That is a somewhat helpful answer and I’m starting to look at other things now too.
To answer your question though, I’m not looking to compete, there is no possible way that I could afford to do that, this is just to challenge myself and have fun. My issue is the range. I live in an area far from any long range range, the closest 1,000 yard range is 3 hours and 15 minutes away, and there is a cheaper 1 mile range 4 hours and 45 minutes away, the others are much farther. In either case a range trip would be an all day thing so I probably will not be able to go more than a couple of times a year, so my shooting will be very limited, doubt it would be more than a few hundred rounds a year, if that, it’s not that I wouldn’t like to do more it’s that I just don’t have time to given the distance. This along with my budget is one of the reasons that I have budgeted this so tightly, I just won’t be able to shoot it enough to make the cost worth it for more. It might be different if I lived closer to the range. Locally most ranges max out at around 100 yards and a couple go to 200, this area sucks for shooting, at least for long range shooting. This is actually a money saver for me, trying to take on long range targets will still be fun but it will take me more time and less ammunition, even going through a few boxes of very expensive match ammunition will be much cheaper generally than burning through a case of cheap 5.56 or 9mm.
My budget reality is that even just saving the $1,500 for this project is taking several months, were I go to the next level up it could take me easily until next summer and for no real gain given how far away the range is.
I am always open to suggestions, that is the whole reason I am here and why I have so many threads asking questions, this is new stuff to me and I have enough budget to do this once so I need to get it right, but I also need to keep it as cost effective as I can.
I also considered a .22 at 200, but I just could not bring myself to drop that kind of money on a .22 when the same money could buy me something much more useful and personally satisfying. Ammo would be cheaper and more range time, but at the end of the day it would still just be a .22, I’d get bored with that very quickly.