There is a lot of good advice on here. Personally, if you have the time, I would save money and watch for a good used gun at a pawn shop or sporting good stores. I picked up a Savage 7mm mag at our local sporting goods store for $179 about 6 months ago. I added a Boyds laminate stock ( to match my limited edition Remington .22-250). I had the trigger done and a muzzle brake on it, along with the blueing redone. I have less than $400 in it, not counting optics. I also bought a Browning Abolt 300 win mag for $375 from the pawn shop, already scoped and with a sling. It was a Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation model. I bought a Savage 7mm mag, scoped with accutrigger, hard case, sling, shell holder and two boxes brass for $200. The guy had owned it for about 4 months, and shot two boxes of shells through it. I was there for most of them. I also bought a Remington BDL in .243, with a Leupold fixed 6 power on it for $300. There wasnt a single scratch on the gun. Good deals are everywhere if you look, and have the money to buy when find them.
If you need to buy right now, I would look for a Savage package rifle with a scope, and accutrigger. I think the trigger helps with accuracy, and the scope should hold up to the recoil of a .223. Should be cheap enough that you can resell at a later date to upgrade.