What caliber for reds, .308 or 30-06?

[bob.243 9,496]

Hi lads,

 

A colleague at work is contemplating changing his .243 for a .308 or 30-06 for stalking reds, but can't make his mind up, your thoughts please on these two calibers.

 

Cheers

Bob.

[TWOTWOTHREE 152]

Hi bob

How come your mate wants to change from 243 to the bigger stuff? I don't stalk but am curious,wouldn't it just cause more carcass damage,I hear story's that 243 is more than enough,sorry if I come across a bit green on

this,it's because I am and im being nosey,my thoughts are I would love both of them ha ha

Atb 223

Edited November 10, 2011 by TWOTWOTHREE

[bob.243 9,496]

Hi bob

How come your mate wants to change from 243 to the bigger stuff? I don't stalk but am curious,wouldn't it just cause more carcass damage,I hear story's that 243 is more than enough,sorry if I come across a bit green on

this,it's because I am and im being nosey,my thoughts are I would love both of them ha ha

Atb 223

Hi 223,

 

He had a .308 before and feels more confident with that rather than the .243, I suppose he feels he went backwards getting the .243, less energy I suppose, I have a .308 myself and find it does everything I want, I don't really think there would be much more carcase damage, it's all down to bullet placement, yes in a roe perhaps, but not so much in a red.

As for the 30-06 it may be a bit over the top, I Googled American sights, and what I found was they use them for Elk, and to a lesser extent for Moose with careful bullet placement, they can fire a heavier bullet but have almost twice the recoil of the .308, so more recoil and not much more gain, according to thier posts.

 

ATB

Bob.

[danebrewer10 6]

as far as I understand it, with a "standard" load say 150-170 grain bullet, the two are pretty comprable in terms of performance with an edge given to the .30-06 but the "06 can shoot heavier bullets (180gn +)where the .308 runs oput of case capacity, so for regular deer stalking in this country and even boar, I'd go for the .308 as you get similar performance but less recoil, but i he's thinking about changing his ifle, why not go for something like the 6.5x55 swede? long high BC bullets which buck the wind and shoot flatter than either of the aforementioned calibres, ideal for hill stalking?

[The Seeker 3,048]

Yep + 1 for the 6.5 x 55 swede that was my choice, but out of the two you mentioned I would go for the .308

 

The prob with the .243 as i have read is bullet penetration, of course it's enough to take Sika or reds but unlike the larger deer calibres it is less likely to fully penetrate and therefore in the case of a runner will be harder to track due to lack of blood trail.

 

[bob.243 9,496]

Danebrewer10, The Seeker.

 

Agree with your comments, also if I were to change my .308, it would be for the 6.5x55 Swede.

 

ATB

Bob.

Edited November 14, 2011 by bob.243

[matt_hooks 188]

Of the two, I'd go for the .308. Nothing to do with a 30-06 being too much gun, or the .308 having less recoil, or even the option to shoot heavier bullets, as the .308 weights are more than enough for anything in the UK. The main reason is that the .308 is a short action calibre, making for lighter, stiffer guns. The 30-06 is a great round, and works well, but doesn't offer enough of an advantage imho to outweight the extra weight .

 

The Swede is also a great round, or (unfashionable but undoubtedly highly effective) the .270, although the .270 is another long action cartridge.