.308 Winchester is the commercial name for the military 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge. Two years prior to the NATO adoption of the 7.62x51mm T65 in 1954, Winchester (a subsidiary of the Olin Corporation) 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 one of the most popular hunting cartridges available. It is also commonly used for civilian target matches and police sharpshooting.

While the .308 Winchester and 7.62x51mm cartridges are generally identical, there are minor differences in their case dimensions and chambering specifications that should be noted. The 7.62x51mm is smaller by a few thousandths of an inch in some dimensions. This can lead to excessive chamber pressures if a .308 Winchester cartridge is fired in a 7.62x51mm NATO chamber. However, the opposite should present no problems.

Several more cartridges have been developed using the .308 Winchester as a parent case, some becoming very popular for hunting, particularly in North America. These would be the .243 Winchester, the .260 Remington (aka 6.5-08 A-Square), the 7mm-08 Remington, and the .358 Winchester (aka 8.8x51mm). In 1980, two rimmed cartriges based on the .308 Winchester were introduced for use in the Winchester Model 94 XTR Angle Eject rifle; the .307 Winchester and the .356 Winchester.

Pistol and rifle cartridges