Well, I've Never Been Accused of Being Shy!
Nerdlestein;
I have owned, competed with, and shot for the heck of it, 3 Anschutz M54's in different stock configurations (all bought used, 2 from Thad and 1 from MacTilton), a Walther KKM bought used from Thad, a Valmet Finnish Lion bought used from Mac, a Suhl 150 Standard ordered through Davidson's when they 1st got them, a 1950's Vostok Cm-2 also ordered from Davidson's, and a Ural 6-1 barreled action from Davidson's stocked in McMillan fiberglass for BR.
I currently own, compete with and shoot a 1956 Russian Tula Arsenal MU-12 with DST (2 oz) bought from Mac, a 1958 Ural with a steel-sleeved bedded barrel block and the rest of the action and barrel floating with DST (2 oz) bought from Mac, a 1954 BRNO Model 4 with tuned trigger that I am building a BR stock for that I bought off GunsAmerica, a 1953 1st generation Vostok CM-2 that I built as a BR gun for my wife and got from Mac, a 1960's 2nd generation Vostok CM-2 that I just picked-up locally, and another Anschutz M54 in prone stock that I got from Thad. I am waiting for delivery on another completely original Suhl 150 Standard with all the factory accessories from Mac.
I have tested all of these guns from a quality BR setup and a one-piece vise rest with every brand of target ammo including the discontinued Russian Olymp-R. The cheapest and ugliest of the bunch, the early CM-2, will shoot as well as the most expensive, day in and day out. They ALL shoot better than I can hold. By far the most consistently accurate are the Tula and Ural with their heavy stocks and DST's. I know you're familiar with Thad's prices on used Annie's, so here are the prices on the others available currently:
Tula MU-12 from Mac (MTGuns.com) - approximately $500 to $600 depending on the accessories he has to go with your particular gun.
Ural w/DST from MTGuns.com - $350
2nd Generation CM-2 from Military Gun Supply - $250
BRNO Model 4's from above were also $250 but TOU just bought them all.
I have bought numerous guns from both Thad and Mac. With Thad, depending on who pulls your order, sometimes "what you see is what you get", whether it shoots well or not. With Mac Tilton, every gun is fully checked out, he describes it's condition in detail, will send you hard copy pictures if you request them, and you have a full return policy. Another excellent source for used target rifles is Brad Pilkington at PilkGuns.com. Brad also stands behind everything he sells. I realize that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but tiny holes downrange can offset a few dings every time and wood's easily re-finished or replaced if the price is right. Here are pic's of my 2 newest, the 2nd Gen CM-2 and the Ural:
The Ural
The Vostok
Once I refinish the stock and clean up the trigger adjustment, this Vostok will shoot as well as my Annie, I guarantee it.
If you have to have new, then the current version of the CM-2, marketed by Saiga/Baikal/Ihzmash will shoot as well as anything else you are capable of holding. Mac at MTGuns.com has some new ones and some recent trade-ins, and Stanley's Pro Shop, the current main Saiga distributor, is selling brand new CM-2's for $379.96 and Charlotte and others assure me that he takes care of his customer's as well. Their link is: http://www.saigacentral.com/SaigaCentralRetail122005.pdf#search='saiga%20CM2'
Bottom line - Buy what makes you happy. They all shoot as well with the right ammo, and probably better than you will be able to hold (or anyone can except for "the select few" world record holders out there!). If you are completely new to 3P or RF Benchrest, you can be assured that any of these will compete. And as far as an earlier poster's comment regarding accessories, most of these accept standard Anschutz accessories because they ARE the standard. The few that don't are supported by other dealers like Champion's Choice, Neal J Guns, PilkGuns and Mac Tilton.