H&R 30-06 vs 308? (If its your only rifle.)

[MS Mule]

The .308 can do anything a 30/06 can with 165gr. bullets or less and may have a slight edge in accuracy. However when your get to the 180 and on up to 220 grain large heavy game bullets the 30/06 shows her stuff. A handloader can shoot varmints with 110 gr. and then load for elk and moose. Some feel the 30/06 is suitable for the large bears. If a hunter is only going to have one centerfire rifle for all American game the 30/06 would be a wise choice.

[Austin1]

The .308 can do anything a 30/06 can with 165gr. bullets or less and may have a slight edge in accuracy. However when your get to the 180 and on up to 220 grain large heavy game bullets the 30/06 shows her stuff. A handloader can shoot varmints with 110 gr. and then load for elk and moose. Some feel the 30/06 is suitable for the large bears. If a hunter is only going to have one centerfire rifle for all American game the 30/06 would be a wise choice.

That is what I have found is a 165gr is the cut off. But For me I have only been able to best the .308 by around 60fps with a 180gr 06 and that most of the time has been with a longer barrel!. And 200gr and 220gr are 300 Mag country even the old 300H&H will kick the 06 butt when it comes to bullets of 200gr+  the 06 will with a slow burning powder will beat the 08 with a 200gr bullet.
Who can get mad at a 06 anyway it is almost perfect for anything that walks? might fail in powder to velocity compared to a 08 or a 8x57, ya what do they call that?
The 06 is a good one, so is the .308 and the 8x57 . They were thought of as battle cals for long range. So be it they happen to fall in as perfect hunting rounds too. Be it a man or a Deer at 300 yards, 290 or so meters it's dead. Now try that with a .223!!

[Mac11700]

Both are great cartridges and both are still going strong. In a Handi..I have a few 30-06's and a couple 308's..My best accuracy came from a 30-06 Ultra Comp. 1 of my 308's were extremely accurate as well. My 30-06 now is one of the new Remington's XHR in 30-06 and my neighbors are still shooting my old 308's.

The nice thing about the Handi's is you can swap out either barrel real easy and see which one you like the best..then sell the one you don't want to keep. If I had to choose only one on the Handi platform..I would opt for the 30-06 and work with not only hand loads but factory loads as well till I found the best combination for what ever hunting I chose to use it for. Many folks use the 308 for elk hunting..so if this is the largest you would ever do,then you can use it.Your yardage will decrease some when using the heavier bullets due to case capacity..so I don't know if that will be a problem for you or not.Going with the 30-06 gives you a nice option if you decide you want something a little larger than the 308 bullets and opt for a re bore..and that would be a 338-06 A-Square..This would certainly allow you some heavier bullets to choose from..I loved mine when I had it..it shot exceptional well

Mac

[Airsporter]

Remember 'Big Mortie' with the 30-06 and greenbox ammo 

[double R]

Just my 2 cents. But i have been using different 308 win.rifles for over 30 yrs.Rifles come and go .But the caliber stay's the same.The 308 has never let me down.So why change now.

[aulrich]

What is with this one gun crazyness, we shoot handies because they are priced so even in rough times we can shoot more than one.

Game wise you would be hard pressed to see a difference till elk or moose and even then growing up my uncles shot plenty of moose with 303 brits. I would go 308 becuse sooner or later the current conflicts will end and 308 surplus should come to market, or the zombies have come and you will be scrounging out of the wastes of civilization.

Lets hope for option A

[spikehorn]

option B sounds more fun, go for the Rosie O'Donnell look a likes first. (WINK)

[Jghoat]

 I do want both and handies cost less than others, but  I like the thought less is more. If I get to many guns some of them will just get to dusty. If I get one (for now) I can get more ammo, maybe a reloader, and not upset the miss much. I figure to many guns and I'll have to remodel the kitichen or do something like that. (darn that HGTV)
 Here's the math
   more guns = less time to hunt, fish and sleep by the fire.
 or
  one gun = more time with out of the house doin the things is like.
 John G. (Old goat)
 
p.s them zombies dont like fire, run slow and got the 12ga for them.

[peternap]

Have em both, love em both but out of the two, in the Handi...take the 06.

But if you really want the ultimate Handi all around rifle, go for the 280.