Going lightweight indicates to me you're wanting a field rifle, not a range gun. Have you considered whether or not you can hold the difference under field conditions between genuine 1/2 moa and 1 moa rifles?
Take the field conditions out your only ever as accurate as your rifle is...Ive never met anyone who has turned down a rifle because it to accurate.
How many races would Earnhardt have won in a Mazda?
You're way off the mark.
Errors in shooting don't add linearly. It's more of a square root of a sum of squares situation. If there are several sources of error you're basically pissing into the wind fooling around with the small sources when the big sources remain unaltered, and a 1/2 moa bench shot group capability difference is one of the small errors in the field.
For some it's not so much of a numbers game, as it is a confidence-building thing. Having said that, PRS-style matches simulate field conditions, and IME there are scenarios where a 1 MOA barrel will cost you points, as where a 1/2 MOA barrel won't. On a target the size of elk vitals, this won't be the case until you get out past probably 600 or 700 meters, given solid field rests like prone with a pack and something for a rear rest, but if you plan on shooting that far or beyond, it becomes a factor. Even if you're not shooting game that far, there is still the confidence thing
