Ok two part one sort of feeds into another. Been on REDDIT and got no help, except for everything I was asking about.
First off 7PRC or 300WINMAG? I see 7PRC has slightly better ballistics, I dont know enough to write home about but is better with less recoil and the gun weighs slightly less with a shorter barrel. However ammo accessibility is really important and to a certain extent price. I had a 300SAUM and is virtually impossible to find. Been hunting with a 300WSM, however finding that is almost as bad, and the ammo I put into the gun hasn't been in stores for 2 years. So with that being said the PRC being out a year or two, I dont think anybody can know which way it goes. So really leaning towards the 300 Winmag.
Next is gun. Getting an Xbolt, but there are so many options. One there is the mountain version, just not sure Im getting a whole lot more for grand. After that is the Xbolt 2 a must after the Xbolt? After that, there is the speed, the speed long range, and the sporter. I like sporter as the barrel is shorter like 22 or 24in, however range matters to me. Also is the recoil hawg worth it over the 360 brake. See some people complaining about gas back in the face on the recoil hawg.
For a little context this is for my out west gun. weight and length somewhat matters but not a first priority over accuracy. We routinely are shooting deer from 3-500yards. Comfortable range right now for me is probably up to 700. Wouldnt mind working my way up to 1000 at some point.
No im not reloading, no Im not finding 5k worth of ammo and stocking up. Want to keep it to these two options.
For the use you are considering, with good bullets the 7PRC is way way more than enough. With bad bullets it's still more than enough.
A few questions...
What other rifles do you have?
How many focused practice rounds do you shoot per year (reading wind, shooting from field positions, etc)? In the last few years I've changed my views on long range proficiency. I think a guy ought to shoot at least a thousand, preferably 2k+ rounds per year if he wants to be shooting 600+ yards at game.
Have you considered suppressors? They have been an amazing improvement for me, and actually a big driver for me in overhauling my long range rifle setup.
I (and many others here) have moved to smaller cartridges, and to heavy for caliber match bullets like the ELDM, ELDX, and TMK (Berger too, but a little less popular). My long range big game rifle used to be a 7mmRM running 180 Bergers. It was an absolute hammer at long range. I've gotten rid of it for a .243AI for my main long range big game rifle, zero regrets and zero chance of going back at this point. Maybe (slight maybe) something like a .25PRC or 6.5PRC if I ever decide 900 yards on game isn't far enough.
That 7RM was fine to shoot with a good brake, but I have grown to hate shooting braked rifles. Double ear pro, ear pro in the field (especially Backcountry), being that asshole at the range that blows everyone else's stuff around, hunting with kids, all of it sucks. That rifle with a can was just too much to reliably spot hits unless I was shooting 500+, and I'm not willing to give that up.
Lots of reading and several dead animals later, and I'm all in on 6mm with a 108ELDM or similar being great terminally above 1800 fps which puts me at 900-1000 yards effective terminal range with that .243AI. You can approach that with a 6CM. Your 500 to 700 yard goal is easily achievable. My hit rates (especially from field positions) out to 1k+ have gone up substantially since making the switch. My animals are just as dead as they were with the 7mmRM. I shoot more for less money. Win win win.
I'm not trying to pee in your cheerios here or tell you what to do, just trying to share what I've learned and experienced over the last several years since I had pretty much same opinions as you when I bought that 7RM (I very narrowly chose it over a .300WM, with a plan to run 215 Bergers).
No advice on the rifles, I don't have enough experience with those models of X-bolt to say anything meaningful about them.