30-06 or .308 for deer?

[spencer rifle]

I don't have any 30.06, but my .308 handloads can put 4 shots in a quarter-size area at 100 yards. Every deer that has been under the crosshairs has been dead in less than a minute. Works for me.

 

[Dave A]

Get the best rifle you can afford in either caliber.

 

[johntheplinker]

Neither. 6.5x55 is my choice. So much easier on old bones, plenty of oomph further than I can see a deer, with good loads can take anything up to the largest critters on this continent.

 

[Ark]

As I understand it there is nothing 30-06 can do that .308 can't.

 

[wingrider1800]

As I understand it there is nothing 30-06 can do that .308 can't.

Except push a 180gr bullet at 2800 fps.

 

[Ark]

Except push a 180gr bullet at 2800 fps.

Overkill for deer IMO.

 

[Brad69]

I hunt in the deep woods a shot pass 25-50 yards just ain’t gonna happen.

 

[bwframe]

In Indiana, both of those cartridges are limited to private ground hunting only, correct?

300 BLK, using the same bullets, though...?

 

[DMTJAGER]

I voted 30/06 as speed/fps is one of those things you can never get to much of.

 

[ECS686]

Either though the '06 has more variety of factory loadings if thats your thing. When I lived in Montana I liked the 270 myself. Funny though most of the 7mm Rem Mag fans were guys that missed with an '06 LOL

 

[Mongo59]

For this question I answer with a "YES"...

 

[Mongo59]

It reminds me of a line from the 'Program': "hit him so hard his girlfriend dies..."

 

[NKBJ]

With the 06 or 08 the hunter is using a cartridge designed to shoot small bore bullets at people, not to kill a deer with minimal meat destruction, so choose your shots accordingly. You can load down either if you're a reloader but stuck with the small bore. To go heavier and slower the 06's are often better because of being built with a faster twist than the 08's.
First deer I ever took was with a .300 Savage in '71. It was overkill. The year before my father took an elk with that same rifle (Ol' Never Miss) at over 200 yards. A few years later I went bigger and slower and the choice proved itself.
That's my . It aint a lot of cents but it's my sense.

 

[sloughfoot]

A whitetail deer is more dead with the 30.06 than the .308. Common knowledge amongst hunters. For decades. They become more dead. Noticeably.

Its why I like the 30-30. And the 300 Savage. Deer laugh when I shoot them. Until they die. Its more fun that way.

That should clarify my position and eliminate all confusion. I suspect you are a new hunter that has never had a shot deer laugh at you after you have shot it.

It really is unsettling.

It's why C4 was invented. People were tired of being laughed at by scrawny deer.

 

[DeadeyeChrista'sdad]

6.5 Creedmore....plenty of get up and go, BUT a sweetie to your shoulder. Before the China flue, Wal-Mart was stocking 4 varieties and all were pretty reasonable. A few years ago, I said I didn't need another caliber. I had both 30-06 and 308. Then Buck (God rest his soul) the "wild cat" reloader of Tippy Lake, said try this and it wasn't some exotic "skunk works" caliber I had never heard of.
I fired 5 shots out of a Begara 6.5 Creedmore......I was hooked!!!!

My new favorite. But seriously, give this newb a timeout for not including "bacon" as a choice. What are we, savages?

 

[gregr]

My new favorite. But seriously, give this newb a timeout for not including "bacon" as a choice. What are we, savages?

Makes me think of the woman who, when their home was wiped out in the Florida Keys, said of their life waiting for the utilities to be turned back on, said; they were doing without internet and cable, they were living like savages...LOL.

 

[BigRed]

In Indiana, both of those cartridges are limited to private ground hunting only, correct?

300 BLK, using the same bullets, though...?

Correct

 

[Principal Skinr]

I love both, but I'd take the .308. I like the shorter action. Makes for a little more compact and slightly lighter gun, all other things equal.

 

[Hookeye]

Some rifles only come in certain chamberings. Then, some people prefer a shorter bolt throw.

Like stated by somebody else upstrean....platform/ model may be more of a factor than cartridge.

.30-06 or
.308 win w 150s is plenty for whitetail.
Maybe go a little heavier depending on bullet construction.

Depends on how much meat you wanna tear up. Double lung em and it doesnt matter. Shoulder shoot em and it might.

Ive had 742 and 760, plus bolt rifles in
30-06. W 150s theyre comfy.

Gun fit is a biggie. Found my buttplate equipped 760 to be no big deal w 150s.
Buddy has one and says it beats him up.

 

[Hookeye]

I like my steyr 3006.
Now to find a merkel helix
308