^ Barrel life is why I chose the .308. I’m in my forth season with this rifle now. In addition to that, I’ve never loaded more than 43 gr of varget (only used varget). Since I have 1000 available to me whenever, I actually load slower cooler loads but heavier ones that produce more energy. No troubles with accuracy out to 1000. At 3,850 rounds I’m still seeing half MOA. I’m hoping to see 6,000 rounds out of this barrel, and I have a new one just sitting and waiting. If I were shooting beyond 1000 I’d have the 6.5