What characterises .308 Winchester?
.308 Winchester is an established rifle cartridge used in various sporting and hunting contexts. .308 Win is its abbreviated name. That alone does not identify the bullet in a particular ammunition version.
.308 Winchester is an established rifle cartridge used in various sporting and hunting contexts. .308 Win is its abbreviated name. That alone does not identify the bullet in a particular ammunition version.
The range of products is broad. Match and hunting bullets fulfil different purposes. Their characteristics cannot be equated just because they share a cartridge name. Energy and velocity figures always belong to a named version and its test conditions. The same applies to precision claims.
The relationship with 7.62 × 51 mm NATO is a separate question. Similar dimensions do not replace approval for a particular rifle; our separate FAQ explains the designations and standards. Compared with newer cartridges, .308 Winchester is neither automatically better nor automatically worse. First establish which characteristics are being compared. The dimensional and performance data on this page remain linked to their sources.
.308 Winchester — Dimensions, energy and range
Dimensions in millimetres; angles as stated in the original. Open the drawing to enlarge it.
Drawing: Francis Flinch / ReneeWrites / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · unchanged.
- Case length
- 51.18 mm
- Bullet diameter
- 7.82 mm
- Overall cartridge length
- 71.12 mm
- Muzzle energy E₀
- 3509–3685 J (source examples)
- Range context
- Sporting guidance according to PGM: 500 m / 546.8 yrd – 1000 m / 1093.6 yrd. Not a fixed performance limit.
Source dimensions in inches converted to millimetres and rounded.
What the dimensions mean
Case length measures the case without the bullet; overall length measures the complete cartridge. Bullet diameter is distinct from bore calibre. Sources may give nominal or maximum dimensions, so rounded figures can differ slightly. This overview is not a dimensioned standard drawing and does not establish interchangeability.
Understanding energy
E₀ is kinetic energy at the muzzle. It depends on bullet mass and velocity. These figures refer to selected examples from the sources, not every load of this calibre. Bullet design, barrel length and test conditions affect the result. A range of examples is neither a complete market comparison nor guaranteed minimum and maximum performance.
Understanding range
A sporting application distance describes a use case. Supersonic range is the distance over which a particular bullet remains faster than sound under specified conditions. Both differ from maximum flight distance. The cartridge name alone cannot provide a reliable range limit without load and condition details. These distances are neither hunting recommendations nor safety distances.