Question on Calibers

[mojo]

I have read a lot of posts about sniper type rifles and notice something that seemed strange to me ... might be obvious to those who know more. Most of them are chambered in 223 or 308 and a few 243 or 30-06. I'm just curious, is there a specific reason that none of them use 25-06 or 270? Are 223 and 308, just the "best" rounds to use?

[Guy Fawkes]

5.56 and 7.62X51 are military calibers and easy to come by, 25-06 and 270 were derived from 30-06 and odder to acquire. There are many out there, but not the most prevelant.

The best caliber would be something in 7mm or .50 caliber as they have the best ballistic coefficient, but again not the most common.

[4XLT]

the main sniper round is a 7.62 nato (.308) there are some of the Elite teams that use the .300 winchester magnum, it can carry a heavier bullet farther and have more punch at the target than the .308, dont get me wrong the .308 is a great caliber, just something i saw on discovery, and personally agree with..

[mojo]

That makes sense.

So it's not so much a problem with the caliber, but the availability of ammo.

Thanks,