{"id":79861,"date":"2017-09-29T16:19:11","date_gmt":"2017-09-29T20:19:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/blog\/?p=79861"},"modified":"2026-10-17T23:11:04","modified_gmt":"2026-10-18T04:11:04","slug":"cartridge-showdown-308-vs-30-06-6-5-creedmoor-fluff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/cartridge-showdown-308-vs-30-06-6-5-creedmoor-fluff\/","title":{"rendered":".308 vs .30-06 vs 6.5 Creedmoor: Which for Deer and Elk?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

All three will kill a deer cleanly at sane ranges, so the real choice is about recoil, action length and how far you shoot. The .30-06 hits hardest and handles the heaviest bullets, which makes it the pick of the three for elk. The .308 does nearly the same work from a shorter, handier short-action rifle. The 6.5 Creedmoor kicks the least and its long, sleek bullets hold velocity and buck wind better at distance, which is why it took over the long range crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Short version: deer and long range practice, take the 6.5 Creedmoor. One rifle for everything up to elk, take the .30-06. Want a short action and a cartridge you can find anywhere, take the .308. Then read the rest of Phil Massaro’s argument below, because he makes a good case that we fight about this stuff more than we need to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re all guilty, each and every one of us, myself included. We\u2019ll be at a summer barbecue, or sharing a beer at the local pub, or sitting around the campfire, and the cartridge debate will begin. And, once it begins, you\u2019re bound to hear all sorts of boastful claims, insistent arguing points, hand-me-down tales of perfect, flawless performance in the hands of various uncles and grandsires, and all sorts of reasons why any other cartridge than the metallic hero receiving adoration at that moment is a silly, wasteful, childish design. Sometimes you\u2019ll hear, possibly simultaneously, if the crowd is large enough and the tongues are loose, that old cartridge should be put out to pasture, as their time is over, or that anyone using a new-fangled this or that magnum is a damned fool and should stick to the tried-and-true cartridges, like the late Mr. so-and-so did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Just
Just a few of the different .30 caliber cartridges, from the small to the tall.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Gun writers, present company included, can be equally guilty. We\u2019re human after all, with opinions like everyone else, but the articles we write can sometimes put a skew on how cartridges are perceived. The companies themselves have a bit of culpability in this mess as well; you\u2019ll see the newest cartridge touted as a miracle cure for all of our shooting woes up to that point. Sometimes it may be a valid point, other times a twist on numbers or lengths or velocities and such. But that\u2019s all irrelevant, as are most of the arguments about cartridges and calibers. In many ways, it\u2019s all been done, and in other ways, we can firmly believe the best is yet to come. But, I do feel that we beat each other up unnecessarily. Healthy discussion is always good, especially when working toward the goal of researching the perfect cartridge for a particular shooter or situation, but it seems that the discussions have turned to arguments, for reasons I can\u2019t quite explain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEE ALSO: <\/strong>The CZ 550 American Safari Magnum in .375 H&H, Full Review<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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