308 better than 30-06?

[Spiff]

There's a reason military snipers in the past relied heavily on the .308. It "usually" is more accurate.

.308 is inherently more accurate than .30-06. Short, fat rounds promote more uniform powder combustion than long, skinny ones. Every trend for the benchrest and LR crowd has been headed that way.

But I don't think the military knew that at the time.

 

[n423]

I like the 30-06 better.

 

[Thorgrim]

Dr. THW, none of the rounds listed have a huge difference in velocity. The .338 actually offers a pretty good bc if you use SMK, Berger VLD's... The .308 bullets generally have a low bc until you use a 190gr. bullet on up. The 7mm would be my choice if I only had one rifle.
Almost forgot, the big rifles .408,.416,.50....start getting kind of heavy for a field rifle.

 

[HackerF15E]

.308 is inherently more accurate than .30-06. Short, fat rounds promote more uniform powder combustion than long, skinny ones. Every trend for the benchrest and LR crowd has been headed that way.

What does powder burn consistency have to do with accuracy?

 

[z06man]

They will give more consistent velocities, yielding better accuracy.

 

[Spiff]

They will give more consistent velocities, yielding better accuracy.

Zactly.

 

[Danny]

.308 is inherently more accurate than .30-06. Short, fat rounds promote more uniform powder combustion than long, skinny ones. Every trend for the benchrest and LR crowd has been headed that way.

But I don't think the military knew that at the time.

Probably not, when they first started using it. But over time, I'm sure they were educated to that fact and that's why they stayed with it so long. Plus, it came in rifles that were much easier to lug around than the current weapons that fire the .338 and .50 BMG roungs. One shot kills, were not that uncommon even with the .308, even at extreme ranges.

 

[Shifty]

I think NATO adopting it has more to do with its success than anything. Same with the 9MM. Not saying theyre not both good rounds tho.

 

[HackerF15E]

They will give more consistent velocities, yielding better accuracy.

What about powder burn rate effects how true a bullet flies after leaving the barrel?

I can see that consistent powder burn would mean that, from round to round, the same velocity would be achieved, meaning that from round to round performance would be the same....but that is not the definition of "accuracy".

I believe the term you're looking for is "precision" -- meaning the degree to which a certain level of performance can be repeated.

 

[Danny]

What about powder burn rate effects how true a bullet flies after leaving the barrel?
I can see that consistent powder burn would mean that, from round to round, the same velocity would be achieved, meaning that from round to round performance would be the same....but that is not the definition of "accuracy".

I believe the term you're looking for is "precision" -- meaning the degree to which a certain level of performance can be repeated.

The more consistantly the bullet travels down the barrel, the more consistent the harmonic vibrations of the barrel. The muzzle will be very close to the same position, in relation to the target, from shot to shot. This contributes greatly to accuracy.