Welcome from TN. I own and have built quite a few high end rifles. However, I can tell you with confidence that you don't need to spend a fortune and have top shelf gear to have a really good time and get really good at the long range game.
I might be wrong on the exact metrics but I would say that from an equipment perspective, the ratio of cost to improvement on group sizes gets much higher on the cost side much faster than the group sizes shrink. Meaning to say that spending double doesn't cut your groups in half. It isn't that hard to.get a factory savage (just an example) to shoot 3/4 moa. $500 rifle, $500 scope, good ammo, decent technique.....Walla! If you want to cut those groups in half via equipment upgrade, there really aren't any guarantees that spending double, or even triple will get you that.
I still get a charge out making inexpensive, lightweight, pencil barrel rifles shoot long.
Recently, I coached a young lad on some very purposeful, utilitarian (and downright ugly looking) modifications to his $300 ruger American 6.5 CM.
We reduced the trigger weight as much as the factory trigger would allow, we installed a clamp on muzzlebrake ($80), we took the Styrofoam out of the inside of the Tupperware stock and filled the stock with .177" copper coated lead BBs (added 4.5 lbs to rifle), and bought a $30 stock pack to add height to the cheek piece on the stock.
Then we bought the only available powder and bullets available that day at the local gun shop, and I helped him load a very middle of the road cartridge combo.
Net result.....5/8 moa, shooter can see his own impacts and misses, recoil is minimal, and he made first round impacts out to 500 yds.
This kid is hooked!
As for the rabbit hole, it is like a never ending adventure. Just when you think you have it all or have all of the correct processes down, you'll run into something that you just cannot figure out and you will end up on here with a thread. In that thread you will probably read about another piece of equipment, that you don't have, or another process that will make your reloads or shooting abilities that much better and easier; and....that means more money down the tubes. As for the synonyms and the jargon that's really not a big deal, and even if you don't have it right or totally correct there's always someone on the forum who can help you out. As for golf I cannot make any comparison/s; however.....when it comes to fishing I can tell you that sport can get very expensive very quickly, JUST LIKE RELOADING AND LONG RANGE SHOOTING/HUNTING.
