.

308Winchester
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

The.308Winchester(pronounced:"threeoheight"or
"threeaughteight")isarimless,bottleneckedriflecartridge
andisthecommercialcartridgefromwhichthe7.6251mm
NATOroundwasderived.The.308Winchesterwas
introducedin1952,twoyearspriortotheNATOadoption
ofthe7.6251mmNATOT65.Winchesterbrandedthe
cartridgeandintroducedittothecommercialhunting
marketasthe.308Winchester.Winchester'sModel70and
Model88riflesweresubsequentlychamberedforthenew
cartridge.Sincethen,the.308Winchesterhasbecomethe
mostpopularshortaction,biggamehuntingcartridge
worldwide.[1]Itisalsocommonlyusedforciviliantarget
shooting,militarysniping,andpolicesharpshooting.The
relativelyshortcasemakesthe.308Winchesterespecially
welladaptedforshortactionrifles.Whenloadedwitha
bulletthatexpands,tumbles,orfragmentsintissue,this
cartridgeiscapableofhighterminalperformance.[2][3][4]
Althoughverysimilartothemilitary7.6251mmNATO
specifications,the.308cartridgeisnotidentical,andthere
arespecialconsiderationsthatmayapplywhenmixingthese
cartridgeswith7.6251mmNATO,and.308Winchester
chamberedarms.[5]Theirinterchangeis,however,
consideredsafebytheSportingArmsandAmmunition
ManufacturersInstitute(SAAMI).[6]

Contents
1
2
3
4
5
6

Cartridgedimensions
Usageandperformance
Asaparentcase
Seealso
References
Externallinks

Cartridgedimensions
The.308Winchesterhas3.64ml(56.0grains)cartridge
casecapacity.[7]Theexteriorshapeofthecasewasdesigned
topromotereliablecasefeedingandextractioninboltaction
riflesandmachinegunsalike,underextremeconditions.

.308Winchester

.308Winchester
Type

Rifle

Placeoforigin

UnitedStates
Productionhistory

Designed

1952
Specifications

Parentcase

.300Savage

Casetype

Rimless,Bottleneck

Bulletdiameter

0.308in(7.8mm)

Neckdiameter

0.3433in(8.72mm)

Shoulderdiameter

0.4539in(11.53mm)

Basediameter

0.4709in(11.96mm)

Rimdiameter

0.4728in(12.01mm)

Rimthickness

0.0539in(1.37mm)

Caselength

2.015(51.18mm)

Overalllength

2.800(71.12mm)

Casecapacity

56grH2O(3.6cm3)

Primertype

Largerifle

Maximumpressure
(C.I.P.)

60,191psi
(415.00MPa)

Maximumpressure
(SAAMI)

62,000psi(430MPa)

Ballisticperformance
Bulletweight/type Velocity
125gr(8g)Spitzer

Energy

3,100ft/s

2,668ftlbf

(940m/s)

(3,617J)

150gr(10g)Nosler 2,820ft/s

2,648ftlbf

tip

(860m/s)

(3,590J)

2,700ft/s

2,671ftlbf

(820m/s)

(3,621J)

2,700ft/s

2,630ftlbf

165gr(11g)BTSP

168gr(11g)BTHP
175gr(11g)BTHP

(820m/s)

(3,570J)

2,645ft/s

2,720ftlbf

(806m/s)

(3,690J)

Testbarrellength:24in(26inforLapua)

.308WinchestermaximumC.I.P.cartridgedimensions.Alldimensionsinmillimeters(mm)andinches.
Americanswoulddefinetheshoulderangleatalpha/2=20degrees.Thecommonriflingtwistrateforthis
cartridgeis305mm(1in12in),4grooves,lands=7.62mm,grooves=7.82mm,landwidth=4.47mm
andtheprimertypeislargerifle.[8]
AccordingtotheofficialC.I.P.(CommissionInternationalePermanentepourl'EpreuvedesArmesFeu
Portatives)rulingsthe.308Winchestercanhandleupto415.00MPa(60,191psi)Pmaxpiezopressure.InC.I.P.
regulatedcountrieseveryriflecartridgecombohastobeproofedat125%ofthismaximumC.I.P.pressureto
certifyforsaletoconsumers.Thismeansthat.308WinchesterchamberedarmsinC.I.P.regulatedcountriesare
currently(2008)prooftestedat519.00MPa(75,275psi)PEpiezopressure.[9]

Usageandperformance
The.308WinchesterisoneofthemostpopularhuntingcartridgesintheUnitedStates,andpossiblytheworld.
Ithasgainedpopularityinmanycountriesasanexceptionalcartridgeforgameinthemediumtolargesized
class.[10]InNorthAmericaitisusedextensivelyonwhitetaildeer,pronghornandeventheoccasionalcaribou
orblackbear.
ClayHarvey,anAmericangunwriter,saysitisusableonmooseandelk.[11]LayneSimpson,anAmericanwho
hashuntedinSweden,saysheissurprisedhowmanyhuntersthereusethecartridge.[12]CraigBoddingtonwas
toldbyaNormaPrecisionexecutivethatthe.308isoneofNorma'sbestsellingcalibers.[13]
InAfricathe.308WinisoneofthemostpopularcalibersamongBushveldhuntersandisusedonanything
fromduikerrightuptothemassiveeland(asmallandlargeAfricananteloperespectively).Proponentsofthe
hydrostaticshocktheorycontendthatthe.308Winchesterhassufficientenergytoimparthydrostaticshockto
livingtargetswhenrapidlyexpandingbulletsdeliverahighrateofenergytransfer.[2][4][14][15]

The.308Winchesterhasslightlymoredropatlongrangethanthe.3006Springfield,owingtoitsslightly
lower(100ft/s)muzzlevelocitywithmostbulletweights.Cartridgeswithsignificantlyhighermuzzle
velocities,suchasthe.300WinchesterMagnumcanhavesignificantlylessdropatlongrange.

Trajectorycomparisonsbetween.308
Winchester,.3006Springfield,and.300
WinchesterMagnum<ref>Litz,Brian.

Ultrahighspeedphotoofa150grainFMJ
.308Winchesterbulletphotographedwith
anairgapflash.

Asidebysidesizecomparisonbetweenthe
.308Winchester(left)anditsprecursorthe
.300Savage(right).

Asaparentcase
Severalmorecartridgeshavebeendevelopedusingthe.308Winchesterasaparentcase,somebecomingvery
popularforhunting,particularlyinNorthAmerica.[8]Thesearethe.243Winchester,the.260Remington(aka
6.508ASquare),the7mm08Remington,the.338Federal,andthe.358Winchester(aka8.851mm).In
1980,tworimmedcartridgesbasedonthe.308WinchesterwereintroducedforuseintheWinchesterModel94
XTRAngleEjectrifle:the.307Winchesterandthe.356Winchester.

Fromlefttoright
9.362mm,.3006
Springfield,7.9257mm
Mauser,6.555mmand.308
Winchestercartridges.The
7.6251mmNATO(not
pictured)issimilarin
appearancetothe.308
Winchester.

The308WinchesterFamily(circlesizeproportionaltorecoil).

GameClassvs6inchMaximumPoint
BlankRange.

.243Winchester
.260Remington
7mm08Remington
7.6251mmNATO
.338Federal
.358Winchester

Seealso
.30RAR
DeltaLproblem
Hydrostaticshock
Listoffirearms
Listofriflecartridges
Tableofhandgunandriflecartridges
Sectionaldensity

References

SectionalDensityvsBallistic
Coefficient.

1.Simpson,Layne(February2000)."The20th
Century'sTopRifleCartridge".Archivedfromthe
originalon14May2008.Retrieved20080606.
2.ChamberlinFT,GunShotWounds,inHandbookfor
ShootersandReloaders,Vol.II,AckleyPO,ed.,
PlazaPublishing,SaltLakeCity,Utah,1966.
3.CourtneyA,CourtneyM:Linksbetweentraumatic
braininjuryandballisticpressurewavesoriginatingin
thethoraciccavityandextremities.BrainInjury
21(7):657662,2007.arXiv:0808.1443
4.ScientificEvidenceforHydrostaticShock
arXiv:0803.3051
5.7.6251mmNATOor308Winchester?(http://www.3
03british.com/id36.html)
6.SAAMIUnsafeArmsandAmmunitionCombinations
(http://www.saami.org/specifications_and_informatio
n/publications/download/SAAMI_ITEM_211Unsafe_
Arms_and_Ammunition_Combinations.pdf)
7.HornadyHandbookofCartridgeReloading,Fourth
Edition,1991,HornadyManufacturingCompany,
GrandIsland,NE.

8.NoslerReloadingGuideNumberFour,1996,Nosler,
Inc.,BendOR.
9.C.I.P.TDCCsheet.308Winchester(http://www.cipb
obp.org/homologation/uploads/tdcc/tabi/tabicalenpa
ge125.pdf)
10.SpeerReloadingManualNumber12,1994,Blount,
Inc.,Lewiston,ID.
11.PopularSportingRifleCartridgesDBIBooks,1984.
12."The20thCentury'sTopRifleCartridge,"Shooting
Times,Feb.2000.AccessedonlineDec.31,2012.
The"top"riflecartridgeinthecentury,hesays,isthe
.3006.
13."BestSellers,"RifleShooter,Jan.Feb.2013.
14.SturtevantB,ShockWaveEffectsinBiomechanics,
Sadhana,23:579596,1998.
15.SunesonA,HanssonHA,SeemanT:PressureWave
InjuriestotheNervousSystemCausedbyHigh
EnergyMissileExtremityImpact:PartI.Localand
DistantEffectsonthePeripheralNervousSystem.A
LightandElectronMicroscopicStudyonPigs.The
JournalofTrauma.30(3):2812941990.

C.I.P.decisions,textsandtables(freecurrentC.I.P.CDROMversiondownload(ZIPandRARformat)
(http://www.cipbp.org/index.php?id=tdcctelechargement))

Externallinks
Ultrahighspeed.308photos(http://www.njnoordhoek.com/?p=9
WikimediaCommonshas
38)amateurhighspeedphotography
mediarelatedto.308
.308WinchesterCartridgeGuide(http://www.6mmbr.com/308wi
Winchester.
n.html)byAccurateShooter.com
.308Videos(http://stoppingpower.info/index.php?title=.308)byStoppingPower.Info
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