What's eveyones favorite? Looking at either a Howa mini , savage axis or Mossberg Patriot. Not gonna stay stock for long though. Probably gonna be in a chassis.
Thanks

Savage or Mossberg if you're ever going to rebarrel it.

Bought both kids a Savage 11 trophy hunter XP Compact .223 with Nikon scope back in the day for deer hunting. It appeared to be a step up from the Axis, but like most Savages, fit and finish arent their strong suits. However, they are both tack drivers right out of the box....Savage knows how to do that.

I bought a Savage Axis when Walmart had them on clearance and Savage had a rebate. Added a MCarbo trigger. I use it for a truck gun on the farm, but it shoots really well.

I have an Axis I won and a .Mossberg Patriot I bought shortly after they came out. Both have good points but the walnut stock on the Mossberg wins the day for me.

I have a Remington 700 LTR in 223 and love it. Any of the models you mentioned would be good. I do really like my buddies Howa mini in 223

https://youtu.be/Am00QN6P54c
Here's a pretty good review of budget guns

I've got model 70 Winchester. Haven't shot it a lot but does seem to shoot well.

I know Ruger makes one, probably going to buy it but in 300 blackout.

Ruger American Ranch. It’s cheap, I tossed a Bushnell AR scope on. Mine shoots good, really well with green tips and reloads.

intended use ?

PRS precision rifle series?

light weight hunting/varmint?

intended bullet weight ?

Wolfie.. a member here has a .223 Ruger American I tried out last year. Amazing. I bought one in the predator model with a threaded muzzle for a can which I’m waiting for.
I had a number of of rifles before the boating mishap and some were custom and others top of the line manufactured and none can come close to the accuracy of this Ruger. I can sit on the bench which I did last week working in a new scope and it literally tears the same hole without end. It loves 53gr Hornady ballistic tips. Probably others I haven’t tried as well.
Had I known or been able to get this kind of of rifle accuracy at this price I would have bought nothing else.

Osky

My go to is LH Ruger Hawkeye .223

Not a bolt, but a TC Contender with a 26” bull barrel. It is a tack driver and whitetails fear it for good reason. Nosler Partition 60 grain. Eight year old grandson started killing deer with this setup.

Other than changing the stock why touch one of the best shooting rifles like the savage?
I’ve owned three and put a vortex on all of them 243 : put 3 rounds basically in a hole size of a 30 caliber bullet at 100
The 2 270 caliber I’ve got will shoot sub 1/2 in group at 100 with factory 130 grain federal ammo

I did the same, hard to pass up a 299 savage with a rebate even when I already had a Savage 110 tactical rifle in 223 both will shoot one hole groups all day long, that tactical rifle is one of the pre accu triggers and I have Always thought of upgrading the trigger but just like the one I have in 308 why mess with what’s already doing the job dang good

If you can find one the 110 is a great gun and used their not all that expensive but if your looking for a budget gun the axis you s a good choice

My son has a savage and it shoots well. Nice bolt gun.
Don’t use steel coated .223 through it, brass only. If you shoot a lot at a range with steel that coating you will get a stuck casing. We had to get ours out by a gunsmith and he said he worked hard to get it out. Brass, no problem.
Jim

Reading this makes me ask it again
WHY WOULD ANYONE put a different barrel on one ?
Yes stock isn’t flashy! You can’t say “ I got a 3000 dollar rifle “ But if the end result is accuracy why mess with it ?