You mentioned a budget
with a 17 or 20 caliber you will need a newcleaning rod and goodies.
as a rule 22 caliber bullets will cost less than 17 or 20's
223 would be cheepest brass but 22 hornet uses less powder

I would say if you were really trying to save money and you didn't reload a H&R in .223 would be a good choice. If you just wanted a decent rifle without spending an arm and a leg and you reload I would get a savage with the accu trigger in 22-250 and a good scope. Considering you already have rifles for other things this would be a varmint rifle only. The 22-250 is not that expensive and is an excellent varmint round. It's accurate and can really reach out there with devastating effects on small game.

If you didn't already have some other rifles I would suggest the .243 since it is a decent all around gun for deer sized game and under.

Nothing wrong with the .223 though, proven round with plenty of rifles and loads available. But when you start talking about reloading or buying premium ammo the price difference probably isn't that big.

Paul

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.

I have a NEF in a .243 bull barrel it shoots really well for the price. But my favorite is my Ruger m77 vt in a .220 swift I just love that rifle, and calibur. But if you really want to save money on the rifle get the NEF .223 bull and spend your money on the scope.