Jim, I have only ever tried a Jewell once, and that was only for five shots and a few times dry firing to get a "feel" for it before going live. So while I have little experience with the Jewell, I will say that it was just an incredible trigger that would be hard to match.
On one of my own Savages, which is not a target action, I have a Rifle Basix SAV-2 that I tuned down to 5oz repeatably after some time tuning and stoning. I will say it's no Jewell, but it's a really nice trigger, and would be incredible had I never tried a Jewell before. It's not the 2oz that you can get with a Jewell, but even 5oz is really light when you think about it, and not nearly heavy enough to upset the rifle when touching off a shot.
If you had never had a really nice and light trigger before, the factory "Target Accu-Trigger" would be very nice as well. It adjusts down to 6oz, though it may take a bit to get it there and may even require re-springing. But to someone who has never used a really nice trigger, even that will feel like a million bucks.
And in reality, even a box stock Savage action will be very accurate with a good bedding job and a properly chambered and head-spaced barrel. The rifles used by Team Savage are supposed to be all 100% stock Savage, and they seem to do quite well. So if you put one together with a custom barrel and a high quality stock that was bedded properly, it should be a reasonably competitive rifle.
If you go to this link: http://www.6mmbr.com/gunweek075.html you will see "Gun of The Week #75", which is a Stevens (Savage) actioned F-Class barrel block rig using completely stock Stevens actions with no truing or tuning done. Granted, it does use a barrel block which takes a bit of stress off the action, but it doesn't make the action any straighter. It is reported to shoot very well, and the Savage Target Actions are built stiffer than the Stevens as well with an enclosed top and solid bottom.
Here is "Gun of The Week #36", the Savage owned by our own Moderator. http://www.6mmbr.com/gunweek036.html It too sports a factory Savage action, not a Target Action, and shoots very well.
I am not trying to say that Savage makes a better action than the custom guys do, nor am I saying they are a "replacement" for a custom action or are a "better" option. All I am saying is that if you want to build an inexpensive rifle that doesn't require a smith to fit the barrel or machine a new bolt when you want to switch to a different bolt face, and you want this rifle to be competitively accurate as well, then Savage is the way to go. They can save you a lot of money in many different areas, as the actions themselves are cheaper, not needing a smith for many things that you would with other actions is cheaper, and you can often find many parts for them for short money as well.
As for available stocks, Sharp Shooter Supply makes several models that are excellent quality stocks in good designs. I have a Dog Tracker, and it's awesome. Savage stocks are available from several other places as well, you just need to look around a bit. And even take-off's from the Target series (model 12) of rifles are a great stock and a good way to go if you can find one as well.
So while they don't offer the same pride as a full custom, and may not be as precise either, they are still good accurate actions capable of great accuracy if put together well.
Really not a bad choice for many people, especially those just starting or those not looking to compete on a national level.
Just my thoughts
Kenny