Factory Sporters are a fun class to shoot. You will usually see anything from your entry level bolt actions up to the high end Annies and Coopers. I personally have shot in the Factory sporter class ever since I was a kid and have been happy with that class. The problem is the rules change for match to match depending on where you shoot.
For the most part in this class, Annies (1710 & 1712) and Coopers seem to always hang at the top for current factory sporters. As for older guns the Winchester 52's, Brno's, Remingtons 54x & 58x, Sako's, and older Annies (Savage/Anschultz) seem to all be solid performers.
For the Sub $600 rifles you will find it becomes hit or miss. You may find a rifle to be a tack driver, but more than likely its going to be a good shooting hunting rifle. In the sub $600 range, I find more CZ's to be competitive than Savages, but I have seen the Savages be competitive.
The biggest thing in the factory class is finding a gun that you can get the trigger down to a good level. I have seen one Savage in the 5oz range, but most of them are closer to 9 or 10 oz triggers. The CZ triggers are easy to work on and can be worked down to the 6-8oz range fairly easy. Some will go lighter, but it becomes hit or miss beyond that.
But as posted before jump into the sport and you will learn alot. Money does not always mean you will get a tack driver, but it sure does help the chances. But you never know until you get in a try one out. But it takes alot of testing to find what ammo and lots a gun likes, so dont just think because you mix high end ammo and a high end gun it will drive tacks... Then comes the scope factor, which can be a bigger delima than the actual gun was.