.308 Win vs. .30-06 — Match Results May Surprise You
The .308 Winchester, a shortened version of the .30-06, has almost completely replaced the .30-06 in NRA competition. The .308 is required for Palma shooting, so it is also used by many Palma competitors in other long-range and mid-range prone matches. However, with the exception of M1 Garand matches, you won’t see many .30-06 rifles on the firing lines. Does that mean the .30-06 is obsolete? Is the .308 Win really much more accurate? Or does it just offer the advantages of reduced recoil and reduced powder consumption?
Cartridge photos courtesy Deuce45s.com, a leading source of specialized military cartridges.
In his Sibling Rivalry: .308 vs. .30-06 article on the Rifleman’s Journal site, German Salazar argues that the .30-06 remains a viable competition cartridge, particularly for the long-range game. This isn’t just a subjective opinion. German has data to back up the argument that the .30-06 can still do the job.
German compares the actual scores produced by his .308 Win rifles with the scores from his .30-06 rifles. German analyzes scores, over a two-year period, shot by “matched pair” rifles (one in each caliber) with similar actions, stocks, sights, and barrels. For comparison purposes, German also includes score data from his 6XC, a modern low-recoil chambering.
RESULTS: .308 Has Small Edge at Middle Distance, But .30-06 Is Better at Long Range
Surprisingly, the .30-06 performed nearly as well as the .308 at middle distances. The .30-06 delivered 99.2% of max possible scores vs. 99.5% for the .308 Win. Notably, at 1000 yards, the .30-06 racked up 97.7% of max scores vs. 97.3% for the .308 Win. So, at 1000 yards, the .30-06 actually proved superior to the .308 Win. German explains: “This isn’t too surprising when one considers [the .308's] limited case capacity for the bullet weights typically used in Long-Range shooting. They just run out of steam and dip perilously close to the transonic range as they approach 1000 yards of flight. The extra 150 fps or so that can be safely obtained from the .30-06 case really pays off at 1000 yards.”
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Mid-Range Comparison .308 – 597-36X (99.5%), 960 rounds fired If we look at the score averages, the .308 comes out on top at the Mid-Range distances… by 0.3% of the possible score. By the way, notice that the 6XC, as good as it is, simply straddles the .30 caliber cartridges; it is not the winner. Long-Range Comparison In NRA Long-Range and Palma matches, the average percentage of possible score for each cartridge at 1000 yards was as follows: 6XC – 98.9%, 360 rounds fired Editor’s Note: Among the three cartridges German studied, the 6XC actually proved best at 1000 yards, delivering 98.9% of the maximum possible scores. The .30-06 was second-best with 97.7%, slightly better than the .308 Win at 97.3%. |
You’ll want to read German’s full Sibling Rivalry article, which includes an interesting history of the .30-06 and .308 in High Power shooting, along with tables showing German’s actual scores with his .30-06, .308 Win, and 6XC rifles.
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Tags: .30-06 Springfield, .308 Winchester, 1000 Yards, German Salazar, high power, Palma
German could outshoot most of us with a pellet gun. It doesn’t seem to matter what caliber he uses!!!
curious as to which bullet he was firing in both the 308 and 06?
Eric, that’s very kind of you but maybe somewhat optimistic!
Ajax, a large variety of bullets: Sierra 155, 168, 180, 190, Berger 155.5, 175, 190 VLD, 210, Lapua 185, Western 197, Cauterucio 200, and I’m sure a few others. I like to shoot a big variety, especially in the .30-06.
Having used the 6 mm calibers (especially the 6XC) for over five years in F-Class Open competition, the qualitative edge this caliber has had over the .30 calibers has been gradually eroded as the quality of projectiles for the .30 calibers has improved to the point where they are as good as the 6 mm projectiles now available. Recoil fatigue in the .30 calibers is still the major disadvantage the .30 calibers have against the 6 mm calibers. Barrel life in the 6 mm calibers has also been improved with better projectiles, new powder formulations, better barrel dynamics and cleaning products. In the final analysis, it boils down to the operator, especially in wind reading skills for both calibers that will determine the winning outcome.
I’m glad someone finally did a modern comparison of these two. I have long contended that the reason that people believed that the .308 was more accurate than the .30-06 was because in two nearly identical rifles firing the same bullet, if one is long action and one is a short action, then the short-action, .308 will have a lower LOCKTIME, which is very difficult for the average shooter to test, but important for accuracy.
Realistically, the .30-06 should outperform the .308 if both attain the same velocity, because the higher case capacity will allow for the use of a bullet with a higher BC and equal velocity, or higher velocity if both use the same bullet, all other things being equal.
A trivial point….however the matched pair of actions are Gilkes-Ross actions I believe. The original Gilkes actions were round receivers and quite large in diameter and were aluminum with a steel insert. Tony supplied a unique bedding block with the actions.I could be wrong but perhaps German can clarify.
Roy