The most important thing, to my mind is,
A rifle that shoots straight,
A rifle that fits, correctly, (I’m 6 foot 2 so normal rifles don’t fit)
A nice trigger. ( my preference is 2lb, more than that I don’t like)
A rifle that will work to your requirements. Ie, do you walk the land or shoot out of a vehicle, if you are a delicate little flower like me who walks most of the ground then you may want the rifle to be light. If you are built like my toilet then you may not care.
A smooth bolt.
any second hand rifle should do, it you can do a try before you buy then that will assure you. There are plenty of bargains to be be had Provided you are not in a hurry, if you are then you can guarantee that nothing will be on the market.
so rather than focus on the brand, I would be Looking at the above,
Tikka T3, nice,
Remmy 700 that has been sorted with a decent trigger should be good, they sold millions of them. I tend to think of them as similiar to Harleys, buy one and spend loads more to bring it up to your spec. But I,ve never had one so could be talking out my ass.
Howa, I don't really like them, I think of them as cheap, not keen on the quality. But, if it will shoot 1moa with factory ammo, does it really matter?