re: .308 vs 7mm-08 for a young un?

I guess I just grew up hunting differently. As a kid I would take off from the camp on a "squirrel hunt" and be gone most of the day. Tromping through brambles and briars bottoms and woods. Cleaning has nothing to do with it. Just being toted along they get scratched and scrapes and bumps and bruises. It's just part of it. They still function perfectly and are mechanically sound, they were just run hard.