Actually, I think the primary reason the military replaced the .30-06 with the .308 was to take the advantage of the shorter cartridge. It's particularly advantageous in machine guns since the bolt doesn't have to move as far to cycle the next round. With the development of newer powders one can get pretty much the same performance from a .308 as from a .30-06. Inherently, the.308 seems to be a slightly more accurate round as indicated by the fact that national shooting competitions had to make the targets smaller once the .308 came onto the scene, and .308 dominates it's class at the national level. However, the difference in accuracy is very slight and only really observable at the national championship level. For you and me it's insignificant. I know I don't possess any rifles capable of competing at that level even if I could shoot that well — which I don't.

Yes, der teufel, I agree with your assessment...and coincidentally, the overall cost savings was the thing that sealed the deal in congress...because as we all know getting the government to adopt any new program via congressional approval must include a significant cost savings...hey, they are always trying to collect more taxes and cut costs!

Now, that said, when I go after hogs I like to be over gunned...Personally, I have killed hogs with a .22lr up through a 45-70 govt. Depending on your hunting method, will depend on the caliber you can "get away with"...many times a smaller caliber is fine, especially if you only to want to shoot one hog and have the time to shoot it in the ear hole. Myself, I prefer any .30 caliber round and consider the 7.62x39 an excellent hog round, as well. If I were only able to shoot one caliber it would be a 30-06, 308, or 7.62x39 through a semi auto rifle...due to the wide bullet weight assortment the 30-06 would get my nod, because you can shoot basically any animal on the North American continent with it, save grizzly/brown bears, with complete confidence. Hope this information helps....

This. 450 bushmaster

nice rig casterbuster, but 4 pounds or so too heavy for these old legs (back)...I like to hang onto a 7lb semi auto...

For work quietly under a feeder, I like my ruger bolt rifle in a 300 blackout. If running and gunning then my 300 blackout in my 8 in SBR and by HM Defence, both with a AAC SDN-6 attached.

Ed

The best is the one where you can put the bullet behind the ear at 100 yards, which means the one you shoot a lot and won't kick the "Mule out of you." Personally, I have a .243 and .308 and my .243 will do anything I want it to do in Texas.

I recall when SKSs could be had at gun shows for around 100 dollars back in the 90s. I would see west Texas ranchers with hog problems buying 3 or 4 to always have one handy. I talked to one who said the round worked very well on hogs and the cheap rifle while not that accurate was very reliable. Not sure what worked well meant to them since they were exterminating-not hunting and recovery was not that big a deal.

Surprisingly lighter than you think.... Added weight to manage recoil....