Gtscotty, yes I was looking for a hunting rifle. How is yours accuracy wise? I'm sure it isn't like 1/2 moa at 100 yds. But do you get about 1" groups with it?
I had just finished typing a long, detailed reply last night when AVG decided it needed to restart my computer.... So I gave up and went to the garage to load some 6.5 CM for the match this weekend.
To answer your question, the X-Bolt is a great killing rifle, but probably wouldn't be my choice for a dedicated target rifle. My example it's usually good for about 0.8" 5 shot groups at 100 yds, and 3"-4" groups at 300 yds.... Benched. And that is the kicker, shooting from field positions such as slung, sitting or propped on a rock or tree is a vastly different proposition than sitting with a bipod on a bench, or even using a bipod prone (a position that the tall prarie grass rarely affords me). So given that none of the rifles mentioned thus far will be the limiting factor in your ability to shoot accurately from the most common field positions, I prefer one that is light weight, has good ergonomics and nice features ( 3 position safety, shorter bolt rotation, reliable box mag, etc.). In that context, rifles like the X-Bolt, Tikkas and many Winchesters seem about perfect to me. As for the range issue, all of my hunting rifles are a 300yd to 350yd max proposition for me, depending on conditions. That's the range I practice at and at which I am confident in my ability with those rifles, but that's a personal choice, and it's not my job to be anyone's thought police.
Edit: I forgot to mention that one of the things I like about my X-Bolt is that for such a light rifle, it is not heat sensitive. I've had several light hunting rifles that started to open up towards the end of a 5 shot group, but the Browning has never had that issue, and some of my better groups with it were shot as fast as I could rebuild my sight picture, position and breathing.