30-06 or .308 for deer?

[Bstarkey_46947]

Carried a 1903A3 mildly sportorized, for a week in Wyoming. The weight helped to reduce the recoil so I didn't mind lugging it around. Shot Pronghorn and Mule deer, one shot one kill. Most accurate '06 I currently own.

 

[Hookeye]

I liked my 7 mag 700 BDL and moved up to a .300 winmag. That to me was the next level in recoil.

Had a m77 boat paddle in .308 win and heard the horror stories if the factory " pad ".

It wasnt bad. At. All.

Just wearing a T shirt. Yeah 20 rounds from the bench lwft a red mark. But i was sub 1.5" at 100 w the thing w one factory load and a crap trigger.

Entirely doable IMHO.

Im avg sized i reckon, about 6 ft and 190 lbs. Average stuff fits me well.

Recoil.....i can take the shoulder hit, even w bad shoulders. Clicking a cheekbone sucks.

 

[texas123]

Ruger M77 .308 flat bolt tang safety manufactured April 1969. One of the few that came with a Douglas Barrel. Still wears steel weaver scope made in El Paso... Classic I will never part with. Just something about Blue steel and wood stock and a leather sling.

 

[bgcatty]

Anything you can do with a .308 you can do twice on Sunday and again on Monday.

 

[Hookeye]

I have both .308 and .30-06.
Just depends on mood which one I'll take.
Deer aint gonna know any difference.

Why do I have both? Because each is in a diff type of rig and I like both types.
Cartridge wise though............meh, a thirty is a thirty.

Heck I'd be happy w a 99 featherweight w good trigger in .300 Sav (but also in .250).

 

[two70]

Neither, for anything that actually warrants a larger .30 caliber I prefer the .300 WSM. I deer hunt in Indiana with a .260 Tikka or a .25-06 Steyr but if I had to choose between the .308 and the .30-06, I'd go with the .308 9 times out of 10. That tenth time would be the case where I was only going to own one rifle (god forbid!) and was planning on traveling to hunt larger, tougher critters. The .308 has plenty of power and range for deer in a typically shorter and lighter package with less recoil.

 

[Hookeye]

My .308 is a boat anchor, but it does make for soft shooting.

Its the deer stand aint far from the truck rifle LOL

 

[6mm Shoot]

The 308 for me is better because I reload. It uses less powder to do the same things a 3006 will do.

The rifle you have will make more difference than the round.

 

[Spear Dane]

Either caliber is more than sufficient for a white tail...really I can't think of anything in North America you couldn't take with either.

 

[Mongo59]

Either caliber is more than sufficient for a white tail...really I can't think of anything in North America you couldn't take with either.

Depending on capacity, the southern California Hydrazombie...

 

[DragonGunner]

I got a buck couple years ago with my M14 because I hadn't got one with archery yet. I was really wanting to know what it was like to shoot a deer with my rifle...could of used my 1903 or M1 Garand but the scoped .308 is a tack driver for me. Shot the buck though the heart I found out later, figured it would drop like a rock.....nope, took off and ran 100 yards. Shot was on the ground about 50 yds. Might as well used the old .12 gauge pump.....lol.

 

[Hookeye]

I am not good enough to sneak up on a deer and catch it reading the script

 

[Leo]

For hunting, the old school common wisdom is; "what do you have?" followed by "can you hit with it?"

 

[CJ56]

Has any shot distance been mentioned? Stand hunting? Going out west with mixed bag hunt?

 

[DMTJAGER]

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.

I stand corrected, I always thought C4 was invented for those pesky Alaskan Bull mice that had become an invasive species in the lower 48 also infamous for lengthy bouts of laughter after multiple hits from a 30-30.
Obviously I was mistaken.

 

[Amishman44]

These debates are so much better when sitting around a campfire....with a couple of venison hanging from a tree after a harvest with an old Winchester 1894 in 30-30

BINGO...I would love to have a .30-06, but when .30-30 does the job just fine, I'll have to stick with what works!

 

[cburnworth]

I have only managed to shoot paper with it so far. I have a 450 bushmaster built on an ar platform.

 

[goob469]

What about this .350 legend that keeps popping up everywhere? Anyone had any luck with it? It seems like it fits between 308 and 30-06...

 

[84VETTE]

What about this .350 legend that keeps popping up everywhere? Anyone had any luck with it? It seems like it fits between 308 and 30-06...

I think .350 Legend would be closer in relation to a rimless .357 max than .30-06 or .308. I'm sure its a decent public land deer cartridge but I don't know how it would really compare to .30-06 or .308.

 

[smittygj]

Personal preference having used both, I'd go .308 Not that there is anything wrong with the '06. I have had a hunting rifle and a garand (also a hunting rifle for me) in '06, but you can achieve the same results with a .308 using the proper powder/bullet.