Thread: Barrel length considerations

Originally Posted by flock

N Foster, did give the swede a bit of a bad wrap, its and excellent calibour, more capable than a lot of the new 6.5 offerings. Reloading it in a modern rifle, to higher pressures with good pills is the answer.
Having said that, I have always had a 308 and it always gets the job done, a lot to like about the 308.

you say what???????

feed the swede the partitions as per knowledgebase...and it is great I believe is what was said....


the whole which cartridge debate has been going on since stones n spears were getting chucked at saber tooth tigers..... and the where you hit em is more important that what with since then too.

the notion that a .243 kills better than a .308 or vice verse is crap..pure and simple..... to be clear,if shot up the arse the .308 with heavy projectile would be better choice and SHOULD kill better /cleaner (will be messy) as the bigger/heavier projectile should travel far enough to get to vitals.....and the .243 poked into crease/meat saver shot should deliver more whollop than a slower heavier pill from .308....but both will kill animal......and and AND if you fed your .308 a 100grn projectile the point is moot...same case,same projectile weight.
BOTH will work fine.
the .243 shoots a bit flatter and a bit lighter on recoil
the .308 shoots heavier projectiles and can penertrate a bit better from poor angles......

as for one being more forgiving than the other....taken in context it hold merit.....a .224 fragile projectile going fast if hits point of jawbone or into neck missing bone MAY deliver enough stunning shock to immobilize animal long enough to finish it off whereas a big slow heavy projectile in same spot may zip through cutting narow path as no resistance to work against and animal will walk away wounded.....
flip that over and the fragile .224 going fast (or any really fragile projectile for that matter) into solid meaty bit MAY blow up giving shallow wound with animal still very mobile VS big heavy or more stout projectile will bore on through hopefully breaking bone and reaching vital bits....
its all swings n roundabouts....
Ive blown up a few fragile projectiles on bigger animals when caught out with wrong load in chamber and shot instinctively in a hurry,Ive also poked narrow deep holes into the wrong place on animals....... making good of a bad situation means you still get animal and hopefully fix your cock up quickly.
flock is correct,there IS a lot to like about the .308
there is also a lot to like about the .243....go back 25 years and for smaller statured shooter,ladies or youth and it was THE recommended cartridge...what has changed the most is the advent of suppressors to drop noise and recoil.... now a lot of bigger cartridges have been dropped down into same niche.