You are certainly welcome to your own opinion. And I’ve never seen a winner in a caliber war discussion, so that’s not worth engaging in.
I do suspect your opinion of the 308 is heavily influenced by what others feel is popular or what cool cartridge is trending today.
The 308 Winchester cartridge has been with us since 1952 and its adoption by NATO certainly helped its standing in the world of cartridges. However, the 308 Win would be an outstanding cartridge even if it wasn’t a standard military cartridge. It may not have the speed of a 22-250 or the extreme long range power of a 338 Lapua or 7mm Remington Magnum. Nor does it have the muzzle energy of a 375 H&H or 416 Rigby - but it does a LOT of things very well.
Gun magazines, gun & ammo advertising and the occasional gun store commando, have a tendency to push the “newest” and “greatest” cartridge at the expense of the older cartridges. You’re welcome to your opinion but if that opinion is based on “someone seeing you ride a moped”, you may wish to explore the basis of that opinion.
You're still hung up on analogies I see. I haven't read a gun rag in 10 years, I'm mainly influenced by cartridges that *after studying the ballistics* make sense for me to acquire. If that happens to be a new cartridge, so be it, if that happens to be a 100 year old cartridge, so be it.
The ballistics of the 308 are not great, it's drop, drift and retained energy down range show it. I've got two cartridges that are on my "favorite" list that bracket the 308 perfectly. They are the 303 British and 7.5x55 Swiss. Both cartridges have similar ballistics, but they're also in rifles that are just awesome and different. They're not ballistic peaches either. The P14 and K31 are interesting and excellent platforms, they have interesting cartridges and even if the ballistics are ho hum they're fun to shoot.
A modern rifle, with no turn of the century quirks is a boring *yet effective* platform. Add in an absolutely mediocre cartridge (the 308) and it's a boring combo. Why would anyone pick such a mundane cartridge? I don't know. They probably like it. I will admit that modern rifles chambered in 308 are utilitarian, but that doesn't make them the best combo for me.
Funny enough, I have a 416 Rigby, and you're right, the 308 compares to it like a cap gun to a 45 Colt. Do I like cartridges that I can *in a pinch* order ammunition that will match what I load to shoot distance or other set parameter? Absolutely I do, so if that means I prefer cartridges made in this century and not the middle of the last century, so be it.
It may be time for *you* to study up on some modern cartridges and realize how far we've come since 1952. It truly is remarkable.
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