Thread: .308 Ballistics

Originally Posted by nzteza

i still would not stand at 1000 yard as a target

Probably why the armed forces use the caliber .

Or it's because of a bunch of bad decisions in the fifties and it would be a logistical nightmare to change

Originally Posted by Tussock

I'm going to go with that.

It's popular because it's abundant. Not because it's any good.

What I find interesting is how uniquely terrible it is. If you put it among the rounds we have today, it's right at the sweet spot of crapness. That dead place where the velocities are low, the BC is impossible to get above awful and still fit the action and it has a lot of recoil for its meager performance.

bwahaahaaha

Originally Posted by Tussock

I'm going to go with that.

It's popular because it's abundant. Not because it's any good.

What I find interesting is how uniquely terrible it is. If you put it among the rounds we have today, it's right at the sweet spot of crapness. That dead place where the velocities are low, the BC is impossible to get above awful and still fit the action and it has a lot of recoil for its meager performance.

So I see the anti-308 feeling is still strong then

It kinda looks like you threw a joint 800yards and it hit some magical wall, not sure why you would throw such a thing, usually its smoked...

Originally Posted by Tussock

I'm going to go with that.

It's popular because it's abundant. Not because it's any good.

What I find interesting is how uniquely terrible it is. If you put it among the rounds we have today, it's right at the sweet spot of crapness. That dead place where the velocities are low, the BC is impossible to get above awful and still fit the action and it has a lot of recoil for its meager performance.

7.62×51mm NATO - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
lt's a shame they didn't go with the British .280

Hey it did spawn some nice cartridges. I could say the same for .223/5.56 - The BC's are terrible, energy levels are pathetic. After shooting a bunch of animals with it, some repeatedly, I now understand the hate it gets in the military. It's just such a sporadic killer. Sometimes it drops shit good, other times things walk away full of holes.

Yip. The Grendel would be an obvious candidate for a service round. Can't really see it happening though.

Granted the 308 is never going to be a 1000y legend (opps it already is)
but sub 400 (where most everything is shot) there really isn't anything to better it in a non magnum short action round, you cant beat poking a big hole in something for killing stuff.
If you want to deliberately seek to shoot animals further then ANYTHING on the 08 case is not going to be your thing. But we all know that already

Recoil LMFAO

I actually wouldn't mind a .308 for fudding about *hides behind couch*

.62 x 2-2.5x expansion If diameter made no difference to killing power everyone would be using 22 cal FMJ on dangerous game.

Iv witnessed a 525y shot with a 223 at 21deg up on a fallow doe, leaning on a rock with 60y old eyes(not mine im not that fucken old) and a rifle that was sighted in at 25y 10 years previous with a different brand of factory 55gr varmint pills and a fixed 4x scope that looks like its been cleaned with scotch bright regularly.
It went 3 steps and rolled half way down to us, doesn't make it a long range cal, doesn't make it a consistent killer either.

As always performance on game is about matching projectile to impact velocity. Realistically 600 is it for 308 with available bullets both from impact velocity and windage.
But sub 400 Its hard to beat

I would never hesitate to use another .308 for hunting. Apart from 5.56 it is a rifle calibre that I have the most experience with.
I have once helped another soldier fire14,000+ rds of .308 in a day. It still brings a smile to my dial thinking about days like that, engaging targets over 2kms away.
Shot one in comps overseas and heaps of times here.
They are ballistic nightmares beyond certain ranges but if you can half way handle one, shooting ballistically better cals are easier.
They kill universally better in most bullet weights I have used as well.






Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk. So please forgive my sausage fingers!!!

Originally Posted by Tussock

7mm-08 has leaves it for dead

That extra 10yds of MPBR eh...

No, that extra .15 BC at 100fps faster

Quick check of factory ammo figures from Hornady website, as close as I can find to equivalent loads (both 'SST superformance')...

.308 150gr @ 3000fps, BC 0.415
7-08 139gr @ 2950fps, BC 0.486

And seeing as you made the comparison,

.223 55gr @ 3240, BC 0.255

Maybe I'm missing something... I might plug those figures into my ballistic calc and see how much difference 0.071 BC makes. I might learn something!