Wow, I have to say I'm really impressed with everyone's willingness to help! After "stalking" a few forums I was really hesistant as it seems most threads lead to condescending argument and name calling. You guys are a class act. Thanks.
TheSnake, the guy that made the loads for me, while not a rifle competitor, is very knowledgeable, and can consistently hold sub MOA at 500 yards (using a Rem700, .308, AI stock, Vortex optic). I would consider this guy my local mentor, so to speak. However, I have four kids, and am in my last semester of nursing school, so a couple of my biggest limiting factors are time and money (as if those aren't everyone's limiting factors). So, there's a question there, it is easier for me to find the time to shoot alone, on my farm (maybe once a week), than it is to shoot with him (maybe once every couple of months). My plan is shoot with him, take notes, and practice strictly what we cover together until the next time we get together, so as (hopefully) not to reinforce the bad habits that I'm sure I have. My question is, does that sound like a reasonable course of action?
GSPV, a free float handguard (haven't committed to a specific brand yet, but leaning towards JP) and a bipod (probably a Harris) are my next planned purchases. About sandbags/rests; do you happen to know of a link to a kind of tutorial about using bags? Currently my bags are just that, literal sand bag under the forearm, and a home made sand sock under the butt. Pretty sure I'm not using them correctly, as I can feel the tension in my neck and back while shooting. I'm not ignoring everyone's advice about benching the rifle, it's just that won't have the opportunity in the near future. I WILL do it as soon as I get the chance. Also, MOA groups I mentioned were ocassional, not consistent, so I'm guessing the rifle, when fed the right ammo, can definitely shoot better than I can at this point.
And finally, any reference for optic basics; eye relief, parallax correction, cheek weld? As stated I'm using one of Nikon's M223 scopes, having a hard time maintaining a clear picture.
Thanks again, everyone. You have all been very encouraging.