All kidding aside, if you get quality equipment from the start it will make the process much easier. Look for a rifle that is relatively heavy, with a stiff and egonomic stock sporting a barrel of sufficient length and twist for driving long for caliber bullets fast.
Optics will be your biggest money sink. Optical clarity, mechanical tracking, internal adjustment and general reliability are all going to add cost. Want a scope with apochromatically corrected lenses with flawless tracking and >25mil vertical and >15mil windage? You will and prices start at roughly three grand.
Not saying you need to bust out five thousand bucks but if you can buy better gear now it will save you a lot of frustration later
This is kinda worth repeating.
I generally consider if a guy wants to actually be decent at 1,000yrd shooting, he needs somewhere AT A MINIMUM around $3000-4000 in his pocket when he starts, better still to start with $5,000. I come about these numbers from this perspective:
Rifle, Optic, and mounts/rings = $2,000-2,500
Ammunition = $750-1,000
Range gear = $250-750 (bipods, bags, shooting mat, range fees/memberships, spotting scope, what have you)
Total = $3000-4,000ish
When I say it's better still to start at $5,000, that includes $500-1000 for a training course, and the ammunition cost required to get in.
Yes, cheaper rifles and optics can do the job, but there's almost always something which needs to be "fixed" on a cheaper rifle, and always an upgrade to a lower cost optic with compromises which are noticeable and significant - so a guy ends up rebuilding their "low cost rifle" into a high cost rifle over time. UNTIL you get to about $2,000-2,500 in total rig cost. Once you're in that ballpark, it's really hard, especially for a beginner, to find a tangible difference in performance at range - this lets you buy a high level factory model, or build a low level custom (flip a coin for performance between the two). Above $2,000-2,500, not much really changes except the price tag until you get to what I call the "gnat's ass" level of competitive shooting.
For ammunition, things can go well, or things can go poorly. I generally figure a guy should be planning for a ~50-60c per round practice cartridge, less is better. That gets you a 6-7mm Hornady ELD on top of H4350 with a 10-20x brass life in cartridges like 243win, 6.5 creed, 260 rem, 7-08, 25-06, etc etc... A guy will spend less per shot, but have to shoot more shots to get a 223rem out to 1,000yrds, or would spend more per shot to run greater horsepower in something like a 300wm, 7RM, 28 Nosler, etc... So figuring $750-1000 gives you enough to get a good set of dies, spare turret head if you need it, micrometer seater if you're into that, a full set of brass, and enough powder and components to get through load development and still have enough room to really get a well known and properly trued trajectory from which to draw your ballistic solutions. If a guy does a training course, you'll generally need somewhere around 350-500rnds of loaded ammo. In your first year or so, you'll not likely realize any savings in reloading unless you're already loading - you'll spend as much on your gear and brass as you would on factory ammo, especially on load development components and "learning curve" material sunk costs. So then the price per shot goes up to $1-1.50/shot. So the 50-60c/shot I mention above is a "I already own the gear to reload" number...
For range gear, a guy really has to have a proper range to shoot - even if it's private property, and has to have certain gear to facilitate the process. Not only is it often difficult to find open, flat, safe terrain to reach 1,000yrds, some ranges lend themselves to shooting better than others. If you're shooting in a cattle pasture without a berm (i.e. no bullet splashes) it's REALLY hard to call impacts, and if you don't have a spotting scope and someone to run it, it's REALLY hard to find your target out there at 1,000yrds some days - which means lots of extra ammo. Equally, the gear you use can mean the difference between meaningful practice with 20rnds fired or no-practice-benefit with 100rnds fired. Even if it's a $30 harris knock off bipod and a $15 allen rear bag, it makes a big difference on stability - which means less ammo to get on target. ETA: spotting scopes are NOT all created equal. A Simmons Blazer is cheap, but it won't be able to resolve a bullet strike on steel past about 300-400 if you have ANY mirage, whereas I can see strikes on a fresh painted target at 1,000yrds, 600 on a bad boil day with a Bushnell Elite 20-60 - except it costs something like 20x more than the Simmons. Cheap spotting scopes cause headaches and wasted ammo. /ETA
Training generally is the only real "investment" a guy can make in long range shooting. Ammo is operational cost, rifles are depreciable assets, whereas training under qualified instructors ends up as cost avoidance for excess ammo, and superfluous gear. If a guy can put $500 into a training course, even before they buy their rifle, they generally end up way ahead in total cost at the end of their first 1-3yrs. It's a fantastic plan to budget for a class every or every other year, regardless of your ability.
Cue 20 guys who have hit 48" gongs at 1,000yrds with their Ruger American and Vortex Crossfire...
