You will do fine with a 308. Learn the rifles kill envelope and the operating envelope of various bullets and you will do well. A 308 will take down anything in B.C. except for the great bears and with proper shot placement (which is the key, it will take them in a pinch, although I would not recommend it unless you had to)
Now lets get down to the two choices for 308. There is the 7.62 (not the military version but close, military version has a thicker sidewall case) This round does not handle 200 gr bullets very well although it will shoot them. You have to seat the bullet deep in the case and the powder may be compressed.. The 7.62 action is shorter and the rifles tend to be a bit lighter, this solved logistics problems for the military in combat. More bullets could be shipped in small spaces and the combat solder could carry more rounds than the old 30/06 which is also 308 caliber. Both the 7.62 and the 30/06 have ballistics that are so close that it is not worth debate. Both are equaly accurate, the 7.62 only very slightly takes the edge and this would only be seen at the highest level of competition by pro shooters where fractions of an inch count on paper. The 30/06 has more loads available and to me is a more versital round than the 7.62 although the action is longer and tends to be slightly heaver. thats my story and i am sticken to it. hope this helps in you choice of your first rifle
Last edited by eaglesnester; 09-30-2011 at 08:14 AM.
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