Jim::
Congrats to Pat for writing a nice review. There are a few items I would have included that may make a difference to a shooter with this caliber, especially for new shooters:
1. when shooting in the prone, expect to leave a dust cloud marking your position. You can lay a wet burlap sack on the ground beneath the muzzle to assist in disguising your position. This is a powerful caliber, remember, there are no free lunches with anything firearms related.
2. Even if you reload, you will be paying more for this cartridge [, since the brass and primers are more expensive].
3. You won’t see this caliber on the shelf at every gun store or in many households or police departments. Supply should be a concern for this group.
4. A .308 Winchester gets the job done at or less than 600 yards if you are familiar with your firearm and the ballistic chart [for your particular load]. The .308 will even suffice out to 800 yards, for the overachievers.
5. Identify the quality, weight and price of the scope you will need to hit anything over 800 yards before purchasing.
Shooters should ask themselves if they think they’ll need to take a shot at greater than 600 yards. I have no problem with “bigger is better” or the caliber. Everything Ruger makes is high quality. Good luck and happy hunting. – Pete in Florida