I have a HandiRifle in .22 Hornet. It's appropriately named-- it's a very handy rifle. However, mine is a little rough in the trigger, and the trigger is utterly NON-adjustable. My friend bought one for his father in .44 Mag, and it's a beauty with walnut and traditional blue. His has an excellent trigger. Luck of the draw.
My Hornet gives 1" groups at a hundred yards, and dropped a 200 lb wild sow like a bad habit from 80 yds. (Not recommended!)
As for .243 single shots in GA, my good friend Tamara had what I felt was a PERFECT deer rig while hunting deer in NE GA with me last year with her Ruger single shot in .243. The deer that I saw looked like they'd easily have dropped to a well-placed .243 shot. I was unfortunately not able to go back this year, but had I gone, I would have brought my newly-acquired Pre-64 M70... in 243. I'm sure that there's more open terrain out there, but mostly shots seemed to be well under 200 yards, and the deer seem to be under 150 lbs. With the 100g loads, a .243 makes good sense out there.
For varmints, try the 60 and 75g offerings from Sierra and Hornady and Speer. For deer, I like the sectional density of the 100g bullets only.
$200 sounds about right. Don't forget the niftyness of being able to get other barrels for it.