It's a bolt-action rifle (single shot/no magazine) built on a Remington 700 action with a 31" Bartlein bull barrel and set into an Elisio chassis system... it's chambered in 6.5 Creedmore... and it's got a Jewell trigger that's set to a few ounces of pull. That's what it came with, and I added a Vortex Golden Eagle scope to it. (Forgive me if I worded anything incorrectly... I'm still learnin' some of this this new-to-me rifle lingo. ). But basically, it's a gun designed very specifically for F-Open and/or benchrest shooting, because after careful study and trying out others' rifles, I figured that those are the 2 rifle sports I want to pursue. Oh, and it's for mid-range distances (so, roughly 300 to 600 yrds, though this gun is very accurate out to 1000 and probably beyond. I think if you want to go really long distance though, to be competitive you are more likely shooting 7mm caliber? Others can correct me if I'm wrong.)
F-Open and benchrest are both very gear-intensive sports - yes, the gun is big and heavy, but it's designed for a big heavy rifle rest, and a big heavy rear sandbag - so all of that weight is supported. Because of the greater ease of shooting, the targets are appropriately shrunken down from other precision rifle sports at similar distances. You have to be shooting well under 1 MOA to do well.
The upside (for me personally) is that this type of shooting seems to mitigate my weaknesses: my lack of upper body strength is not an issue, because the gun's weight is supported... and I've found my cross-dominance which has sometimes vexed me is suddenly not a problem either, because the scope is aligned with my right eye, and I'm right-handed. Also, I don't have the fastest or most graceful gross motor coordination in the world, lol (which is why, I think, I struggle with shotguns).
In 10-plus years of (admittedly casual shooting) and trying out different things... so far, F-Open (laying on a mat, being very still, and taking careful precisely aimed shots) is BY A LANDSLIDE the most "natural feeling" shooting I've ever done. The few times I shot it from a bench was even easier. And I'm a SMITTEN KITTEN as a result. Obsessed! Money has flown out of my savings account at a speed I can barely comprehend. And I'm not even fully set up with reloading gear yet. That's the next financial hurdle to cross. Precision shooting is VERY expensive! (And I'm not even at the highest end of gear. I'm seeing people with $10,000+ custom rifles... $6,000+ scopes... all kinds of fancy electronic gadgetry. Yikes! I'm not close to that).
Other than the big dent in my savings, the downside (again, just for me personally) is that not only is the gun itself is heavy and cumbersome (it's 4 ft long and weighs about 20 lbs), but there's a lot of ancillary gear, and all of that is heavy & cumbersome, too. I have a fancy rest with a joystick called a Seb Neo... it's like maneuvering a small engine block, lol.
"Getting ready to go shooting" when I'm heading to my indoor range with a pistol is as simple as checking to make sure I have ammo and then throwing the range bag over my shoulder... done! But with this gear?... oh, Lord... it's like I'm preparing to invade a 3rd world nation. (Or, if you 've ever seen people with a newborn baby pack for a weekend trip... yeah, pretty much the same thing). There's just a TON of stuff to pack into the car - some of it (because I'm a weakling), I need to roll out on a small dolly, all bungeed up, etc. It takes me at least 10-15 minutes just to assemble the gear, load it on the dolly, bungee it up, navigate the porch steps, lift it into the trunk, repeat the next load, etc. But it's sooo worth it... because once I'm shooting, the ENTIRE process focuses on things I am pretty good at (trigger coordination, remaining VERY still, etc.) The only thing that remains to be seen is how I'll do with windage (haven't really shot at long enough distances or windy enough weather yet to know that). But I figure anything can be learned. And after the money I've spent, there's NO WAY I'm not going to learn to do that well!
I'm very happy though. Grinning from ear to ear actually. After all this time, I feel like I've finally found my niche in shooting... and I'm having a total BLAST! I already have NEXT YEAR's calendar filled with match dates. Like I said... obsessed! The lesson for me (and perhaps for others still exploring?)... is that there are a LOT of shooting sports, and you should really explore as many as you can. There's 1 or 2 that will undoubtedly fit you better than others. I'm just sorry it took me a whole decade to figure out mine. (Sorry for the long-winded tangent...)