Re: ? ON NEW RIFLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not to drag out a dead topic, but I argue that the difference is "in the noise." I happen to like parkerizing, so that'd sway me away from the 5R (unless you can get them parkerized and I just missed that). I think the P is cheaper, generally, so that's a plus. If the chambers are cut about the same (looooong lead to the rifling), then I'm not sure what's so great about one vs the other.
Regardless, the dominating force will be what you feed them with, and "how good" you are. I don't think of myself as a "skilled marksman", but I have an all-factory 700PSS that I shoot 1.25-1.5 inch groups at 300 yards. Ammo is all handloaded and the result of seemingly endless experimentation, measurement, etc. etc. I still think I could do better (have determined some variables to change to see) but I'm going to sell that gun to make room for a new one thanks to the Surgeon group buy.
The 5R rifling is "neat" in that it supposedly is easier to clean, but given the number of supremely good barrels out there that aren't 5R, it can't be that "just" being 5R makes it better. I think both barrels are still hammer forged, so it's not like for $100 more you get a hand-lapped, lathe-turned, single-point-cut rifling barrel or whatever.
If buying a 5R means you get a rifle that has components that were selected to match each other in tolerances and such, then that's great, but I've yet to find anything other than hear-say and rumor about the 5R being "better" than others. I'm not disagreeing with the "general understanding... better rifle" — I've gathered the same thing — but rather saying that I haven't been able for find specifics as to why.
Cheers!