Just curious if anyone has expirience with both barrels? I have both, but have never shot the .308. I have taken several whitetails with the 30-06 however. Does anyone know if there is much difference, ballistically, between the two? I haven't shot the .308 because I figured it would be almost exactley the same as my 06.

I bought mt Encore back in ... maybe 1996 with the 30-06 barrel on it. Put a 2X Luepold on it. I don't remember ever shooting paper past 50 yards with it. Now I am getting the itch to put a new Bushnel 2-6 that I have had in the closet on it and stretch it's legs a little bit.

Never compared them side to side...but for general deer hunting I would just rather have the .308W and top it with that 2-6X you have. Dunno why.....I just like the shorter cartridges in break opens.



Does you Bushnell know that some folks consider it socially acceptable to come "out of the closet" nowadays?

for the most part with the short tubes they are about the same bulistalicy wise. however the 30-06 you will burn more powder and have more recoil.

To be honest even in the long tubes the 30-06 really only has the advantage when you are shooting 200 and 220 gr bullets.

Some will say the 30-06 will give you more speed with any bullet, with the short tube that will not be all that much and you pay a price for the extra 100 FPS or so.

Think of it this way once the bullet exits the animal any remaining energy is wasted and potently dangerous.

I have had the 30/06 in encore shot very tight groups the 308 would be very close in bulistics on game would be very simeler.

More powder will propel an equal weight bullet faster regardless of barrel length. The decision the shooter must make is whether the additional recoil, muzzle blast and cost is worth a hundred FPS, + or -, velocity. I find the .308 case size to be almost perfect, I have in .243, 7mm, .308 and .429

This is not entirely true. there is only so much powder that can burn inside the tube The faster the powder the more of it burns in the tube.

With small arms (unless you modify the case) the primer lights the back of the powder and maybe some of the top and it burns from the back to the front of the case. This burning causes pressure to build between the case head and the burning powder and it is pushed down the tube just like the bullet. but it is burning and creating more pressure and turns it into energy.

When you get in to large artillery shells they have a tube that runs trough the powder and the primer lights off closer to the top of the powder and the powder bruins from the top down this gives a more uniformed burn and allows for more of the powder to burn

In practical terms it does. The difference will vary, sometimes insignificant, but the bigger charge will push harder. The question is in whether it is enough to go there.

The Bushnell WILL come out of the closet when I know what to put it on ... I picked it up when the local Gander Mnt relocated from an East and West stores to one North store. I knew I liked the scope and couln't pass up the sale price, so it went into the closet until I know what to put it on.

In a 15" my money goes to the 308W. Long tubes get the 06 case. After alot of use in long guns with both 308 and 30-06, I only saw a difference between the two on heavy bullets and out past 600 yds. I will always go with the 308 if shooting under 500 yards if I had a choice.

Now days I only have one rifle, Encore in 338-06, I'm still getting it set up

I have both barrels, but favor the 30/06 as a personal preference. JD Jones did a side by side comparison of the two calibers in the April Issue of the HHI Sixgunner, testing both 15" factory contender barrels and rifle barrels using a variety of factory loads. Despite some small differences, for all intents and purposes the velocities were very close in the pistol barrels.

There was an improvement in the heavier bullet 30/06 loads (165+) due to the increased bullet resistance causing more complete powder burning. RickyP is exactly correct in his comment about you can only burn so much powder in the tube, and something you rarely hear in the "wisdom" so freely dispensed on "the web". I have heard Jim Rock (manufacturer of RPM, Pistol, holder of numerous IMHSA Records) state on numerous occasions: "You can only burn so much powder in a given volume of barrel".

That being said, SAAMI specs. for the .308 are 62,000 psi v 60,000 psi for the 30/06 i.e. the '06 is doing the same thing with lower pressures, and there is "room" for improvement. I have found that Magnum Primers often assist powder burning in the long 30/06 case, and indeed at one time, Sierra Bullets recommended using magnum primers in all rifle cartridges used in handguns.