lr you might wanna take a gander at the new Savage 14 American Classic. It is available in many calibers (I believe the long actions are model # 114) and the rifle looks VERY similar too an A-bolt Medallion or Weatherby Vanguard Sporter. The MSRP on it in the low $600 range but I bet being it's a Savage it will be able to be had in the $500 range. And yes it DOES have the Accu-Trigger. To be honest I am interested in one myself. The Savages shoot so danged good and that AccuTrigger is "da bomb".

Optics wise, the Browning scopes are built under license by Bushnell. I believe they are very similar too the Legend series and while they have the Buckmark on them they don't have the Rainguard or Firefly reticle which is two things I MUCH prefer if having to look at a Bushnell product. The VXII and III are great optics as well. Don't let Nikon fool you, they are EXCELLENT glass. I suspect something was wrong with the shipping of Redheads scope, red was it a ProStaff or Buckmasters? I doubt a Monarch would be broken in the package. The Monarch 3x9x40 would be a GREAT scope for the 243.

Good luck,
RA