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The Daily Insight

What can you kill with a 308?

Author

Ava Robinson

Updated on February 21, 2026

The . 308 Winchester certainly has enough energy to kill deer, pronghorn, elk, moose and bear out to 300 yards, but the bullet drops fast and it's trajectory looks like a bell shaped curve by 500 yards.

Keeping this in consideration, will a 308 kill a grizzly?

If your plan is to shoot a charging grizzly at 20 paces you do not merely need the perfect North American big game cartridge, you need a specialized, dangerous game cartridge and rifle setup. If you hope to hunt and then shoot a big bear at a reasonable distance, the . 308 will kill him just like it will kill an elk.

One may also ask, can a .308 kill a human? Any caliber round into the head can kill you instantly (with exception to a . 308/7.62mm specifically, is an intense round. In most cases, a shot to the head with one of these rounds will be lethal.

Secondly, what is a 308 capable of killing?

You would be a little under-gunned hunting black bear, and way under-gunned for dangerous game, like grizzly bears & polar bears, lions, rhinos. 308 is an excellent caliber. The 30 cal bullet is capable in the taking of any game given enough powder. Even dangerous game like grizzlies.

Can a 308 win kill an elephant?

A number of the Ivory hunters turned guides used the British 303 and the 7x57 Mauser. They routinely dispatched elephants with a single shot through the eye. I watched park rangers cull elephants with a single shot from a FN Fal in 7.62 X 51 (. 308 Win) so I'm sure well placed shots of lesser calibers is very possible.

Related Question Answers

Will a 308 round stop a bear?

Yes a heavy for caliber, well constructed. 308 bullet at. 308 Win velocities will kill any bear on Earth with proper shot placement.

Why is 308 so popular?

308 is popular because it is one of the most common rounds around due to it being a NATO round. Secondly it is much cheaper to shoot then a lot of other rounds. Also with it being used as a military round it carries alot of prestiege.

Is 308 a good sniper round?

The . 308 is by far the most popular sniping round, and for good reason. The . 308 is not punishing to shoot, has excellent terminal ballistics, behaves predictably in the wind, and perhaps most important is that it is consistent.

What grain 308 do snipers use?

As recently as the 2007 American Sniper Association Annual Report, the . 308 caliber, 168-grain MatchKing BTHP was cited as being the “preferred ammunition” for police snipers “based primarily on its accuracy and consistency”.

Is a 270 more powerful than a 308?

270 Winchester have a higher ballistic coefficient than the larger diameter bullets of the same weight from the . 308 Winchester. However, the . 308 Winchester can use heavier bullets than .

Why is 308 better than 6.5 Creedmoor?

The 6.5 Creedmoor shoots smaller diameter and generally more aerodynamic bullets than the . 308 Winchester. Therefore, the 6.5 Creedmoor has a slightly flatter trajectory, a little less wind drift, and less recoil.

Why do Snipers prefer 308?

308 is commonly used by military snipers because, as a NATO round, ammunition is/would be readily available when on a battlefield. Some high velocity rounds will 'shoot the barrel' out of a rifle in (from what I have have seen quoted) as few as 1500 rounds. The . 308 is known to hold accuracy up to 5000 rounds.

Is 5.56 or .308 better?

308 is a better round than 5.56 NATO/. 223 Remington type rounds because it's a bigger and heavier round going just a bit slower. 308 or it's parent round the 30–06 are too much for them. For home defense, the 5.56 is a better round, because of its mild recoil.

Is a 308 good for home defense?

No. A . 308 round would be a poor choice for a home defense gun inside a domicile/dwelling unit because it is a high powered rifle round easily capable of killing class 2 and 3 game animals or humans out to 400 yards or more. Use a shotgun instead with a low brass round (No.

Why is .223 so deadly?

223 bullet relies upon its high velocity and long spear-like shape to deliver a lot of damage at relatively short distances and it's extremely deadly for people. 223 because they are a larger and heavier bullet. So a . 223 is actually less deadly than most other rifle rounds.

Whats better 308 or 300 blackout?

Differences is that the casing for the . 308 Win is larger than the . 300 BLK, which holds a higher amount of powder and can withstand greater pressure. You may have guessed by now the performance characteristics of these two rounds are going to be different.

Is 308 still relevant?

308 Winchester Is Still Among The Best: The cartridge more than holds its own at long range, is dead-on at medium range. Hitting hard, the cartridge is appropriate for nearly all North American game. With a slew of bullet choices, it is among the most versatile cartridges to reload.

Whats better 308 or 30 06?

30-06 is generally going to be better suited for long range shooting, and a . 308 is going to be better for faster shooting.

Can a 12 gauge slug kill an elephant?

For example, you could certainly kill an elephant with a 12 gauge slug, or a . 223, if you put one in an eye, or an ear, or another vulnerable spot, from a few feet or yards away. And even if it takes hours, or even days, to die, the animal is still dead.

What caliber is an elephant gun?

84 caliber

Will a 50 cal kill an elephant?

50 caliber shooting 500 or 535 grain bullets at around 2200 fps. The pointed BMG bullets would tend to change direction when they struck bone. You don't kill an elephant by "hydrostatic shock," whatever that is, and ordinary . 458 elephant rounds penetrate plenty deep enough to kill.