If your not on too strict of a budget a savage 12 vs or fvss in 223 would be an exellent gun when a good scope id mounted. the advantage to a 223 is cheap brass bullets and factory loads, but with a 22 hornet you can get over 600 round to one pound of powder. so the only real difference is 100 yards of effectivnessand personal preference. i would choose a nice bolt action 223 over any other rifle/caliber combination.