The Question you all hate.....

[Hawg_Leg]

kinda frightening, honestly.

[mark5pt56]

All the wisdom is genuinely appreciated, however in the end I decided to start with the basics and go from there. Picked up a Remington 700 5R this weekend in .308 and some nightforce glass. Once I'm a skilled enough precision shooter to be able to bitch about the drawbacks of the .308 I'll toss some coin at a custom gun in one of the boutique calibers.

Very smart move, you won't be disappointed. If you went with the 50mm obj, low rings are perfect, even better with an Eagle stock pack.

[TXBob]

Guess I'm late to the party, but nothing clears yokels from rhe range better than a belted magnum like 300WM. (Indoor is even better)

308 is a good start though. Shoot the crap outta it.

[Pappabear]

Very smart move, you won't be disappointed. If you went with the 50mm obj, low rings are perfect, even better with an Eagle stock pack.

Yes and Yes on that Eagle Shooters pack. Just got mine and it feels very good.