I re-read your post and realized that you were asking about guns, not calibers. I am an ubabashed Cooper fan; I currently have three in 223, and others in various calibers. There has never been an issue with any of them, they have all shoot 1/2" or less with minimal load development.
I have also owned three Tikkas in 223, One was an honest 1/2" gun and the other two were nearer 3/4", for gophers and PD's those groups are more than good enough. The poorest shooting Tikka was one with the 1-8 twist using 40 gr bullets, I never tried it with anything heavier so it may have performed better with a heavier bullet.
A new Tikka Varmint seems to sell for just slightly less than $1000 while it will take some careful shopping to find a new Cooper Varmint for less than $1800 although good clean used ones can be found for $1300 - $1500.
The things in favor of Cooper are good factory support, the factory is in Montana, the value of used Coopers just keeps increasing, the rifles are made in the USA by American workers and the company is American owned.
My thoughts on caliber - 223 with 40 gr @ 3800 fps is all you need.
drover
Last edited by drover; 03/24/16. Reason: clarity
