Now that I have your attention… 
Seriously, from a civilian defensive standpoint that is?
I know that the .308 bucks the wind better, I know it will generally penetrate better, it should have better terminal effects than the 5.56 over a greater effective range.
But does that really impact general civilian usage?
Please list out what you consider the advantages that the .308 brings to the table from the standpoint of civilian usage, not military.
This is why. It’s not the long range performance that’s important, it’s the devastation up close. If you think about it, if someone takes a minute or two to bleed out at 600 meters, that’s okay…but you don’t want that to happen at 6 feet.
In all honesty, the real difference for most civilians?
Not having the RO have to look thru binocs to call hits on 200+ yard steel targets. 308 leaves no doubt.
That and $0.50+ a round more for match grade ammo.
It can reach out and touch someone BETTER!
Leave big holes at larger distances.
More muzzle energy is always more muzzle energy, and if the tradeoffs (more recoil impulse, heavier ammunition, less ammunition per space) are outweighed by the gains, and you can afford it, do that.
,
Heh, well put.
The 5.56 was developed for military use, when you have all of your armed buddies with you. Some of those buddies may be small and/or are women. In general, smaller people don’t like shooting a full-power rifle. I am not small.
In a military battle, getting shot with a .22 will take you out of the fight. Killing the enemy isn’t nessesary. It may be when it’s just you vs. some thugs.
More power is better. A .380 is better than a .22lr, a 5.56 is better than a .380, a .308 is better than a 5.56, a 338 lapua is better than a .308. The .50bmg is better than a 338 lapua. Sadly, the 338 lapua and .50bmg costs 5 bucks a round. Otherwise I would buy one.
Unlike the military, I will not be supported with grenade launchers, machine guns, planes, tanks and ships. I need a gun that can shoot through light vehicles and body armor with just a single round. All by myself.
Any bullet weight in 308 can cleanly kill any animal in North America. That might come in handy if you get hungry in a survival situation or if a grizzly bear gets hungry for you. A 55 grain 5.56 bullet may not be enough.
I could give you a few more reasons I like an AR-10, but thats my top 5.
Thank you for reading my first post!
muskie69
It reaches out farther with more punch.
Nothing I care about…
Don’t think for a minute the 5.56 was designed to “wound” or any of that other BS military myth told over and over from Basic to retirement. That’s in the “you cant shoot personnel with a .50” category.
Bob
Im not sure civie needs are different than military. Thus most military is armed with 223 except for specialized roles. 308 offers greater power and improved penetration in a standard loading. Just like the military would v be well served by moving to an intermediate round, such as the 6
8, so would civilians. But they go with what they know. ARs come in 223 and 308. They wanted improvement over 5.56. Don’t we all.
I didn’t know about the intermediates between 5.56 ans 7.62 until recently and I actually try and keep up.
I do not know if this is what you are looking for, but from MY PERSONAL experience.
You shoot a hog with the 556 (fmj) in the body it will run for a while before it lays down. In fact you are better off to put two to three rounds in it if you can get them off in time. If you hit it in the head or neck it is pretty much a one shot deal though and it drops.
You shoot a hog in the body with the 308, it crawls maybe thirty to twenty yards and lays down. You hit it in the shoulder, neck, or head it drops in its tracks.
When I go hog hunting, i carry a 762x39 or 308 if I want them dead in the field. I carry my 556 if I just want alot of hits and never plan on recovering the hogs.
Oh so true.
308 on steel at 300 leaves no doubt. 5.56 on my plates (1.25" thick) doesn’t even move them at that range.
A 308 can kill an elk before it gets over the edge of a canyon. I would not trust a 223 to do that. I BARELY trust a 308 to do that but it WILL do it
As others have said the recoil on a 556 is much less than a 308. Now while I have carried an M16 or M4 my entire military career, I also understand how it came to be the weapon I carry, so I am not as overly dedicated to the 5.56 caliber as some. You have to consider the reason the military went to a 5.56 M16 over the 7.62 M14 in the first place. In the end it was all about weight. A soldier can only carry so much high speed, light weight gear, typically 100 lbs is the upper limit, though on jumps into bad guy land many a soldier have been humping far greater…but I digress. The typical ammo battle load of 7.62 during Vietnam was 100 rounds, when they changed over to 5.56 that load doubled. Robert Mcnamara in his infinite wisdom :rolleyes: thought twice as many bullets meant twice as many kills…remember he was a bean counter not a trigger puller…and as often happens when management doesn’t understand the subject matter, they often really have no idea of the ramifications of their decisions, in this case it was changing to an inferior military caliber… for the reason of being able to carry additional ammo not for the killing cability of the round itself. Now with all that being said, I still own several personal Ar15s, I enjoy shooting them and would pick one up if I needed to in order to defend myself…though with all things being equal I prefer to pick up a battle rifle who’s caliber starts with a 3…in my case I pick up an KTR-108 by Mark Krebs…
It does it through walls and cars.
This post is full of fail and mall ninja. If you don’t know what you’re talking about then shut the hell up and go away. It’s posts like this that are bringing this board down the road of barfcom. Go back to the airsoft boards where you belong and quit posting here if you’re going to spout bubba fud second hand airsoft knowledge.
Now on topic… It’s different tools for different applications. I think 5.56 is an excellent round when used within it’s role, as an intermediate assault rifle cartridge. It’s low recoiling, light to carry and flies flat. It doesn’t penetrate like .308 or have the range but on soft targets or targets behind light cover within 400m it works pretty damn good.
The 7.62x51/308 has much more power, greater range and superior cover reducing capability. It also requires a much larger and heavier weapon. It is really comparing apples to oranges.
Thank you for this intelligent answer. Very good.
To sum it up with MrGoodtimes rebuttle…“In Moderation”
The AR platform is a tool, you wouldnt use a hammer when you need a wrench, why would you use a .308 when 5.56 will perfom its job just fine
Your information is incorrect.
Bob
This is the philosophy of somebody uninformed.
5.56mm is my choice for 0-600m.