Why get a 308

[Oathkeeper1775]

No

Except CD was wrong; the .30 Carbine has about half the power of the 7.62x39. I can think of a few other reasons that the .30 Carbine is inferior; ever seen .30 Carbine ammo with heavier bullets? No? In my experience (I grew up with a .30 Carbine) it recoils about the same as an AR15. It also has a much shorter range than either the AR or the AK.

I also used to own a Mini-14 (similar to the Mini 30). Difficult to get to shoot accurately. Has some of the same shortcomings of the M1/M1A design. Ruger's rifles, except their ARs) usually have proprietary mags too, and the Minis are no exception.

No rifle is perfect, but these kinds of issues are what give me pause about certain rifles.

A mini 30 or a milspec 30 Carbine over any AK; any day.

 

[The Heretic]

No


A mini 30 or a milspec 30 Carbine over any AK; any day.

To each their own. I've owned and operated all three, and the AK is far superior in my opinion/experience.

 

[jbett98]

If money were no object, I would pick the HK G28 select fire sniper rifle.

 

[AK0perator47]

To each their own. I've owned and operated all three, and the AK is far superior in my opinion/experience.

Well I think it's official now.
We have talked about it enough that I have been beaten up enough to decide to get a 308.

Is how I feel.


Aww heck who was I trying to kid. If it goes bang or pew count me in. When it comes to firearms I will go with the Life cereal theory,"try it you'll like it." And if you don't someone else will just like "Mikey"!

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

yes, mikey likes the 308

 

[thorborg]

If the motivation for your gun seeking prime directive is apocalyptic collapse, I'm of a mind that the most ubiquitous caliber ( ubiquitous throughout the world) would be the most beneficial over and above performance in the long haul. No bullets (cartridges) no boom.

 

[The Heretic]

If the motivation for your gun seeking prime directive is apocalyptic collapse, I'm of a mind that the most ubiquitous caliber ( ubiquitous throughout the world) would be the most beneficial over and above performance in the long haul. No bullets (cartridges) no boom.

A valid assumption, except that I am not too concerned about availability/supply in Africa or Asia or Europe. If I ever go to one of those places, I won't be allowed to take my AK with me.

There is some validity to saying that if a certain cartridge is available worldwide, then it is more likely that some may get imported into the USA in some manner, but still, the ubiquity in the USA is more important than ubiquity worldwide.

Fortunately, my personal choice, 7.62x39, is quite ubiquitous worldwide, and 5.56x45 or 7.62x51 are also quite popular in NATO countries and other US allies - which is why I have at least one firearm in each.

 

[thorborg]

A valid assumption, except that I am not too concerned about availability/supply in Africa or Asia or Europe. .

I envisioned the possibility a bigger picture of an apocalypse, as including invading armies. Not just a plague or a coup from the local skin heads. I would assume then, they would bring their own weapons in lieu of foraging for them here, and thus, more than reasonable chance of A Nato caliber should raiding their supplies be necessary, found not just in the USA but elsewhere, in nearly every continent. For instance the Nato version of the 308, 223 or 9mm.
Having traveled some, that might also include though less likely, the 30-06, 45acp and believe it or not, the venerable 30-30 as I have found those to be quite popular elsewhere from Mexico south to Africa and Asia.

 

[The Heretic]

Invasion by a foreign entity is way way low on my risk matrix and I have confidence that the US military could handle it if it did happen.

I would be much more concerned about what happens if US citizens need to evacuate from a metro area during a Cascadia earthquake, or what will happen in 2 to 4 decades when people in the cities can't afford food or energy because of population growth has taken us far beyond the capability of the earth to support us.

But to each their own, my choices have that covered - as I said, I have at least one firearm in each of the popular chamberings (yes, including .30-06, .45 ACP, 9mm, 7.62x39, 5.56, .30-30, .45 Colt, .44 mag., .357 mag, .45-70, 20 & 12 ga., .410, and of course .22 rimfire to name a few).

 

[bsa1917hunter]

Damn, now I'm thinking about buying another 308... You guys are a bad influence and hard on the wallet...and then there's that guy in the classifieds with all that shiney prepped brass... A guy can't win around here.....

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Buy one for me too... I'd take a Ruger RSI or a CZ 550 carbine , a nice pre-64 70 featherweight...
Andy

Damn, now I'm thinking about buying another 308... You guys are a bad influence and hard on the wallet...and then there's that guy in the classifieds with all that shiney prepped brass... A guy can't win around here.....

 

[bsa1917hunter]

Ha ha good choices Andy.... I'm headed to Portland right now.... If I can see though all the smoke..

 

[bsa1917hunter]

Buy one for me too... I'd take a Ruger RSI or a CZ 550 carbine , a nice pre-64 70 featherweight...
Andy

I sold a real nice pre 64 model 70 fwt (made in '52). It was clean and the new owner loves it. One of my good friends uses his pre 64 fwt on everything around here and it works very well. Extremely accurate for a fwt rifle and packs like a dream. He's pretty much retired his old faithful 30-06.

 

[Argonaut]

A valid assumption, except that I am not too concerned about availability/supply in Africa or Asia or Europe. If I ever go to one of those places, I won't be allowed to take my AK with me.

There is some validity to saying that if a certain cartridge is available worldwide, then it is more likely that some may get imported into the USA in some manner, but still, the ubiquity in the USA is more important than ubiquity worldwide.

Fortunately, my personal choice, 7.62x39, is quite ubiquitous worldwide, and 5.56x45 or 7.62x51 are also quite popular in NATO countries and other US allies - which is why I have at least one firearm in each.

It is also illegal to own in many countries it is a well known military cartridge and many countries ban its ownership and use by anyone other than the military. I do not like phony fake guns, (or any thing else) always gravitate to the real thing or as close as I can get to it so I avoid clones or off the wall manufacturers. I standardize in 223, 308, and 12 gauge, although own many unusual calibers for special uses but these are my most common calibers. I have a real M24 Remington that we purchased in a military Vet only program from Remington. They were complete kits refurbished at the factory and sold only to Veterans. It is magnificent, I have a 700P left hand carbine with a quick detaching flash hider for my Gentec silencer, several other 308's (FN FAL, Winchester 100, Mausers, Enfield) but the best is my FN SCAR 17s. It is light weight, piston driven, has the Gentec quick change flash hider. It shoots like a match/sniper rifle but has very little recoil. It has a setting to adjust the gas system for use with the silencer and is ambidextrous. I have fired original AR10's (with the Dutch army), they had a bad reputation for blowing up and were not particularly accurate. An M1a is a great rifle, a bit heavy but a solid design. I too loved the M60 having used it a lot in both airborne and ground applications. The 308 is a wonderful do it all caliber. Some are better for specific applications but who can gather much of the off size ammo in any quantity? I have at least 10,000 rounds of 7.62 and another 10,000 of 5.56. You would be pressed to even do that with 30-06 today. We have used it to kill everything from ground squirrels to elk. Like I said, there are some calibers better at specific tasks but over all it is the best all around caliber on our market.

 

[Argonaut]

I have some 7.62 X39 guns, like the caliber a lot. It is simply a ballistic clone to the 30-30. I am not a fan of the Russian made or designed guns, they Can not be made to be accurate or have a decent trigger no matter how much money you throw at them. They are fun to shoot but always feel club like and heavy. There is nothing wrong with the caliber though. My little CZ LH bolt gun (7.62x39) with a set trigger is extremely accurate and pleasant to shoot. I owned a Valmet built version of an AK in 5.56 that shot better than any military surplus or clone I have ever fired. I imagine one of those in 7.62X39 would be a good gun but it still feels like a club, has a marginal trigger and is heavy.

 

[11Charlie]

You guys keep talking about what you can get in a SHTF scenario. Maybe you can't get squat which is why I have it in my safe and will continue to collect until I feel like I have enough.

I may need a second safe.

 

[The Heretic]

Yeah - I had two Valmets in the past, one was RPK like; heavy long barrel with a bipod and the RPK type buttstock. The other was a para. They were both in 7.62x51 and I hated giving them up, but back then mags were $150 each, and spare parts were hard to come by. The BCG/etc. are all larger naturally so 7.62x39 or 5.45x39 or 5.56 parts won't work. So I sold/traded them off.

Both Valmet and Galil are top of the line Kalashnikovs.

Kalashnikovs are kind of clunky, poor ergos, but they are very robust and durable - kind of like a Glock. Not a work of art like a SIG, but they go bang no matter what you do to them.

I like the 7.62x39 because it is a good compromise and it is ubiquitous everywhere. I would bet that there is probably more stashed 7.62x39 ammo in the USA than any other centerfire cartridge - although 5.56x45 might have it beat, but not by much.

 

[The Heretic]

You guys keep talking about what you can get in a SHTF scenario. Maybe you can't get squat which is why I have it in my safe and will continue to collect until I feel like I have enough.

I may need a second safe.

Stack it deep. I started with inexpensive FMJ until I had enough to feel somewhat safe, then once I had addressed other things I wanted to get and I could afford it, I am stacking in the same calibers, but with expanding ammo. So now I am buying Federal, Hornady, and so on. Building it up. I tend to buy 500 rounds at a time for the defensive ammo, less for hunting guns (.45-70, .30-30 etc.). When there is a sale, especially one with free shipping, I order.

But you can still go thru a thousand rounds in a couple of hours if you get into a fire fight, so even with 10K rounds you might run out and be looking for more in a SHTF scenario, so yeah, best to have a common cartridge. That said, if you are getting into firefights repeatedly, then you probably want to reconsider what you are doing that is causing these firefights.

If I don't need the ammo in a SHTF event, then I can barter it, or use it for practice - usually the FMJ only though.

 

[AK0perator47]

You guys keep talking about what you can get in a SHTF scenario. Maybe you can't get squat which is why I have it in my safe and will continue to collect until I feel like I have enough.

I may need a second safe.

I need a bunch of stuff to feel like I have enough! Maybe get a storage box like Joe? Think that may be enough ammunition!

Heck one storage container per caliber!

 

[11Charlie]

I definetly need more space for ammo. I have an old safe that I really need to convert and put shelves in it.

I should have built my shop bigger.