I really like my Savage 223 - accurate, nice action, 3-stage tang safety, excellent trigger and so on.
The floppy fore-end on the hogue stock was a big negative of Howas for me, though I prefer the feel of the Savage in other ways as well.
Mostly it will come down to personal taste, get your mate to try a few and see what he prefers.
Toby makes a good point about the Axis too, its really not the same as a nicer Savage - totally different action.
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