I don't see any downside to owning an '06. It is my primary hunting rig, and between range practice with full-power loads and reduced cast bullet loads, and all the general playing I do with various bullets and powders anyway, I put at least 400 shots through that gun a year. No noticeable roughness in the throat. Treated the bore a few years ago.
One advantage that should be quantified when discussing the 30-06 over the 308 or the Win Mag or the WSM is that the neck length does reduce the flame turbulence that the throat is exposed to, thus having some small effect on the life of the throat. It isn't much, but it is there.
