.308 versus 30-06 ammo availability

[CBH Australia]

Man ain’t that the truth!

I was seriously thinking then maybe I should have bought a 7mm-08 or 260 Remington on the AR-10 platform instead of 308.
I was shopping AR-10 uppers.

308 Winchester/ 7.62x51 ammunition was the first thing sold out in my area.

Can you easily have a second upper/barrel for the AR10?
It really think the 7mm/08 is a great cartridge and I intend to have a .260 for a target rifle in the future

 

[Rifleman97]

Starting a new thread, after reading the one about a rifle for a new hunter, for US and Africa.

Many are recommending the .308 over the. 30-06.

Is ammo availability really that much better? I reload for most all my firearms so don’t really shop in stores for whatever is in stock.

Around here we can find both, some better prices on 308, but not by much.

There’s no problem with the.308, my first “deer rifle “ used to take my first deer.
I just prefer the.30-06 for wider selection of bullet weights.

What are thoughts on ammunition availability and costs, between these, across the US and Africa?

Can’t attest to Africa availability, but I just went to my local store and counted the options for both 30-06 and 308 and a couple others

17 options for 30-06
14 options for 308
19 options for 270
15 options for 7mm rem mag
13 options for 300 win mag

 

[Nevada Smith]

Here's MidwayUSA.com counts for what it's worth:

 

[Nhoro]

I have a 30-06 myself and in Harare, I can send you to 3 different shops that will have both 308 and 30-06. You will probably have 3 or 4 different bullet weights and manufacturers at each shop- maybe more. 308 is probably more common, loads of rifles in Zim

The shop that I usually use had Hornady interlock 165 and 180 gr, also Federal Fusion and I one other option (can't remember) Another shop had 3 options in 30-06 or maybe more. I reckon 300 win mag would be another common option and 223 is used a lot by game scouts so very common but less useful. 300 win mag is legal for eland but not the 30-06.

 

[Luvthunt]

Great info and history.

 

[MS 9x56]

In the US both calibers are ubiquitous. Perhaps you should inquire availability in the country where you intend to hunt to determine availability in the event your ammo is lost or delayed in transit.

 

[Challer]

For hunting I use the 30-06. Switch to 308 for a lot of range practice because its available in 1000 round cases for cheap

 

[archer36]

Ammo availability in the U.S. or in South Africa? When I was in South Africa it seemed every one owned a .308 so you could easily get ammo in an emergency.

 

[Bandera]

A prepared shooter will not experience an ammo shortage, or reloading component shortage.
It also seems everybody talks and carry’s on about ammo availability in what ever country they are hunting in case their ammo gets lost in transit. A very small percentage, I mean very small percentage of ammo gets lost. Speculating here but less than 1% probably less than .01%. Delayed baggage is not the same as lost baggage.
If it did get lost your PH most likely has an extra rifle.
So… bring the rifle you like and shoot the best.

For me a 30-06 wins due to the availability of different bullet weights.

 

[shark_za]

In South Africa at one of my local shops online stores.

30-06 = 30 load variations in stock
308 = 29 load variatons in stock
6.5 Creedmoor = 9 load variations in stock