Cartridge profile · Introduced 1952

.308 Winchester

Commercial version of the 7.62 NATO. All-around North American: deer, hogs, black bear, elk.

Good for: Deer/hog, Elk/moose

A typical factory load is a 150 gr soft point bullet at about 2,820 ft/s, with roughly 2,648 ft-lbs of energy at the muzzle.

Typical load

150 grsoft point

Muzzle speed

2,820 ft/s

Muzzle energy

2,648 ft-lbs

Typical BC (G1)

≈ 0.33typical, varies by brand

Twist rate

1:10

Practical range

400 yd

Point-blank range

266 yd6" vital zone

Recommended platform

Standard rifle, 7–8 lbModerate recoil; snappy in an ultralight

On the Hunting Rifle Cartridges chart

Made to hunt

Commercial version of the 7.62 NATO. All-around North American: deer, hogs, black bear, elk.Deer/hog · Elk/moose

Typical load

150 grsoft point

Typical muzzle fps

2,820ft/s

Typical muzzle energy

2,648ft-lbs

Typical BC (G1)

≈ 0.33typical, varies by brand

Twist rate for typical load

1:10

Effective ethical range

400 yd

MPBR

266 yd6" vital zone · Near zero 25 yd · Far zero 228 yd · Min PBR 0 yd · Max PBR 266 yd · Sight-in @100 2.74" high

Recommended platform

Standard rifle, 7–8 lbModerate recoil; snappy in an ultralight

Open the full Hunting Rifle Cartridges chart →

On the Precision Rifle chart

Made for

Long-time military sniper and F-TR round. Long barrel life and cheap practice; more wind drift than the 6s and 6.5s.F-Class · Military/LE · Hunting too

Typical load

175 grSierra MatchKing

Typical muzzle fps

2,600ft/s

Typical muzzle energy

2,627ft-lbs

Typical BC (G1)

0.505maker's G1, used for the drop figures

Twist rate for typical load

1:10

500 yd

Drop 63.4" (12.1 MOA)Wind 20.9" (4.0 MOA) · Speed 1,792 fps

800 yd

Drop 221.9" (26.5 MOA)Wind 60.1" (7.2 MOA) · Speed 1,403 fps

1,000 yd

Drop 412.2" (39.4 MOA)Wind 101.0" (9.6 MOA) · Speed 1,204 fps

Supersonic to

1,103 ydstays above 1,125 fps

Barrel life

5,000+rounds

Recoil & cost

ModerateCost $

Recommended platform

Precision rifle, 12 lb+Moderate recoil; brake optional

Open the full Precision Rifle chart →

On the AR Caliber Guide chart

Listed there as .308 Win / 7.62 NATO.

Made for

The AR-10's standard chambering: deer, elk, hogs and long-range target.AR-10 · Deer/hog · Target/long range · Defense

Typical load

150 grsoft point · 20" barrel

Typical muzzle fps

2,820ft/s

Typical muzzle energy

2,648ft-lbs

Typical BC (G1)

≈ 0.40typical, varies by brand

Twist rate for typical load

1:10

Practical range

400–600 yd

What to change

Barrel: Keep · .308 barrel · Bolt: Keep · Standard · Magazine: Keep · Standard .308

Open the full AR Caliber Guide chart →

Head-to-head comparisons

Similar cartridges

Browse more

Speed, energy and BC are typical figures for the listed load; real numbers vary by brand, lot and barrel length. Always check the ammo maker's data for your exact load.