Affiliate Marketing Secrets

First, sorry for posting this in hunting, but it seems where these types of questions go to get answered. About me and my interests: I’m active duty military, working a desk job in the air force. I’ve shot guns before, did the m16 “training” in basic and have barely touched guns since then. Not crazy, don’t want to kill people, but I am interested in “sniper rifles.” (I’ve read a handful of answers to similar questions, and people seem to be sensitive to this term. I’m not looking to snipe people or shoot at anyone, but I have no issue calling a gun that is accurate to more than 1km a sniper rifle. I don’t see how sniping means shooting people, but that’s all semantics.)
I’m attracted to the idea of shooting targets at long distances. I think that would be pretty cool. I’ve never really shot accurately at any distance, though… maybe because I never really owned a gun. So here I am. I don’t want to kill things, I didn’t really enjoy hunting, probably won’t do it again. A pistol would be cool, and practical (Idk… movies make me think I need a hand gun in my house to protect myself.) but a long-ranged rifle would be fun. I’m betting there’s tournaments and a small niche for this kind of thing, so I’m trying to find a gun.
So, question. What kind of gun should I buy? I heard about a deal a long time ago and found it… http://www.remingtonmilitary.com/Firearms/Sniper%20Rifles/M24-Rebuild.aspx — they rebuild m24’s and sell them for 3500 and some change. I’d be able to put an order in in July (I’d have to get a firearms license and check local laws first) but is this more than I should worry about? Maybe start smaller and see if I really like it before sinking that much money into it (I’m enlisted, not rich.)
Appreciate the advice/insight