What sort of target shooting are you going to be doing? Plinking or competition?
I wouldn't recommend a Varmint if you plan on doing any serious hunting just because of the weight.
I have a Varmint .223 and a Lite .270 and both are awesome rifles. FWIW I think I'm getting close to having a 1/4 MOA load for the .270 as well as the .223.
If you keep an eye out in the equipment exchange you may find a nice lightly-used one and save some $$.
I'm going to have a 'shoot off' between my .223 Tikka and my recently acquired Shilen barreled Savage varminter next week...
I might be a little miffed, but won't be surprised if the Tikka edges it out in accuracy!
Only downside is weight. Excellent Rifle, comes close to TRG in Accuracy.