Which Rifle Cartridge Is King Of the .30s?

[riftol]

I don't have enough hands-on shooting experience to select the King.

Cartridges that come to mind include:

30-30 Winchester

308 Winchester

30-'06

300 Winchester Magnum

300 Weatherby Magnum


Which of *these do you crown as King of the .30s?

*My list is not exclusive. If you choose another .30 please discuss it.

[Abenaki]

30-06, hands down.....no contest!


Take care
Abenaki

[Divernhunter]

King for what use?
Example: The 300Weatherby would be a poor choice for target competition at 100-200 yards but would be good for hunting at long range. It is not needed as a "brush gun" type of hunting.

All around use it is rally hard to beat a 308win or 30-06.

[riftol]

30-06, hands down.....no contest!


Take care
Abenaki

More than a few prominent riflemen have opined that the 30-'06 is the greatest all-around cartridge of the twentieth century.

[Jimmy's]

300 Weatherby always and forever.

[Blade Gunner]

Best selection is 308. Cheap military, hunting rounds, match grade. 30-06 the better cartrage but cheap mlitary surplus is hard to find. So you're buying high end hunting or match rounds. 30-30 Winchester is under powered. The 300 magnum rounds are expensive and have short barrel life. Best value is the 308.

[LowThudd]

300 Weatherby always and forever.

If velocity is the only goal, then .30-378 Weatherby has it beat. And it is no longer a wildcat, as Weatherby chambers it and sells ammo.
200 grain at 3100+ fps.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.30-378_Weatherby_Magnum

[Horrendo Revolver]

I..... don't have to answer that question.

[ChuckDizzle]

Best selection is 308. Cheap military, hunting rounds, match grade. 30-06 the better cartrage but cheap mlitary surplus is hard to find. So you're buying high end hunting or match rounds. 30-30 Winchester is under powered. The 300 magnum rounds are expensive and have short barrel life. Best value is the 308.

This is the reasonable answer. I tend to like versatile chambering, and the .308 excels in this category.

[LowThudd]

Interesting article on the .30-378, and a comparison to other .30s. http://www.ballisticstudies.com/Know...by+Magnum.html

[-hanko]

Best selection is 308. Cheap military, hunting rounds, match grade. 30-06 the better cartrage but cheap mlitary surplus is hard to find. So you're buying high end hunting or match rounds. 30-30 Winchester is under powered. The 300 magnum rounds are expensive and have short barrel life. Best value is the 308.

I'd bet more deer have been killed with a 30-30 than anything else. It's soft-shooting and easy to find, but it's all relative anyway as it's not particularly what you want for 3-400 yard target shooting. Both 308 and 30-06 are outstanding hunting rounds, but I still prefer .270 for longer shots.

[Jimmy's]

If velocity is the only goal, then .30-378 Weatherby has it beat. And it is no longer a wildcat, as Weatherby chambers it and sells ammo.
200 grain at 3100+ fps.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.30-378_Weatherby_Magnum

Velocity is great but the more affordable 300 packs a punch over the smaller 30's and more than the 300 Win and the 338 Win with the right bullets and like all others it can be down loaded if desired. The 30-378 runs about $6+ per shot.

[Vigilante]

If velocity is the only goal, then .30-378 Weatherby has it beat. And it is no longer a wildcat, as Weatherby chambers it and sells ammo.
200 grain at 3100+ fps.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.30-378_Weatherby_Magnum

Since no criteria have been set by the OP, then I would have to say the .30-378 is King. I don't know that there is another production .30 caliber cartridge that stacks up ballistically.

Now, if King means that it's the most practical, most ubiquitous, and most loved, then .30-60 Sprinfield is the cat's meow. Of course, that doesn't sound like the best definition of "King" to me.

[GW]

Another vote for.308
It has
Tremendous amounts of ballistic and reloading info on it.
A wide selection of loads and bullet styles and weights.

It is
Available everywhere
reasonably priced
still available from military surplus

[javithewrench]

No such magical king of the .30's that does it all, this is why I'm at 80+ firearms.