My favorite match is a non-affiliated match in Alabama. The rules are a little restrictive as far as equipment goes which puts more importance on the skill of the shooter, no sighters, no wind flags, no machine front rests. A lot of variety in equipment, and shooters range from first timers (low stress match for them, no one is critical of anyone or anything) to some very experienced and even well known shooters. Serious fun.
Normally something that starts with .300 takes overall match honors, if for no other reason than there are more of them at a match.
Awhile back a day with fair conditions, a plain jane .260 tied the best score ever fired at the match. A very good rifle and a very good driver. Most the time no one comes close to that score.
At another match, on the first relay with the best conditions of the day, a 223 won the match outright. Once again a very good rifle driven by an extremely skilled shooter.
Lesson there, skill of the shooter matters the most.
And from what I've seen at the matches I manage to make, a .260 is probably the best starter chambering for someone starting off in long range shooting. A good combination of accuracy, decent barrel life, low recoil, a large selection of match bullets (the new 130 Berger could be ideal for a .260), runs fine out of a 700 short action, the recoil is very manageble and it won't break the bank.
Opinions will vary, everyone plugs their own favorite.
Build a rifle that is accurate, that way poor results on target are more readily identifiable as operator error, and can be analyzed and corrected. A range data book is a must, to track what the rifle does as conditions vary.
Myself, I'm building a new .308 and a new .223. Not because they are the best chamberings for 1,000 (or 600), but because I will be able to do a lot more shooting. Given my work schedule, any match is a good match regardless of how well or how badly I do.
