They’ll last a long, long time if you aren’t shooting competition. The disadvantages for the game are too steep though. I have a 7-08 with something around 5,000rnds on the tube, still shoots well enough to hunt with, but definitely not stable enough to take 275 shots in a weekend and think my last will impact the same elevation at 1000yrds as my first.

It has been a few years since anyone has used a 7mm anything and made it to the PRS Finale. The 6.5 creed is hanging around, but it hasn’t been a favorite among experienced guys for several years already too. Only 3 shooters out of the top 125 in the PRS last season used a 6.5 Creed at the Finale (none in the top 10). Running a 6mm knocks 1/3 of the recoil off of your rifle, for free, and takes a few tenth mils off of your windage. It’s a win-win, until you start talking about barrel life. A lot of guys have gone to the smaller 6BR based cartridges (and by a lot, I mean almost half of the shooters who qualified for the NRL or PRS Finales last season), in an effort to expand barrel life without giving up low recoil and fast flight.

A lot of guys do start with long barrel life rounds like 6.5 creed or 308win, but they quickly realize how many points they lose due to the high recoil. If you can’t balance your rifle on the tip of a T post and see your impact on a 1moa target at 600yrds, either your rifle weighs too little, or your bullet weighs too much.

It’s all about the advantages under the rules of the game. Recoil is an extreme penalty.