Very well said and thought out reply, and you did it while being polite.This will be fairly lenghty, but I'm trying to be as helpful as I can. My opinion- take or for what it's worth. In the last week-week and a half since you've joined the forum, I've followed some of your posts and you've gone all over the place as far as what you think you want. No harm- I've done it, as have many folks on this thread. My advice is to sit down and think hard about what it is you want- a do all rifle that won't wear out the barrel quickly and is light enough to hunt with? A range rifle that will help you build your marksmanship skills? Something you have to reload for to make it economical to shoot? Something that is heavy and has a short barrel life but is different than any of your buddies has?
All of these are important questions- rank them in priority of what is most important to you and answer them honestly. I think you started your journey last week with a newly purchased 25-06 that you didn't like, thinking about a 6.5 of sorts, then switched to a .280AI, and now are considering a 28 Nosler (which as far as I know is a cannon with short-ish barrel life, but I've never shot it so I'm not an expert). These are all very different rifles with very different purposes. You also mention cost being a concern from time to time- I don't recall if you're setup to reload but you should be when considering any of the above calibers (or if shooting more than 20-50 rounds a year of anything, really).
Any custom or semi custom is going to be pricey. Reloading startup costs are pricey, too, so it's best to invest in what you KNOW you want. Spend wisely until you figure that out. If I were in your shoes, and I have been before when figuring out a new toy, I would borrow from friends to see what you like. If that's not an option, buy a Remington 700 SPS in one of their 6.5 offerings. They have a 260 Remington and a 6.5 Creedmore if you want to go with 6.5 bullets. Factory ammo is plentiful AND good. Same is said for a .308, which I have and love for practicing, but I'm old school. Save all of your used brass- even if you don't end up reloading it, someone out there will pay you to ship it to them.
Whatever you get, practice with it a lot- even if you don't end up liking the rifle, your practice time is priceless. Remington 700s can be modified, too- very easily as there are a TON of aftermarket parts available everywhere and tinkering is FUN! First bet would be to do a stock and trigger swap- you can do these YOURSELF without a gunsmith. That saves money for ammo or reloading supplies so you can keep practicing and figuring out what you like/don't like. Take notes- so you remember what you like/don't like when it's time to consider rebarreling or buying another rifle.
If you don't like it after you've shot the barrel out, rebarrel in another caliber using the same action and whatever stock/trigger you ended up with during your tinkering phase.
That is where I would start. I would not buy a round that I've little experience with or knowledge of because the gun shop offered me a credit- that's just me though. I'd rather know exactly what I want, and save my pennies until I can go get it. That said, I've had way more spur of the moment purchases than I care to admit so I know how fun and tempting that can be too!!
It's funny that we have all been here before.
