When I was buying my Remington 700 .308, I took into consideration what I knew from the Army (my job) about the M24. (No I am not a sniper
) The second was cost of the rifle. Like many said in this thread before me, the platform was pretty cost effective along with ammo is available and decently priced.
If I get into long range shooting competitions then I may consider something else but for now, .308 works for me and I can take a deer if I want to with my setup.