I'd like to know your opinions on when a person,for general shooting,hunting,defense and possibly offense,choose a .308 over 5.56?Also when does 6.8SPC and 300BLK enter into the mix,if they do at all?Thanks.
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I'd like to know your opinions on when a person,for general shooting,hunting,defense and possibly offense,choose a .308 over 5.56?Also when does 6.8SPC and 300BLK enter into the mix,if they do at all?Thanks.
300 BLK - Subsonic suppressed
308 - big game Hunting
556 - everything else
I am a big fan of 308, but appreciate the handiness of a well executed 5.56.
5.56- 11.5-12.5; 200 & in, optimized for close work.
300- 9.5; suppressed badassery
308- 14.5-16, General Purpose
5.56mm carbine - 300 meters to contact. Good selection of defensive loads.
5.56mm rifle - 500 meters with a decent selection of loads. 600 meters for punching paper with match ammunition.
.308 - out to 500 meters with ball ammunition. 1000 yards with match ammunition.
I stopped hunting years ago, so I can't comment on the effectiveness of using either caliber on game animals.
I'm a 7.62/.308 fan boy who has recently started to see a lot of advantages when using quality 5.56 rounds. I still would prefer 7.62 NATO over 5.56 if we're talking ball rounds, but that's just me.
5.56--Patrol/CQB work. Light ammo, able to carry alot of it. 0-300m primary effective range (yes, it can be used far further, but effectiveness is very dependent on round type, barrel length, etc)
7.62/.308--Patrol/DMR/hunting/heavy support Heavier ammo/mags with limited capacity lowers how much you'll be able to carry. 0-600m primary effective range, at least with decent glass. Good when used in a supporting role for 5.56 for long range, or a larger, more powerful round for better performance on a hard target.
.300BLK/6.8SPC/6.5Grendel--I'm slowly starting to see the advantages of .300BLK, at least in a companion role to 7.62/.308 for CQB. 6.8 and 6.5, in my opinion, are nearly dead rounds. They tried to do too much, and more effective 5.56 rounds, or quality .308 rounds made this "compromise" round unnecessary
Sorry to take this slightly off the original topic, but I was under the impression that .300BLK offers better terminal ballistics when compared to a comparable length 5.56 SBR (e.g. 10.5"). Am I off base, or that an oversimplification? I'm considering an LMT MRP as my first SBR and though the idea of having 10.5" barrels in both 5.56 and .300BLK sounded appealing.
While I certainly appreciate the characteristics of 7.62, I guess I'm just not ready to commit to a whole new platform, magazines, etc.
Dave
Interesting that you choose 308 for GP. Why is that? I understand the caliber does everything except recoil and weight better than 5.56 but given the tendency for most 308s to be setup for long range precision I've never been able to get a good feel for what a 308 GP carbine should look like or be capable of.Quote:
Originally Posted by Failure2Stop
I would say that is a major oversimplification. With the exception of two limited production Barnes bullets a 300 Blackout with a 9-12 inch barrel will be at or near the minimum expansion velocity at the muzzle for every .308 bullet currently in production.Quote:
Originally Posted by 3ACR_Scout
Because a contemporary lightweight 7.62 (SCAR-H, M110K1, M110K2 types) can be shot as fast, and are as maneuverable as heavier 5.56.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eurodriver
I pretty frequently win 2-gun competitions while shooting a 7.62 with 20 round mags (recently 25s) against 5.56 competition rigs. I most definately spent a lot of cake to get that kind of performance though.
308 is just easier to get to high terminal performance, and if I can get it in a format that I can shoot fast and with precision, well, that's "the one".
Perhaps for an experienced combat arms infantryman or cavalryman. For someone of the other arms (MPs, Engineers, perhaps artillerymen) the individual proficiency and competency of first-line NCOs (let alone the actual trigger-pullers) and sustainment and development opportunities may mean a 5.56 rifle or carbine might be a better option.Quote:
Originally Posted by Failure2Stop
Although many troops are "Gun guys," not all are, and the opportunities for on-duty time development are fairly slim.
Not everyone is assigned to a Ranger company or Special Forces unit.