Rambling and disjointed thoughts on the subject at hand...
Just out of curiosity, how many ranges are there that have all the distances that your proposed formula calls for, that is, with covered, benched firing lines?
Try this. Go to a public range that is set up for shooting at distances beyond 100 yd., and tally the percentages of shooters that use the various distances. In my experience, the fall off at longer distances, particularly at times of year other than the fall sighting-in rush, is marked.
Another thing, the bullets and twists that are competitive at the longer distances are not the usual for varmint shooting, and the maximum weight would make such a rifle unsuitable for game hunting. Limits on the rifle build would tend to make the rifle less competitive in existing bench classes, so what you would end up with are rifles that were only truly suitable for the new formula, a bit of a risk come time to resell.
Wilbur Harris, a regional director of the NBRSA who runs Benchrest Central, has put together a complete loaner rifle and loading kit to allow those who want to try Benchrest a way to do so without having to spend any serious cash. I would be surprised if it is in use all, or even most of the time.
If you talk to gunsmiths that are well known for the Benchrest rifles that they build, I think that you will find that they have numerous customers that have rifles built that cost just as much as a competition rifle, but which are not used in competition.
I have friends that fall into this category. The simple truth is that they don't want to compete. Although they enjoy having top level equipment, they would rather enjoy it in their own way, free of the requirements of formal competition. I think that this is the reason that more people don't compete, not the cost of equipment.
There are numerous used Benchrest rifles for sale, that, with a new barrel would make good starter rifles at a lower cost than a new rifle built to the proposed formula.
A few weeks back I helped a friend sort out a clean HV 6PPC based on a Shilen DGA action. All he had to put on it was a Burris 8 x 32 variable,which impressed me with its performance). We loaded with my equipment at the range. Within 45 minutes, I was able to work up a load that printed three shots under .2. He was able to do this as well, with me calling the wind. In my opinion the rifle would be very competitive for 1-200 yd. Benchrest. He does not intend to compete. Like most who do not, the reason is not the cost of equipment.
The hardest part of creating a new class of Benchrest will be getting someone to commit to putting on the first series of matches. This will be a "chicken and egg" situation, with the need for a viable number of committed shooters to make the match planning worthwhile, and a serious commitment to putting on a season of matches needed to justify the cost of a new rifle build. Add to this that matches compete with each other and non-match shooters for range time, and you have a task that is much more difficult than building a rifle.
If you count those who have built ranges, and those who run matches, nationwide, you will have a small elite group that are at the core of the existence of shooting and shooting sports. Few understand, or even care to know about the effort that it takes to do either. Building rifles is the easy part.
The next time that you use a range, or participate in a match, you might think about learning the history of how the range came into being, or about what is involved in putting on the match, and take the time to thank those who have done the work, and spent the money...and offer to help with the chores.
