Weatherby vanguard synthetic or Howa 1500 with the Hogue stock can both be had for $500 or less and are superior to the mossberg, Marlin, Savage and Remington. This isn't to say that some of these aren't good ro great rifles but the Howa 1500 is just better action.

I'd opt for the Howa 1500 with the Hogue stock over the vanguard with the Weatherby synthetic stock.