SmallGameAddict
.308 Win
A Little American History
Why the history lesson? Because an individual like @96coal449 spoke up, and admitted he wanted more knowledge, to make a purchase decision. I admire and respect him for that. Takes guts. In order to understand American scopes, you have to understand and remember 3 things- the 30/06 Springfield, the Whitetail deer, and the human eye.
The 1870's saw the buffalo hunters make some amazing long shots, using Sharps rifles with aperture sights, cartridges shooting big heavy bullets using black powder, at a large target. 1873 also saw the Model '73 Winchester arrive, a very commercially successful lever-action repeater providing quick repeat shots. Chambered in .44/40 Win, a man could defend and provide for himself and his family. The lever-action rifle would remain the most popular rifle type in the United States until the mid-1930's.
The 1890's was a period of rapid change in the shooting world. The invention of smokeless powder would change things forever. The US Army's standard issue 1873 Springfield rifle, a single shot shooting the black powder 45/70 Gov't, was replaced in 1892 by the Krag-Jorgenson bolt-action rifle chambered for a .30/40 rimmed cartridge using the then-new smokeless powder, and a 220 grain round-nosed bullet. The.308 bore was now a US standard. In 1895, Winchester unleashed the Model 94 lever-action rifle chambered in, among others, the .30 WCF cartridge, using smokeless powder. It was the first 'small bore' sporting rifle cartridge ever, and would later become known simply as the .30/30. The Spanish-American War of 1898 changed things as well. The USA won the war through superior tactics. However, the superior Spanish Mauser bolt-action rifle, shooting the equally superior 7x57 cartridge inflicted heavy losses on our boys. It shot flatter, so had longer and more useful range, less recoil, with more than adequate power, and the Mauser designed bolt-action was a superior rifle with a much stronger action. These lessons would not be lost on the American military.
In 1903, the Springfield Armory introduced the .30 cal, model of 1903, shooting a 220 gr round-nosed bullet. Both the rifle and cartridge designs were 'borrowed' from the Mauser brothers and the German Imperial Army. With the US adoption of the Mauser-inspired 'rimless' cartridge, the 12mm (.473) rim diameter became a world standard. In 1906, Uncle Sam, keenly aware of new German military technology, which included a 'spitzer' shaped pointed bullet, that, when combined with lighter weight and therefore higher velocity, gave our boys in uniform longer range. The 30/03 was modified for the new 150 gr pointed bullet by reducing the case neck length slightly, velocity at the muzzle was 2700 fps, and the .30 Cal., Model of 1906 was born. To this day, in the United States, the 30/06 Springfield is the Gold Standard.
One day, many years ago, a sharp man with a pencil sat down at his kitchen table to do some figuring. He had not purchased a Winchester Model 94 as his father had. He had spent his hard-earned money on a new bolt-action rifle chambered in 30/06 Sprg, but, he was frustrated. In spite of all that power and velocity his rifle provided, he could not shoot deer much further than his dad could with his 30/30. Open sights didn't work too well past 150 yards. That front sight bead covered a lot of deer. So, he used some more money to purchase this new-fangled expensive thing called a 'telescopic sight'. It was a 2.5x, and he wanted to make the most of it and his rifle and cartridge. Eventually, doing some figuring, and some shooting, he figured out that with his trusty '06, shooting 150 gr pointed bullets at a factory velocity of 2910 fps, he could sight in at 25 yards, be about 3" high at 100 yards, on the button again at about 250 yards, and still hit a 7" target out to about 290 yards, aiming at the same spot, not having to hold over or under his target. Most often, his target was a whitetail deer, mule deer, or pronghorn antelope.
Why the history lesson? Because an individual like @96coal449 spoke up, and admitted he wanted more knowledge, to make a purchase decision. I admire and respect him for that. Takes guts. In order to understand American scopes, you have to understand and remember 3 things- the 30/06 Springfield, the Whitetail deer, and the human eye.
The 1870's saw the buffalo hunters make some amazing long shots, using Sharps rifles with aperture sights, cartridges shooting big heavy bullets using black powder, at a large target. 1873 also saw the Model '73 Winchester arrive, a very commercially successful lever-action repeater providing quick repeat shots. Chambered in .44/40 Win, a man could defend and provide for himself and his family. The lever-action rifle would remain the most popular rifle type in the United States until the mid-1930's.
The 1890's was a period of rapid change in the shooting world. The invention of smokeless powder would change things forever. The US Army's standard issue 1873 Springfield rifle, a single shot shooting the black powder 45/70 Gov't, was replaced in 1892 by the Krag-Jorgenson bolt-action rifle chambered for a .30/40 rimmed cartridge using the then-new smokeless powder, and a 220 grain round-nosed bullet. The.308 bore was now a US standard. In 1895, Winchester unleashed the Model 94 lever-action rifle chambered in, among others, the .30 WCF cartridge, using smokeless powder. It was the first 'small bore' sporting rifle cartridge ever, and would later become known simply as the .30/30. The Spanish-American War of 1898 changed things as well. The USA won the war through superior tactics. However, the superior Spanish Mauser bolt-action rifle, shooting the equally superior 7x57 cartridge inflicted heavy losses on our boys. It shot flatter, so had longer and more useful range, less recoil, with more than adequate power, and the Mauser designed bolt-action was a superior rifle with a much stronger action. These lessons would not be lost on the American military.
In 1903, the Springfield Armory introduced the .30 cal, model of 1903, shooting a 220 gr round-nosed bullet. Both the rifle and cartridge designs were 'borrowed' from the Mauser brothers and the German Imperial Army. With the US adoption of the Mauser-inspired 'rimless' cartridge, the 12mm (.473) rim diameter became a world standard. In 1906, Uncle Sam, keenly aware of new German military technology, which included a 'spitzer' shaped pointed bullet, that, when combined with lighter weight and therefore higher velocity, gave our boys in uniform longer range. The 30/03 was modified for the new 150 gr pointed bullet by reducing the case neck length slightly, velocity at the muzzle was 2700 fps, and the .30 Cal., Model of 1906 was born. To this day, in the United States, the 30/06 Springfield is the Gold Standard.
One day, many years ago, a sharp man with a pencil sat down at his kitchen table to do some figuring. He had not purchased a Winchester Model 94 as his father had. He had spent his hard-earned money on a new bolt-action rifle chambered in 30/06 Sprg, but, he was frustrated. In spite of all that power and velocity his rifle provided, he could not shoot deer much further than his dad could with his 30/30. Open sights didn't work too well past 150 yards. That front sight bead covered a lot of deer. So, he used some more money to purchase this new-fangled expensive thing called a 'telescopic sight'. It was a 2.5x, and he wanted to make the most of it and his rifle and cartridge. Eventually, doing some figuring, and some shooting, he figured out that with his trusty '06, shooting 150 gr pointed bullets at a factory velocity of 2910 fps, he could sight in at 25 yards, be about 3" high at 100 yards, on the button again at about 250 yards, and still hit a 7" target out to about 290 yards, aiming at the same spot, not having to hold over or under his target. Most often, his target was a whitetail deer, mule deer, or pronghorn antelope.
