Lots of good ideas here. Haunt the gunshops and pawnshops if you have the time. Bargains to be had. It just may take some time invested. I have an old Tikka 595 in .243 that i spent less on than the scope it came with was worth. Just right place/right time . A used single shot H&R in .243 or .308 would serve and leave $ for glass. Savage has been good to me with one notable exception. And i really like the accutrigger.
With that lower in the safe and the price of AR pieces currently, it would be hard to resist building a 6.5 Grendel. .243 WSSM will fit the action too IIRC but would probably break the budget and require some hand loading components.
With that lower in the safe and the price of AR pieces currently, it would be hard to resist building a 6.5 Grendel. .243 WSSM will fit the action too IIRC but would probably break the budget and require some hand loading components.