Remington 700 LV versus Savage 12VSS

I'm researching guns and noticed that Remington has the new light varmint SF. It's only got a 22' barrel, 14' twist but only weights 6 3/4lbs. On the other end of the spectrum is the Savage 12 VSS which has a 26' barrel, 12' twist and comes in at a whopping 11.25lbs (note both models are in .22-250).

My big question is how concerned should I be about the weight difference with the Savage model. I live in Iowa and will use my new gun only for Coyotes. Walks of 3/4mi (one way) will be typical with walks of up to 2mi possible. Most of the .22-250's I see average between 8 and 9 pounds. Will I hate myself for lugging that beast around?

Also, can anyone tell me what effects the short 22' barrel on the Rem. 700 LV will have on the overall accuracy considering a twist of only 14'?

Finally, I'd be interested if there are other brands offering .22-250 that I should be considering as well.

Savage also makes lighter rifles in 22-250. Check them out.

The 22' barrel on the remington is more than long enough (I think the recommended length for the .22-250 is just over 20' But I think the 1 in 14' twist is a little loose for real long range shooting. Since you are walking with it though, and not shooting from a bench, it should be fine for the shots you will take. The savage is more of a bench rest gun, so weight is a good thing.

Were do you find the information for recommended barrel length for a 22-250?

Search the web for handloading info sites. They are very informative for people who want to get maximum acuracy from their rifles.

OK, I think I can handle that, but my question was where do 'you' find that information. Everything I see says 24 inches, you must have another site if it says 20 inches. Also it will make a difference what powder and bullet weight you are using to get the benefit of a particular length barrel and/or the powder used. Throw into that the twist and you get all kinds of recommendations. After 40 years of reloading I have missed that information you sight and I've been on the web since it only had bulletin boards.

Big differance in target shooting and varmits. For target shooting a short stiff barrel is usually beter. You give up a lot of velocity to gain a few tenths of an inch. For varmits you may loose a few tenths of an inch but you are wanting to have a clean kill instead of just punching a hole in some paper. To get the maximum out of a gun , you have to tailor it to the job at hand.

I guess I'm missing your point, the statement was 'a 20' barrel was recommended for a 22-250'. My question was 'where did he find those recommendations'? There are many reasons as you and I point out, so why did the 20' become the recommendation? One of my 'bench' rifles has a 1.600 diameter X 48 inch long barrel built for one reason, 1,000 yard match shooting. I also shoot a number of .17 caliber varmint rifles and I've built a few rifles, I'm not a novice, so were does the 20' recommendation come from? Was it just an idle statement or is there some basis for it?