To be blunt, there is no "one" rifle that can do everything I like doing.

If you take shooting matches out of the equation, then Q's Boombox in 8.6Blackout can do everything I want, especially if they manage to develop a high pressure version of the 8.6 (kinda like what Federal is doing with 7BC. It is basically a high pressure 280 Ackley in a slightly different case so that noone would be able to shove into an old 280Ackley rifle and blow it up).

In theory, I could give up on subsonics and do a BoomBox in 6.5CM which might also work for the types of matches I am interested in.

Q has not yet announced a 6.5CM BoomBox, but it is coming.

The way that gun is put together gives it good accuracy potential. I do not think it replaces a boltgun, but if I could have only one... it might.

For years, I have stuck with a 6.5Grendel AR-15 as my "one" rifle in a pinch. As I started hunting big game more and as I get more interested in competition, I am shifting from that. Also, large frame ARs are not nearly as large as they used to be and they are shooting much better than they used to be.

I am using Q's BoomBox as an example since it is 5.8lbs as is with a currently released 12" barrel. https://alnk.to/7X5IAb6

With a 16" or 18" 6.5CM barrel, it will still be under 8lbs. I can live with that. My "modus operandi" for a little while now has been: get a lightweight and accurate rifle, so that even if I load it up with a ton of accessories, the total weight is still manageable.

With optics, I have not seen anything to suggest that a good quality 3-15x or 3-18x riflescope has been superseded. I still want it to be relatively light, so I am looking at something along the lines of Tangent TT315M https://alnk.to/880tzmW or the new FFP S&B 3-18x42 https://www.schmidtundbender.de/en/NEW-META/. Both weigh in at around 27 ounces.

For the 8.6, the elevation adjustment of the TT is a little limiting (for subsonics), so Schmidt might be a better option there once the new double turn DT23 turret is ready to rock. I plan to use the new S&B on a mule deer/elk hunt toward the end of this year, so it will be thoroughly tested.

With TT, I keep on trying to convince them that they need a reticle option for the TT315M that is a touch bolder for low power use. Aside from that, I do not have any complaints about this scope.

For mounts, there is no shortage of nice designs out there. I'll be sticking with Area 419 unless I find something better. I havn't yet. https://alnk.to/74vVGRw

Bipods are an interesting question since match use and hunting use are so different. On a Q gun, it would be hard to go against their Kickstand since it is very light and mounts directly onto a Q-cert handguard. https://alnk.to/3J7x3qp

For something light but that can go onto a regular rail, it looks like MDT has purchased that Mtn Gear company with their ultralight bipod. The version where you can adjust the splay angle caught my eye. Once they are officially out, I'll check it out.

Until then, I think Gunwerks bipod is the most performance and flexibility you are going to get in a bipod world per ounce. https://alnk.to/6IGpJk6

It is a 12 ounce double pull bipod. I have a couple and like them.

As I shoot increasingly more off of a tripod and other implements, I increasingly lean toward guns with lightweight buttstocks because they are much easier to balance properly without getting an ultra heavy barrel.

That is one of the big reasons I like Q products as much as I do. Yes, they are expensive, but I am talking about the whole "one gun" idea here.

Which reminds, I need to find some sort of a precision gas gun competition and check that out. Any recommendations?