308 better than 30-06?

[CAR-AR-M16]

Like a Major General in charge of ordnance would know...

Speaking of Ordnance Corps Generals, here is a picture from a few years ago of me and Brigadier General (now Major General) Vincent Boles. I had just given him a briefing on one of our systems. General Boles was Chief of Ordnance from 2004-2006.

 

[Edgehead918]

All of the information contained prior to this post has been great reading. It seems to me there is a decision to be made regarding widespread availability of factory loaded ammo and guns in the .30 range and the efficiency in long range shooting some of the lesser known and less available calibers such as the 6 and 7mm.

That said, what should I be looking at primarily when looking at ballistic tables?

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Well look at wind drift and drop at 300, 400, 500, 600, 800, etc. Primarily wind drift minimization is what you want, but also drop minimization. Most charts/software give you info with a 10 mph crosswind, for comparison purposes. The two key factors are bullet BC and bullet MV (ballistic coefficient and muzzle velocity) - the higher the better on both, but it's a tradeoff, and one can make up for the other to an extent. But the 6.5mm and 7mm bullet hit the 'sweet spot' for some reason on weight/BC ratio (and of course weight translates almost directly to MV).

 

[Edgehead918]

Thanks for the information.