Long Range Rifle shooting 208 A-Max. 308 or 30/06?

[snipecatcher]

As of right now, I have an older long action mounted in a Choate tactical stock (VERY nice stock by the way) with an EGW base, but no barrel. I am waiting on the paperwork for my 30 caliber suppressor, and looking to set up a long range 30 caliber rifle. 300 Win mag isn't really an option, because it will be pretty hard on the suppressor. Lately there has been some curiosity with people shooting 208 Amax's out of 308's, but not much info on the old 30/06. I'll be ordering a 24 or 26" varmint contour barrel from SinArms pretty soon, but am still unsure on the cartridge. 308 vs. 30/06 has been beat to death, but I'm specifically asking about the 208 A-Max bullets. I got 500 of them from Midway's blemished bullet sale, and am currently using them in a 300 whisper.

My main question is this:

Will I be able to seat the 208 A-Max out to the lands on a 30/06 and still be able to fit them in a staggered feed magwell? I know it wont be a problem if I go with a 308. Any help is appreciated.
-Dan

[Dirk]

I think you will need to know how long the throat is in any particular barrel before you can determine the OAL and if it will fit in a magazine.

[~Ace~]

Depends on to many factors... What are you calling long range ? 1000 yards to me is LR, 1500 + is ELR
What is the ASL where you will be using it ?

I shoot the 178 A-Max in my .308's to about 1100 and they do well. I have a box of 208's to play with, but as of yet I have not, so I can't give you any real data.

30/06 will give you more FPS, and of course FPS is big in the LR game, so I would lean that direction with the heavies for sure.... Figure out the Max OAL your mag will handle and have the barrel throated accordingly. I will say tho that I feed 3.890 .338 EDGE in a stagger feed mag I modded, so I would not expect any serious roadblocks in a /06 lol.

[tammons]

Not really what you are asking, but with my sporter 308 barrel the lands are at 3" even with that bullet.
I can load 2.95" mag length max. As mentioned above you will probably need a custom chambered barrel in 30-06 set up for that bullet.

I have not shot this round yet at distance.
Still working on it.
I plan to use it for a long range hog hunting for now,
and get a target barrel later.

Last chrono, I got 2600 fps out of my 22" barrel but the weather was very hot.
No pressure signs. You should be able to get another 150+ fps out of an 06.

I think somebody over at snipers hide has shot the 208 amax out of a 30-06 over RL17 with
good results.

[~Ace~]

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1299481&nt=9&page=1

[snipecatcher]

Thanks for all the advice guys. Looks like I should just stick with a 308 in a long action to be sure that I can load any bullet to mag length. 2600 fps should be easy enough to achieve with a 24-26" barrel.
Regards,
-Dan