I would spend half my $1,000 cash on a good quality rifle like a Remington SPS, leaving a little room to get the trigger adjusted by a good gunsmith, and the rest on a scope and mounts. Remington rifles can really be turned into great shooters, and they have excellent resale value.
Good choice on the .223 cartridge.
The links just goes to the home page. But I'd rather have a $400-500 rifle such as a savage, weatherby vanguard, howa 1500, remington adl or sps and a decent 4-12 or 4-14 power scope in the $300-400 range on it than have a $800-1000 rifle with a junk scope and no ammo.
If I had $1000 budget, I'd do the following:
$400-500 on a rifle
$250-400 on a scope and mounts
$100-150 to a gunsmith for a trigger job and bedding
The rest of my budget would go into ammo or reloading equipment.
Looks like Uncle posted as I was typing a similar response. For Scopes under $400, I like Burris FFII's, Nikon Monarchs, Leupold Vari-x and VX II's and III's, and have been satisfied with a new vortex viper I recently got. I wouldn't be afraid to buy a used Leupold or Burris. For a sporter weight .223, you might even be able to get into a Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40 for $400ish.
Most factory triggers are set in the 6-8 lb range and often with a lot of creep and/or overtravel. A good gunsmith can usually adjust them down to a crisp 3 lbs plus or minus on a hunting rifle.
Most factory rifles are semi-mass-produced and the stock may or may not fit perfectly to the action. Bedding is the process of removing some of the stock material and replacing it with a epoxy like material such as agraglass, so the action and stock mate together perfectly.
Trigger jobs and bedding generally improve accuracy.
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Help on buying riffle
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