The .308 Winchester is a rifle cartridge and is the commercial cartridge upon which the military 7.62x51mm NATO
centerfire cartridge is based. The .308 Winchester was introduced in
1952, two years prior to the NATO adoption of the 7.62x51mm NATO T65.
Winchester branded the cartridge and introduced it to the commercial
hunting market as the .308 Winchester. Winchester's Model 70 and Model 88
rifles were subsequently chambered for the new cartridge. Since then,
the .308 Winchester has become the most popular short-action, big-game
hunting cartridge worldwide. It is also commonly used for civilian target shooting, military sniping, and police sharpshooting.