Ruger .308

[YFKI1983]

Hey everyone. I won a Ruger American .308 win mag in a raffle the other night.

1. Does anyone know anything about ruger and this gun. Looks pretty nice. Reviews say that it's shoots great and is good with recoil.

2. Anyone that shoots .308, what's the lowest grain I can use that will still have good knockdown power for whitetail. I'm trying to reduce recoil as much as possible for my father. I shoot 30.06 so I don't know anything about the caliber.

Thanks in advance for any advice

[Lawdwaz]

I have also heard great things about the Ruger American Rifle.  I handled a couple but never shot them, might just buy a LH version 223 for pliking........

 

The 308 will be fine for your dad, I just got one for my father!  I haven't decided on bullets yet for his but one option if you want to go with a premium bullet is the Barnes 130gr TTSX.  I wouldn't think the recoil will be too stout with it.  If you went with another bullet manufacturer, I'd probably go with 150gr variations.

[Pygmy]

.308 Win MAG..??

Never heard of it. Perhaps it's a .308 Win or a .300 Win Mag ?

If it is indeed a .308 Win, 150 grain loads would be a good choice for good performance on deer and relatively light recoil. There are also reduced recoil loads in that chambering if your Dad is especially recoil sensitive.

If the rifle is a .300 Win mag it is going to kick considerably harder than your 30-06 with ANY load.

[bowslinger]

i have a ruger 308 not the american but a older one a m-77 rsi ruger makes good rifles he be happy with it

[Mr VJP]

The Ruger American rifle is a lower priced Ruger rifle, but has proven to be a very reliable and highly accurate rifle none the less.  It has a unique V-block bedding system that really promotes excellent accuracy in this rifle.  Chambered in .308 Win makes it a great deer rifle.  Using bullets of 150 grain will produce light recoil.  Premium bullets , or all copper rounds, can be used in 130 grain weights, but they are almost twice the price of 150 grain soft points while felt recoil differences between the two are hardly noticeable.  All reviews I've seen so far praise the rifle in all respects.  I don't see any reason your father will not be completely happy with it.

 

[gastrodoc]

This gun has gotten rave reviews.  It is Ruger's entry level rifle but they have done many things right and they are supposed to be extremely accurate with very nice triggers.  My buddy has one in .270 and it routinely shoots MOA.  The .308 is a great whitetail round and is inherently a very accurate cartridge

[NeverSeenNorHeard]

.308 Win MAG..??

Never heard of it. Perhaps it's a .308 Win or a .300 Win Mag ?

If it is indeed a .308 Win, 150 grain loads would be a good choice for good performance on deer and relatively light recoil. There are also reduced recoil loads in that chambering if your Dad is especially recoil sensitive.

If the rifle is a .300 Win mag it is going to kick considerably harder than your 30-06 with ANY load.

 

last I checked they don't produce that rifle in 300 win mag, so I assume it's a standard .308

[YFKI1983]

.308 Win MAG..??

Never heard of it. Perhaps it's a .308 Win or a .300 Win Mag ?

If it is indeed a .308 Win, 150 grain loads would be a good choice for good performance on deer and relatively light recoil. There are also reduced recoil loads in that chambering if your Dad is especially recoil sensitive.

If the rifle is a .300 Win mag it is going to kick considerably harder than your 30-06 with ANY load.

.

.308 win. I looked at the list and there is a 300 win mag right under it. My mistake.

[Pygmy]

I suspected it was something like that..

The .308 should work fine for your Dad. With 150 grain bullets the performance is right up there close to the 30-06, with less recoil.

[ants]

That rifle has gotten excellent reviews. Ruger put a lot into making it an accurate rifle. Floated bedded barrel, 3 lug bolt…. and in 308 it will be a great deer rifle.  I picked one up a little while ago but haven't had time to scope it and sight it in. Now Im waiting for the weather to break. Mine is chambered in 25-06.

[Pygmy]

The .308 was developed as a military cartridge to replace the 30-06.

The goal was to have a power level close to the 30-06, but with a smaller, lighter cartridge. This allowed soldiers to carry more ammo and also worked better in fully automatic weapons.

So think of it as a shorter, lighter kicking 30-06. It fires the same bullets .308 cal. With lighter bullets like 150 grain, the difference in performance is neglible. Only with heavier bullets (180 grain and up) does the 30-06 have a significant advantage in ballistics.

[wildcat junkie]

This gun has gotten rave reviews.  It is Ruger's entry level rifle but they have done many things right and they are supposed to be extremely accurate with very nice triggers.  My buddy has one in .270 and it routinely shoots MOA.  The .308 is a greaat whitetail round and is inherently a very accurate cartridge

The one I tried off the rck had a horrible trigger.

[LIWaterman]

Trigger is adjustable. Think it's set to 5lbs or so from factory. Mines backed all the way down. Savages accutrigger is definitely better but American is very good for the money. Think I picked mine up for 349 or something like that. Wish they had them in lefty then. Going to probably sell mine for a lefty model.

Hornady superformance 150gr sst seems to group the best out of my barrel. Though Winchester 150gr soft points also grouped well.

[the blur]

I've seen someone take an Elk with that .308 rifle.

[wildcat junkie]

I've seen someone take an Elk with that .308 rifle.

The locals in Idaho swear by 7mm-08 for Elk.

[Pygmy]

I'd hunt elk any old day with my 7mm08 and a good stout bullet like a Nosler Partition, or better yet, a Barnes X...Same goes for a .308, although I have never owned one.

[hunter]

I don't think the 308 is much better in recoil than the 30-06. You might try the reduced recoil ammo from Hornady.

[jjb4900]

I don't think the 308 is much better in recoil than the 30-06. You might try the reduced recoil ammo from Hornady.

my .308 has considerable less recoil than my 30-06..........but that will vary from rifle to rifle.

[hunter]

I was going from memory and like you said it will vary from one rifle to the next. Main consideration is weight and action as an auto is supposed to soak up some recoil. I looked up a chart and the difference between with 180 gr bullets was 2. 18 point something vs 20 point something but the 30-06 rifle was a half pound heavier 8 vs 7.5 for 308. I believe the shell for the 308 is shorter because when they developed this round there was more powerful gunpowder than when

the 30-06 was. The weight of the round will also affect recoil.

[YFKI1983]

Anybody ever use these?

http://m.hornady.com/store/308-Win-125-gr-SST-Custom-Lite/

Supposed to be 43% less recoil. Would they still do the job on a whitetail?

[jjb4900]

Anybody ever use these?

http://m.hornady.com/store/308-Win-125-gr-SST-Custom-Lite/

Supposed to be 43% less recoil. Would they still do the job on a whitetail?

can't comment on the Hornady, but I have experience with the Remington managed recoil in both .308 & 30-06............without question it will do the job on a Whitetail.

[wildcat junkie]

my .308 has considerable less recoil than my 30-06..........but that will vary from rifle to rifle.

"Free recoil" is the results of the weight of the ejecta (including the powder) factored W/the Mv. In the real world "free  recoil" also needs to factor in the weight of the weapon as gravity will be a factor in how much that weight is propelled backward. Felt recoil adds stock geometry into the mix & that last factor can have more affect on "felt" recoil than than anything when the other factors do not vary a great deal. "Perceived recoil" will be affected by muzzle blast too.

 

The weight of the powder is still relavent because although it is converted to a gas, the weight of that gas & the small amout on residue left after combustion will still equal the weight of the uncombusted powder. In the case of the .308 Vs the '06, that is not a huge difference. In the case of a 4 dram black powder charge behind 1 1/4oz of shot vs a 4 dram equivalent smokeless powder load, the difference in the weight of the ejecta equals nearly 90gr more for the black powder load.

 

The laws of physics dictate that a .308 that has nearly the same Mv W/a given bullet weight will have nearly the same recoil as a 30-06 if all other cfactors are equal. The same laws dictate that a black powder & smokeless powder shotgun loads W/equal payloads of shot that are leaving the muzzle @ the same velocity will vary considerably in recoil.

Edited January 22, 2015 by wildcat junkie

[jjb4900]

"Free recoil" is the results of the weight of the ejecta (including the powder) factored W/the Mv. In the real world "free  recoil" also needs to factor in the weight of the weapon as gravity will be a factor in how much that weight is propelled backward. Felt recoil adds stock geometry into the mix & that last factor can have more affect on "felt" recoil than than anything when the other factors do not vary a great deal. "Perceived recoil" will be affected by muzzle blast too.

 

The weight of the powder is still relavent because although it is converted to a gas, the weight of that gas & the small amout on residue left after combustion will still equal the weight of the uncombusted powder. In the case of the .308 Vs the '06, that is not a huge difference. In the case of a 4 dram black powder charge behind 1 1/4oz of shot vs a 4 dram equivalent smokeless powder load, the difference in the weight of the ejecta equals nearly 90gr more for the black powder load.

 

The laws of physics dictate that a .308 that has nearly the same Mv W/a given bullet weight will have nearly the same recoil as a 30-06 if all other cfactors are equal. The same laws dictate that a black powder & smokeless powder shotgun loads W/equal payloads of shot that are leaving the muzzle @ the same velocity will vary considerably in recoil.

I don't know what you just said,  all I know is one gun hurts more than the other.......

[Culvercreek hunt club]

I don't know what you just said,  all I know is one gun hurts more than the other.......

Let me try this. Basically if you had a 308 and an '06 in the exact same rifle platform with the same rifle weight and the same stock configurations and shooting the same grain bullet weight, the difference in felt recoil would be zero.

[jjb4900]

Let me try this. Basically if you had a 308 and an '06 in the exact same rifle platform with the same rifle weight and the same stock configurations and shooting the same grain bullet weight, the difference in felt recoil would be zero.

yes.....that's why I had ended one of my earlier responses by saying recoil will vary rifle to rifle.