A good factory gun to start with is a Interarms Mini Mark X in 223.
I just picked a used one up and am in the process of pillar bedding it and some other tweaks. With it's 20" barrel, it was 5 lbs.,14 oz. on my postal scale. Nice adjustable trigger on it, also. Sometimes called a Mini Mauser, it more like a small Sako with the exception of the Mauser-looking bolt shroud. After Interarms, they were imported by Charles Daly and later by Remington as the 799 (not the 798). The Remington 799's had a nice laminated stock, though it added another pound to the gun.
There's one on Guns International right now, for what it's worth..... -Al
https://www.gunsinternational.com/g...remington-mag-clean.cfm?gun_id=101599354
