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.308 origin?
smitty62
Member Posts: 3 ✭✭
I was under the understanding that the .308 caliber didn't come along until after or during the Korean war, yet I see a rifle advertised that was supposedly made in 1927 in .308--is this possible?
Comments
The .308 Winchester has won more benchrest matches than any other cartridge above the 6mm caliber. And continues to win more Hunter class benchrest matches than all other cartridges combined. 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 doesn't make sense simply because the shorter cartridge can never be made to equal the performance of 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.
Source: Hodgdon Data Manual, 26th Edition
308 Winchester (7.62mm NATO)(1)
History / Preface
Winchester introduced the 308 in September 1952 as a sporting cartridge. It was a commercial adaptation of the Army Ordnance T65 rifle and machine gun cartridge. The origin of the 308 began after World War I. Following the close of this conflict, Ordnance devoted considerable effort toward development of light semi and full automatic weapons. It was obvious that a cartridge with shorter overall length than the 30-'06 would permit shorter, lighter and more efficient gun mechanisms. One such development, the 276 Pederson, showed considerable promise. But in 1932, it was rejected because a .30 caliber was deemed essential for military requirements.
With the organization of NATO following World War II, the short cartridge requirement was revived with the idea of equipping all NATO forces with a single rifle and cartridge. Post war ammunition research lasted nine years and experiments ranged from a cartridge closely resembling the 300 Savage to the T-65 round. The main difference between the 300 Savage and the T-65 was the 3/16" longer neck of the latter. Standard service loadings of the T-65 and the 30-'06 provided about equal performance. Ordnance adopted the T-65 in 1954, although M-14 rifles chambered for it were not available until 1957. The 308 has also been adopted by more than two dozen other nations, but in different rifles.
The 308 is currently a very popular big game cartridge. It is also used by bench rest, NRA high power and metallic silhouette shooters. Many competitive shooters state that the 308 is capable of better accuracy than the 30-'06 for match shooting. Most U.S. rifle manufacturers and many foreign firms make 308 Winchester sporting rifles. The 308 case is about ?" shorter than the 30-'06. Because of the reduced capacity, it cannot be loaded to the ballistic equal of the 30-'06. But it comes close enough that, for most requirements, the difference can be ignored.
Bullets heavier than 200 grains are not recommended for hunting in the 308. They simply cannot be driven fast enough to make them effective at usual hunting ranges. Bullets from 150 to 180 grains are the best choice for the big game hunter. With the 130 grain hollow point the 308 does quite well as a varmint cartridge.
SAAMI pressure maximum for the 308 Winchester is established at 52000 cup.
http://www.users.fast.net/~jasmine/308.htm
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Some good info...
Of course, one can make a good case for all these cartridges, including the venerable .30-06, owing their origin and design to Peter Paul Mauser's M1888 7.9x57 . . . . .
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