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My opinion is that if you need to fire a 220 or 240 grain round in 30 caliber, go with a 300 Magnum. And I have a 300RUM for that purpose.. Otherwise in the 308 vs 30.06 realm of 150-180gr rounds, I prefer the .308 for lighter recoil and being able to have a lighter gun for hunting on the move. And my 4'10'' wife can easily handle a Model 7 in 308 but cannot handle a gun large enough to chamber 30.06.
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I was the one that chimed in about 240gr Woodleigh bullets. As a point of fact, with proper powder selection, .308 or .30-06 could theoretically fire this same bullet. -06 of course, will have a velocity advantage. Even the 175/180gr bullets benefit from the larger case capacity of .30-06, velocity wise. More so if you handload. I shoot a 180gr Accubond from my 06, for everything (unless I'm hunting deer or antelope, and my choice for that day ends up being a .223 AR, with proper bullets). .30-06 is in theory more flixible, having a larger useful range of bullet weights and velocities.
It does not make sense that a smaller, lighter .308 would "recoil" less than a .30-06 firing the same bullet at similar velocities. It would be physically smaller, and easier to handle ( more "handy" ) by a small margin. If loaded to it's potential, 06 would likely recoil more, given a rifle of the same weight, firing the same bullet, but at caliber distinct velocities.
The point I was trying to make earlier is that either one will work for most uses, for most people, in most situations. I doubt many people could shoot the difference between .308 and .30-06 in the field.
For those trying to remember the "never a mistake" quote: "The .30-06 is never a mistake". Colonel Townsend Whelen
Also: "Only accurate rifles are interesting".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Townsend_Whelen