.308 Winchester

**.308 Winchester** is the civilian designation for the cartridge the U.S. military adopted in 1954 as **7.62x51mm NATO**. The two are very close but not identical — 7.62 NATO chambers run slightly looser and operate at slightly lower pressure, which matters for reloaders and for a handful of older platforms. .308 is the foundational American precision cartridge. It is the round the modern long-range shooting community was built on, and it remains the standard against which other .30-caliber cartridges are measured. Bolt-action precision rifles, AR-10-pattern gas guns, lever guns, and most military-style semi-autos all come in .308. The ecosystem is enormous. Match ammunition from every major manufacturer, component brass, projectile selection from 110gr to 220gr, and a century of load data. For a shooter's first serious centerfire rifle, .308 is the safe answer.