r/canadaguns • u/Worried-Sentence1651 • 26d ago
Shooting Is .308 still relevant for long-range shooting?
https://youtu.be/z7xjI4-s4Ao?si=UmBXpkYekW_60JmXI made a video looking specifically at .308 and whether it still makes sense as a long-range cartridge today.
With how popular newer cartridges have become, I’m curious how many Canadian shooters still choose .308 for long-range shooting.
I also think the rifle itself plays a big part in getting the most out of .308, both in terms of accuracy and extending its practical range. In the video I’m shooting an Accuracy International and a Sako TRG, which are both very capable platforms.
For those of you who shoot .308 regularly, what do you like about it, and where do you think its biggest limitations are?
Interested in hearing some real-world opinions from other Canadian shooters.
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u/Popular_Chocolate538 26d ago
Nooooooo you need 7.5mm ultra-win mag super duper PRC creedball
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u/TheSockington 26d ago
Semi-large caliber side chat, my dad always talked up his 300winmag as some Iraqi super-gun type round when I was a kid. “If you need more than three rounds, you’re not shooting at something living” type deal. He disliked shooting his Ruger M77 and probably put less than 30-40rounds through it during his ownership.
I put a Limbsaver on it after inheriting it and love taking it out to the range for a laugh every now and then since I don’t hunt. It’s not near as bad as he made it out to be.
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u/Doogie-Howser 26d ago
I've been a one caliber man my whole life. I would stick to 308 because it is truly a universal caliber.
It may not be the cheapest, fastest, hardest hitting, softest recoil and best ballistic coefficient round.
But it can do all those things at a good level before all the other rounds combined.
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u/BrotherLefthand 26d ago
I've been wanting a .300wm just to see what the hype is about, but my .308 has no problem dropping bull moose and elk. So why change?
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u/Standard_Custard2338 26d ago
I have both 308 and 300wm. My main hunting rifle is an old 7mm Rem Mag. All do the job when hunting, some just do different aspects better. My 308 and 300wm were both built towards target shooting more than hunting but are more than capable. 308 is light recoil but has more arc over a given distance. When hunting in country that may have extended range shots, I like my magnums as they get out further before I need to start thinking about bullet drop. Out to a little more than 300 yards you can basically just aim behind the shoulder and hit in the kill zone on deer and do that a little further on moose or elk. 308 is nice for cheap factory ammo and relatively low recoil while still delivering all the power needed.
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u/Q-Ball7 In the end, it's taxes all the way down 19d ago
Nobody's provided a good answer to this yet, but the reason is because it's a round that takes better advantage of modern rifles and optics.
20th century rifles/ammunition, and optics, are best suited to .308. They didn't really have enough practical accuracy to get past 300 for hunting applications (and even if you did, you were generally limited to a 9x scope), so a 300-yard round was ideal for that application.
21st century equipment runs out of practical accuracy around 500 yards (more accurate rifles, more consistent ammunition, better optics with higher magnification), so a cartridge that is as capable at 500 as .308 was at 300 is appropriate. Which, somewhat coincidentally, is what .300WM does.
Does that make it too much gun at normal hunting distances? Of course, but it still lets you do the same thing at the furthest reasonable distance: if you can see it in the scope, you can make a shot with the same chance of success you were used to with .308 (at .308 distances). Which is what actually matters.
6.5CM can do this too, but your margins for error are smaller, as it's a much weaker round. The upside is that you can actually practice with the rifle without getting beat to shit, but the downside is that requires you to practice with it to get the same result. (The 7s actually are the best of both worlds, but the kinds of people who shoot 7mm tuck their rifles into bed every night and factory ammunition for them is difficult to find.)
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u/EvanAzzo 26d ago
.308 will get the job done and for those just dipping their feet in that want an affordable way to enjoy the hobby it's fine
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u/Worried-Sentence1651 26d ago
I think the rifle itself plays a big role in extending the effective range of the .308 and getting the most out of its accuracy potential. The rifles I’m shooting in the video are an Accuracy International and a Sako TRG, both of which are extremely capable platforms.
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u/some_guy2024 26d ago edited 26d ago
There’s no good reason to choose .308 for a long range rifle in 2026. 6.5 Creed match ammo is easily available and no more expensive than .308 match ammo and, for the same length and quality level of barrel, well out-performs .308 by every metric except barrel life (but those concerned with barrel life generally don’t actually shoot enough for it to be a valid concern). In fact you get the same drift with an 18” 6.5 barrel as you do with a 26” .308 barrel (140s around 2600 vs 175s at 2725). If you want to shoot a .308, have at er, but I’ve shot tens of thousands of rounds of both .308 and 6.5 and there is no advantage to a .308 for long range shooting.
If you do decide to shoot .308 for long range your best bet is to shoot a more modern bullet (175 RDF, 185 Juggernaut, etc) to extend your effective range vs the old 175 SMK.
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u/Big-Guitar-1979 26d ago
I live in Ontario. The thing is, I got nowhere to shoot more than 300 yard
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u/Northern_Presence 26d ago
Calibre is only as relevant as the supply allows.
.303, .30-06, and 8mm mauser were at one point some of the most common rifle calibres in huge surpluses because of the wars, shortly after the korean war there was the shift to 7.62x51 NATO. Both 7.62x51 and .308 became super common and mass produced. As the surplus calibres from the world wars came down in supply, the calibres became more expensive and fell out of favour for people looking to get into a full sized rifle cartridge.
7.62x51 is still used by militaries around the globe and as such the supply is still there and the prices are consistent with this.
You can get a cheaper .308 with plenty of ammo to start and fine tune your long range marksmanship for less than a high precision/high tolerance rifle chambered in a harder to source calibre.
There's also the interoperability that using a common calibre brings, for most people this is irrelevant, but if you found yourself in a situation where you ran out of your super fine tuned match grade ammo, you have the possibility of resupplying with ammo from law enforcement, military, or other people caught in the same situation. Once again, that's a pipedream Charles bronson moment for most people who aren't already in law enforcement or military.
TL/DR: .308 is relevant because it's cheap
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u/greasygreenbastard 26d ago
have a watch out for 6.5 Sneedmore, new hot round that's hitting the market early next year.
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u/CryptidWorks CryptidWorks 26d ago
.308 is fine.
There are cartridges that shoot flatter, have better ballistic coefficients overall, are faster, and go farther... But .308 is a jack of all trades.
It does everything pretty good. Not amazing, but pretty good.
I love that I can have a reliable 600y target or hunting rifle in a 20" barrel. I love that I can load up zippy 130gr TTSXes for shorter range island deer, and then turn around and load up 178gr ELD-X for large game or long distance (my Tikka is more accurate with them than 168 ELD-Ms.)
The choices for ammunition and projectiles are extremely varied, as are brakes, magazines (I use AICS), etc.
The barrel life is also amazing compared to higher velocity rounds (about double 6.5CM)
If I were to build a magnum, I'd just build a 300WM to retain the same projectile options - but for what I do, I don't need one, yet. 308 just kind of does it all pretty good.
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u/nowherelefttodefect 26d ago
Also important to consider that the round is better than 99% of the people shooting it
Sure, some other rounds might be better, but are YOU a good enough shooter to be able to tell the difference?
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u/yummybunnybear 26d ago
The gun, ammo, optics, usually everything is better than most shooters. Let alone the distance most ranges have.
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u/ptv83 25d ago
Has physics changed or something?
I don't understand why people ask this question about calibres... .308 is still insanely available, extremely customisable even from factory loads...
It hasn't become .45-70, you can still buy it, physics are the same, characteristivs are the most understood or anything out there.
Which is everything you want in predictable shooting.
The only reason something would become a poor choice that has nothing to do with price/availability is if there's a bullet coming back at you and they suddenly have .338 LM
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u/Worried-Sentence1651 25d ago
In my opinion, the .308 is still a great cartridge, but times have changed, and I think the 6.5 Creedmoor is a better choice for long-range shooting these days, especially with its huge availability and relatively affordable ammo. Stay tuned for the next video, where I’ll be putting .308 rifles up against 6.5 Creedmoor—and the big dog, .338 Lapua Mag. 🔥
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u/Iokua_CDN 26d ago
Is 308 perfect? No.
But is it cheap and readily available in multiple brands? Yes!
Is it also decent for hunting and decent forblong range? Yes.
For me, I'll take the cheaper price over buying a better cartridge. That and there still are some semi auto options for 308 too.