7.62x51mm NATO / .308 Winchester
The do-everything .30 — deer to a thousand-yard steel with ammo on every shelf, even as 6.5s eat into its precision-game territory.
Family
Rifle
Introduced
1952
Origin
US Army Ordnance / Winchester, USA
Military
M80 ball; M118LR long-range; 7.62 NATO standard since 1954
History
Winchester released the .308 in 1952, two years before NATO standardized its military twin for the M14, FAL, G3, and M60. It shortened the .30-06's performance into a more efficient case suited to automatic actions. It became both the West's battle-rifle and machine-gun standard and America's most popular short-action hunting and precision cartridge.
What it's used for
Iconic platforms
Remington 700, Winchester Model 70, AR-10 pattern rifles, M14/M1A, FN FAL, HK G3, and the M240 machine gun.
Common load types
FMJ ball, soft point hunting loads, match hollow point boat tail, and bonded law-enforcement loads.
Reference only — not loading data, not ballistics advice, and KitID links to no ammunition sellers. Know your local law before you buy anything that goes bang.