you would feel safe standing 800 yards away from the barrel of a 30-06 remington 700 sps with a 8.5-25x44 scope
Depends who was behind it.
You guys? Zak Smith? Carlos Hathcock?
Just owning a scoped out boltie doesn't make you a sniper any more than a Noveske AR-15 makes you an operator.
When I think of a sniper, I think of someone adept in the arts of stalking, camoflague, milling targets to determine range (a real PITA at long distances if you don't know what you're doing) and all kinds of things I don't even know about.
Having a certain weapon doesn't preclude one to be a sniper; a sniper makes a certain weapon become a sniper rifle through usage and skill set.
Is your rifle capable of good accuracy? Yes. Could it be used in the role of a sniper rifle? Absolutely.
Is it a sniper rifle? No.
Frankly, I believe that you shouldn't go around yelling that you and your buddy (that constitutes your "team"
) bought a new "sniper rifle" unless you want to:
a. freak out anyone within earshot
b. make yourself sould like a COD Fanboy or Mall Ninja Extraordinaire.
I don't mean to sound insulting and apologize if it sounds like I am. I just don't want you guys being branded as a bunch of wannabe mall ninjas.
If you posted the same question over on The Sniper's Hide, along with a mention of your "team", you'd get laughed off the board. I like to think we're more polite than that here. But a lot of those guys have BTDT, or are active duty, and don't have a lot of patience for games.
Me personally? I think it's fun to play around a little. Enjoy your rifle!