"Best" sub 6 pound rifle for under $1500?

[C Bow]

I had a Kimber Arondack 308 With a 3.5 x 14 x 40 it weighted 5 lb 9 oz with 3 rounds in it. I killed a Dall on the North Slope of Brooks range with it 502 yards per the guides range finding binos. It was 1st Kimber I ever owned and I fixed it just for that hunt. It shot Hornady Super Performance 150 SST great. Thor told me if we could kill that sheep he would name that mountain after me as he had been trying to kill a sheep on that mountain for years but could never get within range. I gave him the rifle as a tip as I knew I would never get to go back. It was a dream since I was a boy that I will cherish till I die

 

[Thegman]

Conversely, I've owned 1 & it couldn't hit the floor if you dropped it!

While I've never had one shoot poorly "out of the box" like you or @NorthIdahoDude (sounds like a genuinely lousy barrel), it would be fair to add that I also wouldn't consider them as being reliable "out of the box" rifles for everyone, either. Becoming a Kimber Doctor, or at least a Kimber Medic can definitely be helpful with them.

Any that I've shot for a while have had various doctoring as necessary like bedding action and trigger guard, barrel channel relief, magazine box legs relieved, front action screw relieved,, scope mount screws relieved, etc.

They definitely aren't Tikkas "out of the box" and I won't vouch for Kimber QC. There are multiple things they miss reasonably often that can cause accuracy issues.

I once had to return a used 300 BO Adirondack that was cracked on the bottom of the mag well from the action screws being tightened against the magazine legs. The original owner apparently catch that, for which I don't really blame him. I imagine that one wouldn't have shot too well but didn't bother to find out.

 

[TradLife406]

Why wouldn't you hunt suppressed 100% of the time?
Why do you want a such a large bullet diameter? You must be new here. Welcome.