Kevin,

It is your money, so it is your decision what to purchase and when. Since you are new to shooting, you may want to consider getting more experience, knowledge and shooting time with different rifles, calibers and optics before your next purchase. Would a 1/10 or a 1/12 rate of twist be best for your particular application in .308 Win? Also be knowledgeable about proper rifle fit. This information can help you make a well informed decision.

Here are some things you may want to consider in addition to the items listed above.

A bull (heavy) barrel can help with barrel rigidity, but it also adds weight. Will you be carrying this rifle a long way or using it in heavy cover? A heavier rifle takes more energy to carry and is not as easy or quick to put on target.

As far as Remington 700 in a heavy barrel, they also have the VTR. The VTR has a triangular barrel. I am not sure if all VTR's have a built in muzzle brake, but all the ones I have looked at do. SOME VTR rilfes have the 5R rifling (five lands and five grooves), but 5R rifling is not common in VTR rifles. One of the complaints on the VTR is the stock.

Savage also makes a decent bull barrel in .308 Win. Savage rifles usually have better out-of-the-box accuracy than Remington rifles. That means if you take the rifles out of the box with no adjustments, the Savage will usually have a smaller group without any adjustments to the rifle (stock, trigger, barrel to stock fit, etc.)

There are after market accessories for both Remington and Savage tactical rifles, but I believe there are more accessory options (suppliers) for the Remington 700.