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[Don Fischer]

What do you think? Gonna hear a lot for the 30-06 I bet but, Take a look at the 308. It will do about everything the 30-06 will do. And got to be one of the two because not only versitile but cartridge's they've spawned.

30-06
25-06, 270, 280, 35 Whelan

308
243, 260, 6.8,7mm-08, What's the new 338 called?, 358

That is some awful impressive cartridges! And in my opinion, either one will handle anything in N. Amer.

Maybe a case could be made for the 8x57 too. there's a bunch of good off spring there too.

8x57
5.6x57, 6mm, 257 Roberts,6.5x57, 7x57

You have another idea? Throw it out there. I guess a case could be made for the 458Win, lot of good ones off of it.

[Critter]

You must be planning on a long fishing trip with the size of the can of worms that you just opened.

I personally believe that it is quite simple. It is the 30-06. No other round has been made that fits so many rifles and is loaded in all the actions, from single shot all the way to a full automatic. You can finds rounds from a 110 grain all the way up to 220 grains and it shoots all of them equally well. The 308 is there also but the 06 was the first and oldest so I'll have to go with it.

[Old Professor]

Although I have never owned a 30-06 and prefer the 308, I have to agree with Critter. Sheer numbers and varity of firearms chambered for the 30-06 win this debate. That said, I think the 308 and its offspring offer greater versatility but that was not the origional question.

[Don Fischer]

Hey Critter, what is life without worms?

I have a strong prefgerence myself for the 308. Just a thought, you can build a 308 on a light short action, can't do that with an 06! Sace yourself 3 oz of weight and not quite 1" bolt travel for fast follow up shots.

[ADKBEAR]

Don
First, the "new" one is the 338 Federal.
Now I see you are taking a geonlogical (sp?) angle here. That being the case you would have to defer to the parent case to the 308. That being the 300 Savage that Mr. Newten developed in the early 1900's.
My first choice though would have to be the versital .22, it has killed everything from mice and snakes right up to bears (I'm sure not the first choice!). It was the first metalic cartridge and anybody out there who has a gun has a 22. Ruger has stared that they have sold enough 10-22's to put 3 in every houshold in America.
What is the first firearm that anybody shoots?

[WesternHunter]

I agree. At least in this country the .30-06 has proven to be the most used and versatile cartridge for biggame hunting in a centerfire bolt action rifle. It was introduced for military service in 1906 but really wasn't widely available on the commercial market nor widely used by hunters until the years after the first world war. Even in those early days most of the '06 cartridges used by hunters were military surplus FMJ rounds.

But is it the "best" or just the most widely used/versatile in the last 90 years? There are a few other very versatile biggame cartridges out there. I always say that the best cartridge is the one that you shoot best and provides result for you.

[tim]

270 wsm becasue it is working for me.

[Tndeerhunter]

It's very difficult to make a good case against the 30/06, both as an individual cartridge and the family of spawned cartridges. The .308 has never had a factory answer to the 25/06, and many think the little cousin of the 30/06 is significantly better than the .243(include me). The 30/06 and .308, as individual cartridges, are so very similar as to be pretty much indistiguishable until we talk bullet weights of 180gr or above.

The 30/06 is a formidable cartridge when you add the power and S.D. of 200 and 220gr loads, and on the top end, the .35 Whelen does hold a significant edge in power over the fine .358, and is also a much better round than most give it credit for, capable of harvesting any game animal in N.A. with 250gr and even larger bullets, and also maintaining pretty good velocity with them. And don't leave out the fine, but also underappreciated .338/06.

Yup, it's pretty doggone tough to look past the 30/06 as an alltime great and even, perhaps the best of them all.

[Don Fischer]

[Highflyer]

Tradition doesn't make something right, it just makes it old. The 308 maintains the same velocity as the 30.06 up to 165 / 168 grain bullet weight with a lot less recoil. On top of that any of the 308 family are a lot less fussy (generally speaking) than the 30.06. If you take the history and emotion out of the equation the 308 is a more efficient and accurate cartridge for any hooved critter in the states. I've shot a good number of beasts with the '06 and finally woke up to the value of the 308 this last year.

I'll throw in my vote for the 308 for general hunting and the 375 H and H for big nasties. The WSMs are a close runner up.

[remington]

Being devels advocate with todays bullets it's to close to call as the gap closes pretty damend quick.

[Tndeerhunter]

Well, I've used a bunch of calibers to collect venison, all worked well (obviously). But, one thing I learned is that there's no free ride. If you want to shoot a .308 cal 165 gr bullet 2700 fps from an 8lb rifle, it doesn't matter if it's a .308, 30/06 or .300WM, it will recoil the same. The idea that one is better, recoil-wise, when looking at like performance simply isn't correct, IMO.

A .308 can feel lower in recoil, if fired at lower velocity, from a similar gun, from a heavier gun, or perhaps from a better designed stock. But in like rifles, with the same velocity, recoil will be virtually the same. Certainly nothing wrong with the fine .308 or it's extended family of cartridges. I own and shoot most all of them myself and my two largest whitetails were taken with a .308. But, it's simply foolish, IMO, to say flatly that it shoots as fast and recoils less

I own, several .308s and also several 30/06s and depending on rifle and load, one will recoil more than the other, but it can also be the .308 recoiling more than the '06. A perfect example is my Ruger 77 RSI shooting 180s, as it's recoil is definitely noticeable...lol

More worms for the can!

[Don Fischer]

That is absolutely true. Tell me why do people get more cartridge than they need then make it useable by either loading it down, or getting reduced recoil loads, rather than getting the cartridge they can handle in the first place?

[Critter]

[Tndeerhunter]