Still thinking on this project.
I swung by the LGS at lunch today and put my grubby paws on a couple rifles. (All they had were right handed bolts)
I liked the Savage 110 Magpul Hunter (Pretty much what I posted on page 1, but 18" barrel and no iron sites) but it was pretty heavy. 8lbs unloaded, without an optic. It's also trending a little into "Tactical" precision territory. They wanted like $850 for one.
I looked at a Ruger American Predator, which was light, but felt noticeably cheaper, both in the action and in the stock. it was only $579, but I'd have to cut and thread the barrel to get the length where I want it. Any more mods at all really eat into the price savings over a Savage 110. Also the Ruger's mag catch is a chincy plastic POS in an insert screwed into the stock, while by virtue of it's Magpul Stock the Savage's mag catch and well is much nicer.
The Axis II action felt like crap compared to the Ruger American or the 110. I think that I'd end up hating having gone that cheap on the rifle before too long.
So I probably need to increase my budget if I want any kind of half ass nice bolt action.
Side Note: The store had a rack of Christenson Arm bolt guns there that were super nice. Not what I want to pay for what is essentially a whim gun, but super nice firearms.