Sorry I do not have perfect grammar. I went into the military at 18 instead of college. I can afford a full custom rifle. I’m just trying to get a cheap hunting rifle that I can try out long range plinking with. I just started a business last year and I have 3 kids. Time is my issue not money. I don’t want to invest $3k on a rifle that I just look at in the safe.
This is better than the wall of text in your first post.
Ok, first let's talk about optics.
You can go cheap with a more or less hunting style scope for around $200 and get pretty decent glass that will get you out to 800 yards with some amount of inconvenience. You can step up in to entry level "tactical" scopes with a first focal plane reticle, parallax adjustment, locking turrets and zero stops but that is a bit risky if you spend under $1,500. I think there might be good options around $700 with the Meopta Optika 6 range but I haven't had my hands on one. Nikon has some cheap scopes but they are leaving the rifle scope market so service and warranty are big issues.
The benefit of spending more is that you can start training with controls that are going to be very similar to what you would find on a high dollar "precision rifle" and a scope can move up with you as you buy better rifles to put under it.
The benefit of spending less is if you start with a rifle like a Savage 12FV or other budget gun, a $200 scope is appropriate for a budget hunting gun and you can leave it on there forever.
Now ballistics. .308 Winchester is pretty good and 800 yards is well within it's capabilities. 6.5 Creedmoor is better and makes 1,000 yards kind of easy by comparison. Quality box ammo is about the same cost (Berger 140 grain 6.5 Creedmoor is a bargain with 140 grain hybrid bullets and Lapua small primer brass). Reloading is going to cost about the same too. Once upon a time surplus 7.62x51 ammo was the cheap way to shoot a .308 but it's not a very good bargain now and not really precision ammo.
Barrel life is a small issue. After 3,000 rounds through a budget gun, you're either going to be ready to step up to a nicer rifle, ready to quit thinking about long shots or maybe ready to buy a nice Pre-fit barrel replacement (this is why Savage can be a nice entry level option, easy barrel replacement).
Now for reloading. If you buy a 200 round case or two of Berger 140 grain 6.5 Creedmoor, you'll have some very high quality brass by the time you are ready to reload.
Case prep can be expensive if you take it to benchrest levels of sorting, annealing and fancy dies.
Some people have good luck doing the minimum.
Lee makes a lot of really good budget tools. I would probably start with a Lee universal decapping die, Lee case trimmers (not the type that you use in a reloading press), a Lee bench prime and a Lee Ultimate reloading die set (to get the collet sizing die) or maybe a Hornady match reloading die set to get a bushing sizer and a micrometer adjustable seater.
You will need a lube pad, a tumbler, a sifter or an ultrasonic cleaner. Inside and outside chamfer tools, primer pocket uniformers, maybe a flash hole deburring tool.
To weigh powder, get an Ohaus 505 scale. You always need one, even if just to confirm weights done by an automatic powder scale.
You should probably get a Hornady Lock & Load headspace gauge and bullet comparator with a decent digital caliper (or dial if you like that).
You'll need a powder funnel and reloading blocks too.
I like to use two presses. One dirty for depriming, collet bullet pullers or crimp dies, low precision tasks. One for clean stuff like resizing, bullet seating, etc. Your clean press should be nice. I like an "O" style press with a perfectly aligned ram and minimal play. The Lee Classic Cast is a nice one and not too expensive. I prefer the one without the Breach Lock die threads. If you want quick change dies (to maintain die adjustment), I like the Hornady system which will screw in to that version of the Lee Classic Cast or an RCBS Rock Chucker.
That list is pretty easily $5-600 for a fairly basic reloading setup. You could spend thousands more if you add neck turning, concentricity gauges, annealing and an auto-trickeler.
All of this means you need to think about when you are going to see your pay off. You can reload really good ammo for about $0.75 each or you can buy that Berger for $1.30 each and maybe sell off the once fired Lapua SRP brass.
Ammo made with that $600 reloading setup could probably be more accurate than box ammo in your rifle after you do some load development but it's a big investment in time and money that you'll never get back if you decide that reloading is not for you.
Now the gun. If you go in spending $700 for a nice scope, $100 or more on rings, $260 on a case of ammo and $600 on reloading gear, that's $1,660 before you buy a gun or any reloading components.
You could go entry level like the Savage 12 FV. It has a reputation for accuracy, pretty good aftermarket support, easy barrel changes (no lathe required) and a pretty nice trigger. That could put your total budget around $2,000 except you still need a case, range bag, spotting scope and other accessories if you are starting from scratch.
If you increase your budget to $2,500 you have a lot more options for guns that might be a little nicer.
If you go with a $200 scope, cheap rings, a $260 case of ammo, leave reloading for another day and buy a Savage 12 FV, your budget might be $850.
I'm of the opinion that it is easier to save up money and get nice stuff than to struggle trying to work inside a small budget.
That said, I do tinker around and try to save money. The thing is my results are mixed and I usually spend more than I intend.
