I am not a real big fan of the Howa but they are a good value for the dollar. This one from Whittaker does not quite fit your barrel diameter wants but for $330 it would make a dandy truck rifle.

https://shop.whittakerguns.com/product/276

drover

223 Rem, my favorite cartridge - you can't argue with truckloads of dead PD's and gophers.

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