If the gun is in a vice... Sure, whatever. The cost comes from the immense labor, QC, quality of materials, lack of tolerance, and all the other whiz bang that's gonna get stuck on there to help you get the thing pointed in the right direction in the first place.
Personally I started with a $5-700 M700 VS in .308 from the store. It probably shot about a minute easy with nice ammo, but it was loud. So then I wanted a can, had the barrel chopped to 20 and threaded. I thought a bipod would be nice. After that I wanted a more versatile optic with a graduated reticle. The factory stock was trash, and I thought an adjustable chassis would help increase accuracy, comfort, body position, and it definitely did. Stuck on a level, stuck on a bolt knob, and bought extra mags. About that time I won a new barrel at my first match and selected a flatter chambering, had the action blueprinted, trigger job, and while all that's getting done, a custom ceracoat job.
All that effort got me another .75 moa, but I could have spent it all up front on the same thing out of the gate, which is what I did with everything else I put together afterwards. So you can get a moa rifle for much less than $1k, but to be competitive you'll want a nice flat 1/4moa rifle that's customizable to you. It's not just about the consistent release of the bullet, but everything you need to happen before you pull the trigger. That last ten percent of gain is ninety percent of the cost.