So first a little context I grew up shooting a 22, 30 30, and 30 06. I am currently in my 40s and other than a deer hunt every year or two I haven't shot much since I was 18. I never really developed the full depth and breadth of skills I needed for proper use of a fire arm (my father basically always handled buying ammo, sighting in the rifles, cleaning, they were his guns, ect). I am looking to get a few bolt action rifles of my own and really work on getting my basic skills up to a level where I feel confident passing them down. I currently have a 22 and have been getting some volume target practice back in (not sure if I should try to modify it to take a scope, leave it as is, or pick up another and set it more like I want my heavier rifles to be). I am looking to buy (or have built, or assemble myself) two other bolt action rifles (one on the lighter end of the spectrum and one on the heavier end of the spectrum in terms of power). The lighter rifle is what I am looking at and asking about now.
So primary goals and reasoning
-Sufficient to ethically take a deer (White Tail or Axis (Chital)) out to 400 yards. I have almost always used a 30-06 when hunting in the past so that is sort of my baseline/reference point.
-Extremely Accurate (this is mostly personal / satisfaction requirement, I want that feeling when the shot goes exactly where you want it, so I probably want accuracy in excess of what I might need for my use case)
-Able to do long range (out to 1000 yards) target shooting. (I like the idea of real long range shooting have a pretty technical and math heavy background and I think it would be entertaining satisfying and fun and a good way to drive development of other skills)
-A bit lighter on recoil that a 30 06 (I know I will shoot it more and get more practice in if this is the case, I do plan on going through the process of getting a suppressor but that might be a little further down the road).
-I want it to be able to function as a general purpose gun (so nothing to ridiculous in terms of weight on either end of the spectrum)
Other notes
-I do plan on learning to hand load ASAP, have done some pretty heavy research and reading on the topic already. I have found a NRA basic Metallic Cartridge reloading course nearby and play to take it sometime in December, if anyone knows any other good resources I would love to hear (already have and read through the ABCs of reloading a few times). Having good factory ammo is nice but not a requirement I am confident in my ability to get it down.
-Hunting in my area (Southwest Texas, Hill Country and edge of the Chihuahuan desert) is normally White Tail or Axis deer, I have never hunted anywhere else and may not, it is normally done from a deer blind or if you know people or have property (I do and have) off someone's front or back porch or out their window, normally the range is pretty short (25-200 yards), there normally isn't a ton of hiking or spending all day in the woods so the super light weight hunting rifles that are lot of people seem to prioritize are not really what I am talking or thinking about when I think of a hunting rifle.
-Setting goals and benchmarks to work towards is sort of how I drive hobbies and development so if you can think of good things to aim for along the way it would be much appreciated. What do you consider the basic and indispensable for a marksman/hunter.
-I would like to be able to get a rifle by mid-may if going custom while still getting exactly what I want, lead times on some of the components are why I am asking now.
So now the specific questions
-What cartridge or cartridges do you think would best serve purposes (I have been looking things like the 6mm ARC, and 6mm BR at the low end with things like the 6.5 Creedmore and 6.5 PRC at the middle range, to even considering things like the 7 PRC and 300 WSM at the high end even though I know they kick more than a 30 06). I am a proponent of good shot placement but also it can't be too dead, what are honest thoughts on what cartridges are sufficient for this (with proper shot placement, proper bullet selection, and dialed in handloads). I have some varied goals and there is give and take with every option I am asking for advice because I am very much of the buy once cry once mentality but I know no once choice if perfect for everything I want.
-What does it take (beyond your own skill and practice) to get a a rifle that will shoot 1 MOA, 1/2 MOA, 1/4 MOA. Last time I did groups with the 30 06 I normally hunt with it did about a 3 inch group at 100 yards, that always seemed pretty good to me but I would really like to see how much better it can get, and know what it takes to get there (What will buying something like a Tikka 3x or Howa 1500 get you to with good handloading, how much of a difference would blueprinting a Howa make, Is assembling a Custom Rifle using a prefit barrel going to be inherently less accurate than having a good gunsmith chamber the same set up, ect).
-What sort of weight would you aim for with a specific chambering (not looking for precise but I would love a ballpark number).
-What specific trainings would you look for if you were in my position
Thanks in advance for any help I know repeated topics like this may get tiresome for some people but I do appreciate any time or thought you take to respond.
