30-06 vs 308 Winchester: Which Penetrates Steel Better? 

It’s nice to know that if I get attacked by a 1/2” steel plate that my 06 will give it a hell’ve a headache.

Given how close the results were, and how readily available and cheap .308 cartridges are, this actually makes the case for the .308 as much as it does the 06 round.

The 06 is better than it used to be. With a reloading set up it is very versatile. It can handle a very wide variety of powder and that helps during shortages and a wide variety of projectiles that can hunt about anything in North America. 308 is good but the 06 to me really shines. Reloading is key for versatility. 2A💪

I’ve used both .308 and 30/06 for deer hunting over the years. Both are very good choices. But, in those years of hunting I have learned one thing about both cartridges, .308 will leave bigger heavier deer running at times, not always, but at times, and have had a couple get away. 30/06, damm near drops them where they’re standing every time. I say damm near because I have had a few run - 25 yards or less before they dropped. Now, I deer hunt exclusively with 30/06, and yes, it has a 24” barrel. In no way am I bagging on the .308. They both fire the same caliber bullet, and I know guys who absolutely swear by their .308s and have the deer mounts to back it up. But for me, it’s the 30/06. (It’s probably because I’m old and don’t shoot as well as they do lol)

Watched a couple of your videos and I like the straight to the shooting and letting the results speak for themselves. Consider myself subbed

These are both very cool cartridges loaded them or down. But the 06 packed a much bigger punch at a greater distance

I think that you MIGHT get full penetration if the plywood wasn't there and the plate was unable to move at all . I think the ply wood helped to stop the bullet.

Col. Cooper said that the 30-06 was”God’s cartridge”. It has taken almost every animal on earth.

I’m enjoying the content bro, I’d love to see a ballistic gel behind the steel plates to see what happens once the projectile passes through the steel plate.

Always knew the two cartridges were virtually the same with the same size bullets, but the 30-06 gives you the advantage of shooting larger bullets up to 220 grain.

The .308 was developed for the express purpose of allowing a shorter stroke so a machine gun could produce a faster rate of fire. The army wanted a round as close to the 30-06 as possible. They wanted a machine gun that could replace the .30 caliber, the BAR, and be capable of steady rapid fire by having barrels that could be swapped in only a few seconds. The .308 and the M-60 seems to have filled that niche.

Sod it, youve got me addicted to your channel, i tried so hard to resist lol. Interesting stuff!

I once read somewhere, that the 7 mm Mauser and the 30-06 between them have accounted for more big game world wide than all the others combined. Partly because they've been around a lot longer than most of them. I have been told the .303 british is no slouch. Given my own experience, in which my 30-06 has never let me down in the 48 years I've had , why experiment? I'm not a gun writer. I'm a hunter.

Thanks for the video!

Need to use both 24" barrel bolt guns to get fair comparison

Try both the .308 and the 30-06 from 24 inch barrels.

I'm glad you have on your safety boots well as ear and eye protection

Great videos, subbed

I imagine there are potentially many factors that come into play in accounting for differences in performance but it was interesting to see the performance here. Thanks.

Love these , you got a new sub

Love your content

Out shooting in Crocs. I like your style. Your channel has grown so much in the last year and I'm here for it

I know a guy who shot a huge moose in Wyoming with a 308. He said the bullet hit about the middle of the spine then, turned and traveled UP the spine and into the head. The moose ran for a bit before dropping. He's extremely knowledgeable about guns and has been a lifelong hunter and was very surprised at the toughness of the moose's vertebrae.

Thanks again for the info 👍👍👍👍👍👍

Single shot bolt against semi buffer suppression, the bolt should always win in the same caliber... However, I think it's fairly apparent.

The 30 06 makes about 5 to 8 percent more energy then the 308, with the two inch barrel disparity now the difference in power is over 10 percent!

Because the 30 odd 6 is an older cartridge you really don't get the advantages of it unless you reload A great video

Great test

Excellent show,,,thanks for sharing....

I don't want to get hit with either one

Excellent review 👏 👌 👍

Great job 👍

Very enjoyable videos thank you

Really cool content. I really enjoy the comparisons of similar cartridges so we can spot the differences that make each one interesting. Another I’d like to throw into this mix is the 300 win mag. I’m guessing it has about as much power over the 30-06 as the 30-06 has over 308. Can’t beat the Sacred Trinity of the Lawd’s 30 calibers.

Love the metal penetrations test 😊

I'm digging the "tactical" Crocs @ 1:17. Good guns and comfy footwear? This dude knows what's up 😎

*CROCS? Really Bro?*

Pretty impressed be the penetration into the 1/2", crazy!!!

The 30-06 nor .308 powders were designed for those short barrels. I bet you could put a faster burning powder under both and get higher velocities, while also watching for pressure spikes. The load data is probably already out there somewhere on the web.

I miss my Remington 30/06 Mountain rifle. It was dynamite with a 150gr Speer Magtip @ 2700FPS, accurate 2" group at 300 yards. I got rid of all my firearms after my wife got cancer, I couldn't bring myself to kill anything again after I lost her

Great video. Darn, still no win for the 308 over the 30-06… besides way more availability & way better cost benefits for the 308…

It is moot, the only reason I chose the 308 in the 50's, for my deer rifle is the 30-06 was not available with the Savage model 99 lever action. I wanted. My dad gave me a Winchester Model 94, 32 special, I had added to the family meat supply for three years while living in Moab and hunting on the LaSalle mountains (lots of oak brush). My dad was a Forest Ranger and was transferred to the Thousand Lake District in Loa, Utah. My mom and I gave him a 300 savage for his birthday. He had had several deer that did not drop immediately after his shot with the 300. That had never happened with the 32 and 180 silvertip. He gave me a half a box of shells with the gun. He bought the box of shells five years earlier. He often shot a coyote from his pickup in Nevada. I wanted a little more power for the longer range (no oak brush) that seemed eminent. I made a study from Outdoor Life and Field and Stream at the barber shop. I determined the 06 was the best caliber because the availability and cost anywhere from 100 grain to 180 was better than the 308. When my dad got an elk permit, I made a special wood box to ship the 308 to him. I was working as an engineer for Weyerhaeuser in Snoqualmie Falls WA. He got the a bull elk. One shot about 150 yards, leaning across the hood of his FS pickup at dusk. Howard Day the game warden and neighbor helped him recover the elk. Dad left his knife, a Remington laying on the ground at the kill site. Went back numerous times without success. Hope you enjoy the story. Iguana

If you ever got the chance you should try my personal favorite the 300 Winchester magnum with 180 gr and love the videos keep up the hard work

Great vid...

Good video. ❤️ 30-06 is one I don't have. I have most of the others. Hmmm.... I'm betting you could really be a good addition to a quartet with that bass voice.

I would say the 30 06 and the 308 would get the job done thank you

A bolt gun has a bit more of a solid lock up and chamber pressure will be higher even with the same cartridge, add that to barrel length it makes it more of a difference. I'd guess that 30/06 will have a 400fps gain over that .308 assuming you are using the same weight bullet. I load in .308 and 300 blackout and the 110 grains out of my 300 blkout are fun, but out of my .308 they are strait up insane they pit my ar-500 steel at 100 yrds.

I believe this says more about the .308 than the 30-06.

I love how him stamping out a dirt mound had the heavier music and then him reloading and shooting a round had cafe music lol

I like the way you keep it short right to the meat and taters. Subbed

I've shot through a 2 inch 1 ton farmtruck flywheel made of iron/steel composite. With a .308 soft point. IMPRESSIVE!

You really need some kind of plate holder. Maybe a 2x4 based "shelf turned sideways" thingy.

You don't need to grind those off. You need 3 pieces of metal 2 of which are the same thickness and one that is long enough to span beyond the hole and any deformation. Then all you need to do is measure the total thickness and subtract that from your measurement from it. While grinding can remove the metal down to the surface, you may not get it evenly down for all holes.

If you get a chance, a redo of this test with steel sled and equal length barrels would be cool. Thanks for your efforts.

Liberty ammunition, I believe has the hottest 308 on the market at 3500 FPS. I'm not sure they still make it, but it's insane with that round will do to level four plates. I run it with my x95 Tavor, because why not?

Nice video 👍🏼always fun to watch and learn🤓 Btw.....I like your certified safety footwear👡 🤭😉

Wouldn’t mind seeing the 300 win mag vs 7mm Mag

I shot 1/2 with a 270win 130gr and 24" barrel and it passed clean through. From about 80 yards

Great comparison video! My 30-06 is a little more faster than 150 fps than that of my 308, but I’m sure it depends on the ammo and weapons themselves. BTW, my 300 winmag goes thru 1/2” steel. Great job brother and thanks again!🤘🏽🤘🏽

Love this

Enjoy your videos.

Bolt actions should not be compared to gas-tapped autoloaders. The autoloader is losing some punch with the amount of gas required to cycle the bolt. The .308 would have performed closer to the 30-06 had it been fired from a bolt action rifle. Bananas do not equate apples to oranges which is what your test is based upon.

I'd love to see half inch steel penetration testing of both the .308 and 30-06 with a wider variety of loads. For me the greatest reason I chose 30-06 for my bolt action was that I bought it on the centennial. The second greatest reason was greater load flexibility, as you can have anything from a 55gr sabot varmint round to a 220gr round nose. (Incidentally, my '06 30-06 R700cdl LOVES the federal blue box 180 gr round nose, shooting right at 1moa out to the 300 yard backstop of the Fairbanks Alaska range. Almost to the point I didn't bother handloading. Then I found out how much my rifle likes 168gr sierra match kings. . .) I'd propose trying a couple more weights, as well as different composition rounds.

Who am I to be critical. Love your channel, love the 30-06, love the 308, keep up the good work.

I shot a 180 grain 30-06 a few ago and put a clean hole through 1/2in plate steel. I was very surprised

Try that with 7mm rem mag and 300 win mag and compare to results from 308 and 06 depth! Think you will find they penatrate 1/2 , may have to go to 5/8 and 3/4 steel plates!

I would like to see you test regular bullets against hard cast led. 44 Mag and 45/70 would be interesting.

Shot a soft point 30-06 threw 3/8 ar500 plate. There's a reason it's been around for ever.

I shoot old school rifles, M1903A3 made in 1943 by Remington and a Springfield Armory M1A that I bought new straight from Springfield Armory in 1989. I also have an 1899 30-40 Kraig Carbine that my Great Grandfather obtained from an armory in NY in 1919.

Very good video could you do 30-06 vs 270 the same way

Never seen any four or two legged animals walk around with 1/2" steel strapped to it. Both 308 and 06 will do very nicely. I have the 06. The video was good entertainment though. Thanks

I'm very curious how that 308 FMJ would have done with a 20in or 22in barrel vs the 30-06 with that 16in. vs a 6.5 creedmoor with a 24in I think that would give the 308 a better chance. And they're all very close but the 308 has significantly less recoil than the 30-06 and I think that is why it is the more popular. A good compromise.

The deer I hunt don't wear armor platting, so I don't care which round penetrates steel better. I use a .308 because of the reduced recoil. I preferred the M-14 over the M-1 because of recoil, and carried the M-14 in Vietnam; deer over there weren't armor platted either

I still prefer the .308. I think it just has more options in the market. It is certainly impressive in a quality AR 10 platform. Also, everything i know about shooting in the .308 was from my days in the military on an M24. I think I am just loyal to the cartridge.

Can confirm a 22" 30-06 can shoot through 1/2" mild steel.

More ballistic plate tests please

these videos are super comfy

I'd like to see a side by side of the 300 win mag and the 300 WSM.

This shows what you got on video are all over the world popular

Have you done any videos featuring the .270 ? I believe it was the go-to for Jack O’Conner.

How about Solid Copper 30 cal tips in the 308 vs 30 06 ... Great show Thanks.

I've been seeing some 30-06 hunting rounds less expensive then comparable .308 lately 10/29/23 operative word "some" Thanks again !

This is great information if you plan on hunting steel plates......

Both the 308 and 30-06 will take down most big game on NA. The question should be "How much do you need for your intended target at a specific range?"

This was a given! Nice vedio

It’s deeper but you also grinder it down lower then surface level. The 30.06 is actually deeper than what you measured

Awesome video! I wonder how far they would penetrate at 3 or 4 hundred yards/meters?

Thank u

Would be interesting to se a .25-06. Same gas but smaller projectile. Also IIRC not all 30-06 loads are the same, as some are softer for Garand use. Might want to check and see that you don't have the weaker variant.

He's wearing crocs.... LOL!!! He is a freakin legend!!!👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 I think had you been able to use a 24" barrel for the 30-06 and a 22" barrel for the 308 both would have made it through. Maybe I'm wrong. I would like to know but I also do not have either of these cartridges in those longer barrel lengths.

Safety glasses: check, Hearing protection: check, Face shield for grinding: check, Footwear: Crocks?

Good narrator voice, tasteful unobtrusive music, snappy and to the point.

Holding the plate in a rigid holder might be enough to fully penetrate bc of the more efficient energy transfer.

Question did you use the same gain weight? For both bullets?

I wonder what "Black Tip" .30/06 AP would do the 0.5 steel plate?

The 30-06 and .308 are the same caliber and equal in this test at the same range distance. Try again with fifty yard increments until one fails to penetrate and you will see the benefits of the 30-06.

Wow, now you've got me curious. I have a Husky 3006. But the barrel is cut with the 308 twist. Would it do better or worse?

I'd like to see you repeat the experiment using 24" barreled rifles.

What rifle is that 30-06? It's beautiful! I need one!

So the longer barrels would be more powerful? I wouldn't have guessed it would make a difference. Another great vid.