The 308 is a very good long range rifle. Back when I shot steel silhouette matches (500 Meter) everyone used the 308. Recoil is not really mild but its acceptable even for varmits. (Up to a certain number of shots). Heaven forbid that one would ever be limited to one caliber but if you were, the 308 would be a pretty good choice. Its a Short effecient and very accurate cartridge. Just a tad bit behind the 30-06 with the heavy bullets but close enough for 99 percent of NA game. I have a couple of them. Like the 30-06, anything based on the 308 case, which was also based on the 30-06 case, is going to be a pretty good cartridge.