Blunt tho they may be, the guys offering advice mean the best and they are worth listening to.
I honestly cant help much beyond relating some stuff IVE learned.....
Your gear really depends a lot on what YOU honestly want. "I wanna shoot 1000+yds" "I wanna see how far I can hit X size target" "I wanna compete in matches" "I wanna be competitive in matches" "I simply wanna own a really cool rifle, and shoot it at distance some" Etc.....
The gear that accomplishes those goals can be significantly different.
The gun I shoot the best and most often at distance is actually an amalgamation of spare parts or cheap aftermarket stuff, In most serious disciplines it would fall flat on its face. For what I want to do It works fantastically.
Go read all the threads Walkalong has linked, and listen to the discussions about long distance shooting and reloading (cause your PROBABLY heading that way if you get serious as a shooter), youll learn stuff, and if you reference the different opinions and conversation you can sometimes walk away ahead of the game.
Go watch/shoot with someone else at distance. It dosent matter if they are better than you or not, just watch what they do and youll learn stuff....
Im learning this with my Dad, as hes just getting into shooting "long" range. We were working at 500 last time we were out, and Tuesday were going to 6-700 if I can get us far enough back on the hill. Watching him shoot has shown me some interesting things that have improved my shooting. For better or worse Im the most capable rifle shot of my group of friends, but I/we learn stuff as a group every time were out.