Re: Barrel life.....Really?
I have never burned out a barrel, though my M700 .223 may be on the way there shortly.
Only once in my life was I svelt enough to afford to replace a barrel, and the incumbent barrel was only just getting up to speed. I did the replacement so I could get more performance and it worked out very nicely, but I sometimes wish I still had the older one, too.
The reality of my situation is that, unlike the custom rifle folks, I cannot afford cavalier barrel replacements, if ever, for practically any reason. Accordingly, I ration my barrel life like it was irreplaceable; essentially because that's the real, cold, hard fact.
Greg