ACCURACY is paramount. $250 for rifle
I recently picked up a Savage Mark II with the accutrigger NIB for under $200. Folks have been praising the accuracy out of the recent Savages so I thought that I would give it a try. Out of the box very accurate. I scoped it and was breaking twigs sticking out of the snow at 50 yards immediately after sighting it in.
Ruger 10/22, I have an extremely accurate one of these; but in all fairness it only has about one piece left on the rifle that came on the original rifle, all the other pieces are aftermarket. And it now weighs close to twice the weight of the original rifle. And cost much more than twice the original purchase price.
Ammo selection plays a very large role in accuracy. Finding a rifle's "favorite" will reward one with noticeably improved results.
For serious target work, my 10/22 (again highly modified),
for walking around the Savage is hard to beat.
Note: I did end up ordering 5 round mags for the Savage, the 10 rounders stick out quite a bit; so, if being able to carry the rifle at the balance point is important, you may need to look at your choices differently. (Tube fed, flush mags, single shot, etc...) It makes a difference to me; also if you plan to sling it and throw it across your back, long protruding mags are not your friend.