rifles in the safe from .338 cal on down to my .17's, I'll ask the same question......why?

I do what you want to do quite handily with a 7mm-08 Improved. Much less recoil than the .308, excellent accuracy (.3"), proven hunting field use to 600 yards using the same basic case. Go with the 6.5mm version, and it's marketed under the .260 Rem name. Improve that one like my son did, and you can ring steel at a full 1,200 yards......he does it all the time in front frustrated of .300 Win Mag shooters, much to their chagrin.

Nothing wrong with the .308, have a couple myself, but there's better rounds available now to do what you want. Although one excellent feature of the .308/7.62 NATO is the availability of surplus ammo and brass.....nothing to take for granted.

Big Plus 1 for the .260 Remington. My neighbor is shooting 1.5 moa @ 600 with his & a Pac Nor barrel. Also, Lapua now makes brass for it.
JD