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Bit of a story but I received a gun though inheritance along with a bunch of ammo (different types). I finally got a few minutes to look through what I have.

The gun is single shot bolt style (turn up, pull back). Stamped 308W on the side, assuming that's a 308 Winchester. Ammo includes 308 but, having become aware recently that a 357 can fire 38 special, I found myself wondering if any of the other ammo could be fired in my 308. After lots of googling, I see a lot of people arguing about 308 and 30.06 ammo and how they're similar and different. Of interest is that the cartridges are the same diameter but different lengths.

The question then is: Can the 308 Winchester fire the 30.06 ammo (because I have both)?

I've found nothing on this. Can anyone help me out?

Bit of a story but I received a gun though inheritance along with a bunch of ammo (different types). I finally got a few minutes to look through what I have. The gun is single shot bolt style (turn up, pull back). Stamped 308W on the side, assuming that's a 308 Winchester. Ammo includes 308 but, having become aware recently that a 357 can fire 38 special, I found myself wondering if any of the other ammo could be fired in my 308. After lots of googling, I see a lot of people arguing about 308 and 30.06 ammo and how they're similar and different. Of interest is that the cartridges are the same diameter but different lengths. The question then is: Can the 308 Winchester fire the 30.06 ammo (because I have both)? I've found nothing on this. Can anyone help me out?

10 comments

[–] chmod 0 points (+0|-0)

OMG No! Use Win 308 only. You will have a bad day substituting ammo. Don't!

I know a couple of fractions of and inch don't sound like much, but your barrel will disagree violently.

Yeah, I figured that from the replies :)

The cartridge diameter/circumference is identical but the 30.06 is longer. Owlchemy pointed me in the right directions to highlight why that difference is profound.

Thanks :)