Well...asking about the best among those listed is like asking what's the best truck to buy; Ford, Chevy or Dodge.

All of the listed manufacturers make good varmint guns. Granted, some have better features in some respects than others, but your question is going to get a lot of biased responses. All of the heavy barrelled varmint rifles by each of the manufacturers listed will be accurate, and they're all proven reliable designs and they are mostly in the same price ranges depending on the grade of finish you want (stainless vs. blue, laminate wood vs. synthetic stock, etc...).

I personally own a Ruger M77VT MkII 22-250. It shoots consistant .75MOA or better groups with every type of factory ammo I've shot through it. I also very much like the fit, feel and finish of the Ruger varmint rifle (I love the med. contour "Target Grey" stainless and fine quality laminate stock). I also really like its controlled feed bolt. I don't have to play catch with it with spent cases, I just pull the bolt back slow and pluck the spent case off the bolt face.

I will say that if you're looking for value for your money, and prefer function over form and beauty, then Savage is the way to go. Don't let the relatively low prices fool you into believing that the Savages are inferior guns. Savage rifles, perticularly the HB varmint guns, have a well deserved reputation for incredible accuracy. Savage puts the time and effort where it counts, in the barrel. Also Savage has the Accu-Trigger on all their varmint rifles which is, IMO, the finest factory production trigger on the market for a rifle that costs less than $1000. It is completely user adjustable, has almost no creep or overtravel, breaks cleanly and can be set safely all the way down to 1.5lbs. I can't find a 'smith that'll take my Ruger's two-stage trigger below 2.5lbs for liability reasons. I was just at Gander Mountain and they are selling the Savage 12FV with Accu-triggers in .223Rem for $430. Not bad for a rifle that'll probably shoot 1/2MOA groups right out of the box.

I think that the best thing you could do is go to your local gun shop and compare the different rifles and find the one you like the best. They will all serve you well, I think.

Mike