It seems to me that this caliber is quite popular in some countries (where it is legal to own and use)for hunting. Is it becoming one of the more popular hunting rounds? I know that this will vary from country to country and from area to area. I am just curious. Thanks in advance.

Probably no.2 in Northern Ireland, no.1 would be the .243win.

308 is number two in Norway, with the 30-06 in first place and the 6,5x55 i third place.

All three have dome military service and this is why they have become so popular. The 6,5x55 is of course a cartrigde from the United Kingdom of Norway and Sweden (not just swedish as many ignorant people think).

30-06 was the cartrigde chosen after ww2 when we bought Garand rifles to our army and converted the many thousand Mausers we got after defeating the nazis for use in our National Guard.

308, or rather the 7,62x51 Nato is still in use as our standard assault-rifle caliber. We will probably start using the vermint round used by the rest of Nato in a couple of years.

It's a very popular cartridge in Italy too.

Like Claret said, here in Northern Ireland .308 is very popular(possibly as some people use cheap FMJ for plinking).
Some of my friends have the same set up as me, with .308 and .243 as our "big and small" calibres. Readily available guns, ammo and components, accurate and with power to spare, it"s a great cartridge.
good shooting

Fairly popular in Switzerland - though far behind calibers such as the .30-06, 7x64, 7x65R, 8x57I(R)S etc.

I see the caliber mentioned quite a bit on a German hunting forum I read, so I guess it is pretty popular in Germany.

- mike

Well said Tordenskiold
We are probably one of the last armies on Planet Earth who still use a proper Infantry caliber !
My 308 Win is only used for roe hunting, but is a winner as such.

308Win is a popular hunting round in the UK. Many reasons for this, including readily available supply of ammo, with good variety of bullet types and weights from most good gunshops. Also a good calibre, being legal for all game in the UK.

A couple indicators.

I see alot of .308 Win's being used in the field.

At my shooting range the brass bin is primarily (and that by a wide margin, say 80%) full of; #1 .30/06 Sprg. brass, #2 .308 Win. brass. Makes the other cartridges, 6.5's 7mm's, 8's and 9.3's look insignificant by comparison.

Does that mean it is repalcing the "other" cartridges, well I can't really say cause all the "other" catridges out there aren't being sold by these guys, I think it's more the case of the younger, hunters and shooters are swarming to the .30/06 & .308.

Here is a list of calibers used for the hunting of Reindeers for last four years.
As you can see, 308 is always in third place, but I think it’s growing in numbers as the ammo is inexpensive and it’s accurate and easy on the shoulder.

Funny. Here in the USA, I am seeing more 7.62x39mm at my range than just about anything else!

And steel cases, no less.

As comparison here in Eastern Canada, I check the range bins @ sight-in time or just before deer hunting season. I find an equal amount of 30-06 and 308s firstly.( Slight edge to the 06 but they also take up more volume in bin) Second, 30-30 win. Troisieme, 303 brit. 4th, 243 win.

What am after and pick up are 300 Savage, 32 Win., and 35 Remington and all mags.

.308 Win has been for about 30 years and still is the most popular caliber in Finland for moose and whitetail hunting. Second would probably still be .30-06 or 7,62x54R and then .222 rem with 9,3x62 right after them.

Of all the guys I stalk with virtually all own a 243 here in the UK. Then about 70% have a 308 and swear by them.

I'd say it is a pretty popular cartridge with all apart from the deer!!!

FB

Hi Guys.

As FB says the .243 and the .308 in that order are the most popular. I use a 7x64 just to have something different but I do have two .308's

mark

Not kosher in France. It's a military ammo.

Here in northern Germany, most of the foresters in the great hunting areas use the 7,62 Nato for all their hunting from roe-deer over boars to the big stags. Although I prefer the 8mm`s, it is impossible to say, that they kill better than the little Winchester - but it is like often a question of bullet-type. Perhaps you cannot use heavy bullets, I thought not over 165grs, but since I use the 180grs Lapua-Naturalis in the .308 Win., I think, that tis is the best bullet for my use!

quote:

Originally posted by Monastery-Forester:
Here in northern Germany, most of the foresters in the great hunting areas use the 7,62 Nato for all their hunting from roe-deer over boars to the big stags. Although I prefer the 8mm`s, it is impossible to say, that they kill better than the little Winchester - but it is like often a question of bullet-type. Perhaps you cannot use heavy bullets, I thought not over 165grs, but since I use the 180grs Lapua-Naturalis in the .308 Win., I think, that tis is the best bullet for my use!

I'll double that!! The .308 Win has a lot more potential anybody would expect. I mostly hunt wild boars and red stag (and here in Austria, close to the Hungarian border they are REALLY big in mass!!). Until now, I didn't had a problem to bring them down. As Monastery Forester said.... it's all a question of bullet choice.

BTW Monastery Forester..... would you be so kind to give me your loading data for the .308 with the 180 grs. Naturalis?? I would be very interested in loading them....

My personal favorite



Johan

quote:

Originally posted by sniper66:

quote:

Originally posted by Monastery-Forester:
Here in northern Germany, most of the foresters in the great hunting areas use the 7,62 Nato for all their hunting from roe-deer over boars to the big stags. Although I prefer the 8mm`s, it is impossible to say, that they kill better than the little Winchester - but it is like often a question of bullet-type. Perhaps you cannot use heavy bullets, I thought not over 165grs, but since I use the 180grs Lapua-Naturalis in the .308 Win., I think, that tis is the best bullet for my use!

I'll double that!! The .308 Win has a lot more potential anybody would expect. I mostly hunt wild boars and red stag (and here in Austria, close to the Hungarian border they are REALLY big in mass!!). Until now, I didn't had a problem to bring them down. As Monastery Forester said.... it's all a question of bullet choice.

BTW Monastery Forester..... would you be so kind to give me your loading data for the .308 with the 180 grs. Naturalis?? I would be very interested in loading them....

I use 42,0- 44 grs of N140 in Lapua or Norma-cases, but at this time doing a lot of hunting nearly every day, I use Lapua-factory-loads. Best whishes to the Austriakei!! ( Andy, konnst mich mol anmailen?)

quote:

Originally posted by Monastery-Forester:

quote:

Originally posted by sniper66:

quote:

Originally posted by Monastery-Forester:
Here in northern Germany, most of the foresters in the great hunting areas use the 7,62 Nato for all their hunting from roe-deer over boars to the big stags. Although I prefer the 8mm`s, it is impossible to say, that they kill better than the little Winchester - but it is like often a question of bullet-type. Perhaps you cannot use heavy bullets, I thought not over 165grs, but since I use the 180grs Lapua-Naturalis in the .308 Win., I think, that tis is the best bullet for my use!

I'll double that!! The .308 Win has a lot more potential anybody would expect. I mostly hunt wild boars and red stag (and here in Austria, close to the Hungarian border they are REALLY big in mass!!). Until now, I didn't had a problem to bring them down. As Monastery Forester said.... it's all a question of bullet choice.

BTW Monastery Forester..... would you be so kind to give me your loading data for the .308 with the 180 grs. Naturalis?? I would be very interested in loading them....

I use 42,0- 44 grs of N140 in Lapua or Norma-cases, but at this time doing a lot of hunting nearly every day, I use Lapua-factory-loads. Best whishes to the Austriakei!! ( Andy, konnst mich mol anmailen?)

Thank you, MF....... I'll try that load, I'm curious to see how it performs......

Oh......you have PM, Frank.....