I just shot a 30-06 semi-auto hunting rifle the other day and loved it. Yea there was alot of recoil,  yea it was loud, yea that's what I love about it.

So I'm thinking about buying a 30-06 auto or a .308. I've never shot a .308, but from what I've heard it has less recoil. It seems that the 30-06 would be more fun to shoot.

I was thinking of buying an M1 Garand, are there any other models I should be thinking of? Are there any newer 30-06s with full magazines? Something like the m1 socom but in 30-06?

Thanks!

I see no advantage of a Socom in 30-06.  If I were you I'd find someone who would let you shoot  their Socom.  I'm sure you would get just as much enjoyment out of an auto .308 then you would an auto -06.  I actually just got back from putting a few rounds through my M1A in .308 and it is fun as hell to shoot.  I highly recommend getting an M1 variant of some sort.  The Socom and Scout would be a kick and I plan on getting one or the other for my next purchase.

.308 is 98% of the round, but 11.5mm shorter, a touch lighter, and with 10% less powder ot so. .308 is also readily available as milsurp ammo, while the ought six milsurp market is pretty well dried up.

Get a Browning BAR if youre looking for a semi auto 30-06.

Quoted: .308 is 98% of the round, but 11.5mm shorter, a touch lighter, and with 10% less powder ot so. .308 is also readily available as milsurp ammo, while the ought six milsurp market is pretty well dried up.

Gotta remember though, for the last i dunno how many years the 30-06 has been the second most sold caliber in the United States.  Youre not going to ever run out of 30-06 because hunters will always have a demand for it.

No, but thats .75 cent a round ammo. Milsurp .308 can be had for .13 cents a round.

Hmmm, CMP just got 45 million rounds of surplus -06 this summer, methinks it will be around for a while. Not thirteen cents a round, but neither is most surplus 7.62 that's worth a shit.

Quoted: Hmmm, CMP just got 45 million rounds of surplus -06 this summer, methinks it will be around for a while. Not thirteen cents a round, but neither is most surplus 7.62 that's worth a shit.

CMP doesn't sell stuff to just anybody

Quoted: No, but thats .75 cent a round ammo. Milsurp .308 can be had for .13 cents a round.

True, but it kills deer somethin proper...

Quoted: Quoted: Hmmm, CMP just got 45 million rounds of surplus -06 this summer, methinks it will be around for a while. Not thirteen cents a round, but neither is most surplus 7.62 that's worth a shit. CMP doesn't sell stuff to just anybody

Nah, just people who can prove they have a pulse Really, the qualifications have been eased so much in recent years, almost anyone can meet them. And I think you only need to meet the club membership req. to buy ammo.
But yeah, I'm probably guilty of assuming most of us on the various Garand and M14 boards have already met the requirements and ordered from the CMP.

There may be a slight difference recoil-wise with 308 vs 30-06, but IMHO the weight of the weapon is goign to have far more to do with the percieved recoil than the minor difference between the two cartridges.

Once upon a time I had this same concern.  Then I realized it really didn't matter.  I have a Garand in 30-06 and an M1A in 308, and they each do their thing well.  I can't perceive much of any of a recoil difference, probably because the Garand is a bit heavier and soaks up the minor difference in recoil.

Don't waste your time trying to do cross platfom caliber acrobatics, just get the weapon you like.  If you like the Garand and its en bloc clip, get it in 30-06 from the CMP.  If you like the M1A with its magazine (it is basically a mag fed Garand) then get it and enjoy the price of .308.

To be honest, unless you really have a hard on for the M1A, just get an M1 Garand.  You can get them for $400-$500 from the CMP, they are inspected for function (and they will fix it if you get one that doesn't work for some reason) pus it is a real USGI weapon that will go up in value as the years come and go.  Ammo is reasonably priced from teh CMP, you can get 30-06 for under 25 cents a round if you buy 1,000 rounds of Lake City 30-06 from them.  A great deal!

Quoted: No, but thats .75 cent a round ammo. Milsurp .308 can be had for .13 cents a round.

13 cents a round? Maybe for Indian crap, but not for quality ammo. Last batch of 30.06 I bought was 21.2 cents shipped per round (Korean in clips and bandoleers). Last batch of 7.62 I bought was 21.3 cents shipped per round (loose LC). Not a significant difference.

Local shops seem to have more .308/7.62 than 30.06, and a lot of the 30.06 they sell is not suitable for Garands. Internet shops also have more choices for 7.62 than for 30.06. As for terminal effectiveness, I don't think the difference is significant. Given the choice, I'd choose 7.62 NATO over 30.06 every time.

Ok, let's do the math...to the nearest penny:

$147.00 + $19 (shipping) = $166.00 / 980 rounds = $0.17/round of South African 7.62x51.  Good stuff.  

Get it while you can.  While 30.06 stocks are drying up, various supplies of surplus "308" are as well.  I've been getting '81 headstamped SA from AIM, but the last case I received was '79.  Tells me something...

www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/copy_of__308.html

Quoted: There may be a slight difference recoil-wise with 308 vs 30-06, but IMHO the weight of the weapon is goign to have far more to do with the percieved recoil than the minor difference between the two cartridges. Once upon a time I had this same concern.  Then I realized it really didn't matter.  I have a Garand in 30-06 and an M1A in 308, and they each do their thing well.  I can't perceive much of any of a recoil difference, probably because the Garand is a bit heavier and soaks up the minor difference in recoil. Don't waste your time trying to do cross platfom caliber acrobatics, just get the weapon you like.  If you like the Garand and its en bloc clip, get it in 30-06 from the CMP.  If you like the M1A with its magazine (it is basically a mag fed Garand) then get it and enjoy the price of .308. To be honest, unless you really have a hard on for the M1A, just get an M1 Garand.  You can get them for $400-$500 from the CMP, they are inspected for function (and they will fix it if you get one that doesn't work for some reason) pus it is a real USGI weapon that will go up in value as the years come and go.  Ammo is reasonably priced from teh CMP, you can get 30-06 for under 25 cents a round if you buy 1,000 rounds of Lake City 30-06 from them.  A great deal!

I have a 30/06 SA Garand and a .308 SA navy trophy. Maybe, just maybe, there is a tad more recoil in the 30/06 but it is so slight that it could be attributed to the ammo make alone. AIM has geat prices on surplus .308 [SA] and 30/06 [80s Korean on clips and in bandoleers or PS stuff, just ask for lot numbers they will be more then happy to tell you.] Been very happy with SA stuff, shoots nicely in FAL and Garand.

308 provides the most options in terms of rifles and ammo. '06 is great but 308 is the gold standard. Not sure about your buying a Browning BAR in '06 - the last one I saw was over 20K and you have all the NFA stuff to deal with.

Quoted: 308 provides the most options in terms of rifles and ammo. '06 is great but 308 is the gold standard. Not sure about your buying a Browning BAR in '06 - the last one I saw was over 20K and you have all the NFA stuff to deal with.

OOW does make a semi version of the B.A.R., but it still costs about $2500-$3000 and from what I know there is a good year or two backlog right now.

Of course everyone at the range would want to know what you have, and with a 16 lb rifle I don't think recoil will be an issue!

Quoted: Quoted: 308 provides the most options in terms of rifles and ammo. '06 is great but 308 is the gold standard. Not sure about your buying a Browning BAR in '06 - the last one I saw was over 20K and you have all the NFA stuff to deal with. OOW does make a semi version of the B.A.R., but it still costs about $2500-$3000 and from what I know there is a good year or two backlog right now. Of course everyone at the range would want to know what you have, and with a 16 lb rifle I don't think recoil will be an issue!

I was speaking of these BAR's, not the BAR from WWII...

www.browning.com/products/catalog/firearms/category.asp?value=002B

Quoted: I was speaking of these BAR's, not the BAR from WWII... www.browning.com/products/catalog/firearms/category.asp?value=002B

Do you know if they  make bigger magazines for the BAR?

Quoted: Quoted: I was speaking of these BAR's, not the BAR from WWII... www.browning.com/products/catalog/firearms/category.asp?value=002B Do you know if they  make bigger magazines for the BAR?

Nope, someone might but its a hunting rifle that hasnt found much popularity doing anything else besides killing animals.

I'll add my 2 cents.  Both of these rounds have 2 types of rounds.  Military surplus and hunting loads.  The hunting loads are stouter in either round, but much more so in the .30-06, due to larger case capacity.  With that said, they make some pretty stiff .308 rounds too.  In order to answer your question properly, it would be nice to know what you're using it for.  They both are great rounds, very popular,  and readily available.  The question is more of what kind of rifle do you want?   Do you want a hunting rifle or a military rifle.  If it's military you can get a Garand in O6 or .308, if you know what you're doing.  Or you can get an M1A in .308.  8 round clips versus 5,10 and 20 round mags.  Clips are much cheaper than mags.  Garands in general are much cheaper than M1A's.  Except for like rare collecter type rifles.  If you want hunting, you got the BAR and the remington autoloaders in either round.  And a host of other types of actions.  I do know that somebody or other made high cap mags for the remington autoloader but I've heard mixed reviews about quality and funcionality.  I'd say go for the garand.  Except for that it does make for a heavy hunting rifle.  I just got an O3A3 from the CMP that I think I'm going to use for deer hunting.  But that's a bolt action.  But a dang good one.   Enjoy the journey!!!

Quoted: Quoted: .308 is 98% of the round, but 11.5mm shorter, a touch lighter, and with 10% less powder ot so. .308 is also readily available as milsurp ammo, while the ought six milsurp market is pretty well dried up. Gotta remember though, for the last i dunno how many years the 30-06 has been the second most sold caliber in the United States.  Youre not going to ever run out of 30-06 because hunters will always have a demand for it.

30-06 might be around forever, but how much of it can you shoot through a Garand?  Isn't most of the commercial stuff too hot?

This is a raging debate.  The safest bet is to shoot M2 ball.  Which you can get plenty of.  You just have to know how.  But on top of that, alot of guys shoot 150 grain soft point from the major manufactures for hunting, if they do so with a garand.  But the purists say only M2 ball.  Hope that helps.

Well, Camp Perry is about 40 minutes away from my father's house.  I can always head north under the guise of visiting my family, and stock up on M2!

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: .308 is 98% of the round, but 11.5mm shorter, a touch lighter, and with 10% less powder ot so. .308 is also readily available as milsurp ammo, while the ought six milsurp market is pretty well dried up. Gotta remember though, for the last i dunno how many years the 30-06 has been the second most sold caliber in the United States.  Youre not going to ever run out of 30-06 because hunters will always have a demand for it? 30-06 might be around forever, but how much of it can you shoot through a Garand?  Isn't most of the commercial stuff too hot?

Commercial 30-06 and .308 Win is loaded to higher pressures than the military loads.  Is it safe to shoot?  Well, .308 WILL fit in a 7.62 chamber, and commercial 30-06 will fit in a mlitary 30-06 chamber.  I can also fit a stick of TNT into the gas tank of my car, as it will fit through the fill nozzle.  This does not mean that it is a good idea...

Although the commercial ammo will fit in the military chambers, you must remeber that those firearms were engineered to handle a certain pressure.  Although the weapon could fire many, many rounds of commercial ammo with no problem, youy still are subjecting it to pressures beyond what it was designed for.

One very inexpensive and simple solution is to get a Schuster gas nut (available at ADCO, Brownells, etc.) for you Garand or M1A.  The Schuster gas nut has a small valve in it that allows you to "tune" the gas pressure- essentially it allows you to vent some of the gas and control the pressure in the operating system.  This allows you to vent some of the excess pressure generated by commercial ammo and minimize the strees on the weapon.