From Inception to Present
Soon after World War II, the U.S. government issued contracts to Winchester and Remington for assistance in the development of a replacement cartridge for the .30-06. The result of those efforts was a shorter version of the .30-06 called T-65. Later the name was changed to 7.62mm NATO. As the name implies, the 7.62mm round was adopted by NATO in addition to a multitude of non-NATO countries. The Heckler & Koch G3, the FN FAL and the venerable M14 are three of the more notable weapons designed for this round.
Realizing that any cartridge adopted by Uncle Sam was sure to become popular among civilian shooters, Winchester beat Remington to the punch by dressing the 7.62mm to the civilian market and calling it .308 Winchester. A shrewd move indeed as the .308 went on to enjoy the popularity as a big game cartridge, not only in bolt action rifles but in pumps, single shots, autoloaders, and lever actions as well. Its short overall length enables rifle manufacturers to offer it in any type of rifle, which surely contributed to the success of the cartridge.
The .308 Winchester has won more benchrest matches than any other cartridge above the 6mm caliber, and continues to win more Hunter class benchrest matches than all other cartridges combined. The .308 is also one of the most popular big game cartridges, not only in the U.S. but in many other countries as well. Handling anything from 110 to 200 gr bullets, the .308 is indeed a versatile cartridge.
The Military had no illusion as to the need for a heavier cartridge than the .223 for extended range precision shooting, thus the .308 has reigned supreme in sniper rifles since the latter part of the Vietnam era. Despite use of Winchester rifles initially, Remington's Model 700 has formed the most popular short action for a large number of custom precision .308 weapons over the last three decades.
Law Enforcement's use of the .308 is more likely to the as a result of its reputation for extreme accuracy with the 168gr boat-tail match loads than its suitability for the urban environment. Its excellent reputation and widespread use as a military sniper cartridge has surely contributed also to proliferation of the .308 throughout the Law Enforcement community. Neither can it be denied that , with triple the bullet weight, the .308's ability to penetrate glass with minimal deflection is vastly superior to .223. The introduction of Hornady's 168gr TAP round can only further enhance the .308's reputation as a LE cartridge.