308 Ammo

The .308 Winchester is a sporting rifle cartridge and is the commercial version of the military 7.62x51mm NATO centerfire cartridge. The .308 Winchester was introduced in 1952, two years prior to the NATO adoption of the 7.62x51mm NATO T65. Winchester branded the cartridge and introduced it to the commercial hunting market as the .308 Winchester. Winchester's Model 70 and Model 88 rifles were subsequently chambered for the new cartridge. Since then, the .308 Winchester has become the most popular short-action, big-game hunting cartridge worldwide. It is also commonly used for civilian target shooting, military sniping, and police sharpshooting. The relatively short case makes the .308 Winchester especially well adapted for short action rifles. When loaded with a bullet that expands, tumbles, or fragments in tissue, this cartridge is capable of delivering devastating terminal performance.

Although very similar to the military 7.62x51mm NATO, specifications for the .308 cartridge are not identical and there are special considerations that may apply when mixing one cartridge with differently chambered arms. Their interchange is considered safe by the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute (SAAMI).



This round started its life in early 1950s as a .30 T65, an experimental cartridge for the US Army's 'light rifle' program. The T65 round was intended to replace the older and overly long .30-06 military round, while retaining similar ballistics. In 1955 it was adopted as a NATO standard rifle and machine gun ammunition, and is still used in this role in all NATO countries and many others as well. In the mid-1950s it was also introduced as a commercial round by Winchester, and in this guise it is known as .308 Winchester, and is highly successful. Many countries still use military weapons in this caliber. Civilian weapons for .308 Winchester are produced in many countries and in large numbers, and this cartridge remains one of the most popular rifle cartridges to date.

The .308 is also one of our most popular big game cartridges, not only in the U.S. but in many other countries as well.

Soon after World War II, the U.S. government issued contracts to Winchester and Remington for assistance in the development of a replacement cartridge for the .30-06. The result of those efforts was a shorter version of the .30-06 called T-65. Later the name was changed to 7.62mm NATO.

Realizing that any cartridge adopted by Uncle Sam was sure to become popular among civilian shooters, Winchester beat Remington to the punch by dressing the 7.62mm in civies and calling it .308 Winchester. It was a good move. The .308 went on to enjoy the popularity as a big game cartridge, not only in bolt action rifles but in pumps, single shots, autoloaders, and lever actions as well. Which pretty much sums up the primary reason for the .308's success. Its short overall length enables rifle manufacturers to offer it in any type of rifle.

Choosing the .308 instead of the .30-06 in a bolt action, slide action or autoloading rifle is a good move for lighter recoil at the cost of some performance when compared to the longer cartridge. But in a lever action rifle such as the Savage Model 99, the .308 is far superior to the .30-30 class of cartridges.

For hunting deer size game at close to medium ranges, the .308 Winchester loaded to about 2800 fps with a 150 grain bullet is an excellent performer. The .308 is by no means one of our better elk cartridges, but when loaded with a good 180 grain bullet it will suffice. H380, H335, IMR-4895, RL-12, and W-748 are excellent powders for the .308 Winchester.

The .308 Winchester is one of the most successful hunting cartridges in America, and possibly the world. It has gained popularity in many countries as an exceptional cartridge for game in the medium- to large-sized class. In North America it is used extensively on Whitetail deer, Pronghorn and even the occasional Caribou or Black Bear. In Africa the .308 Win is one of the most popular calibers among Bush hunters and is used on anything from Duiker right up to the massive Eland. Proponents of the hydrostatic shock theory contend that the .308 Winchester has sufficient energy to impart hydrostatic shock to living targets when rapidly expanding bullets deliver a high rate of energy transfer.

The .308 Winchester has slightly more drop at long range than the .30-06 Springfield, owing to its slightly lower muzzle velocity with most bullet weights. Cartridges with significantly higher muzzle velocities, such as the .300 Winchester Magnum can have significantly less drop at long range.

Several more cartridges have been developed using the .308 Winchester as a parent case, some becoming very popular for hunting, particularly in North America. These are the .243 Winchester, the .260 Remington (aka 6.5-08 A-Square), the 7 mm-08 Remington, the .338 Federal, and the .358 Winchester (aka 8.8x51mm). In 1980, two rimmed cartridges based on the .308 Winchester were introduced for use in the Winchester Model 94 XTR Angle Eject rifle; the .307 Winchester and the .356 Winchester.

There are also premium factory loads that are loaded a little bit hotter. Many of the ammunition manufacturers now offer these loads. For example, Federal's Premium High Energy load for the 165 grain bullet has a MV of 2,870 fps and a ME of 3,020 ft. lbs. Their 180 grain load drives a Nosler Partition bullet at a MV of 2,740 fps and a ME of 3,000 ft. lbs.

Bullets used in the .308 generally weigh from 100 to 200 grains. The most common factory loaded bullet weights for the .308 are 150 grain, 165 grain, and 180 grain. These are the best bullet weights for almost all medium and big game hunting with the .308, so they are also the bullets most used by reloaders.

A number of powders work well in the .308 Winchester. Among those recommended are Varget, H380, H335, IMR 3031, IMR 4064, IMR 4895, RL-12, RL-15, and W748. I have used IMR 3031 for years with good results.

The Sierra 150 grain boat tail spitzer has a ballistic coefficient (BC) of .416 and a sectional density (SD) of .226. According to the fifth edition of the Sierra Bullets Reloading Manual, 42.8 grains of W748 powder gives this bullet a MV of 2600 fps, and a maximum load of 47.9 grains gives a MV of 2900 fps.

The Sierra 165 grain boat tail spitzer has a BC of .453 and a SD of .248. Sierra figures call for 40.8 grains of W748 powder for a MV of 2500 fps, and 43.5 grains of W748 for a MV of 2700 fps.

The Sierra 180 grain boat tail spitzer has a BC of .530 and a SD of .271. The Sierra Bullets Reloading Manual shows that 39.0 grains of W748 powder gives a MV of 2300 fps, and a maximum charge of 43.6 grains of W748 gives a MV of 2600 fps.

All of these Sierra loads used Federal cases and Federal 210M primers. They were tested in the 26" barrel of a Savage 12VSS rifle.