To stay closer to your budget and have a rifle that will shoot with the savages all day long, get a Howa. They are essentially the same as a Weatherby Vanguard but cheaper. But dont get the complete rifle with scope package. They come with a crappy stock and crappy scope. They sell just the barreled action for around $400. Then you buy the stock of your choice and scope of your choice. $200 will get you a good stock, i would suggest a Houge with the full length bedding block, or maybe a Bell & Carlson Medalist. For a scope, the best for the money is a Burris Fullfield II at about $150. There you have $750 in a complete setup that you wont outgrow. I did alot of research just a couple of months ago when I was looking for the best, most accurate hunting rifle for the money and that was what I came up with. I couldnt be more pleased. My Howa is a .25-06 but they chamber them in .223, in a standard or bull barrel. Howas are made in Japan but marketed in the US by Legacy Sports. Heres a link to their site:
http://www.legacysports.com/products...aractions.html