12fv barrel ????'s

Let's hear some opinions on barrels. .260 or 6.5 creed, realistically i will most likely not shoot further than 6-700 yards. I'm only 5'5" tall so the 26" barrel is quite long and front heavy as well as too long for a blind or stand gun. I was thinking about going with a 20 or 22" varmint barrel in one of the above calibers. I don't want to sacrifice accuracy but from what little I've read the shorter barrel doesn't affect these calibers too much. I even thought about a factory savage barrel but the website doesn't recognize my serial number unless I'm looking at the wrong number. Not looking to spend a fortune, just an accurate, fun, not terribly clumsy rifle. Thanks

I've had good luck with a 260 Rem ER Shaw barrel... Its a 26" heavy contour and I got it from gunshack for about $200 or so...

Unless something has changed very recently, Savage will not sell you a barrel under any circumstances.
That's One of the few parts you cannot buy from them.

I did the same thing as cowtownup, that barrel shoots to a mile.

Your question really comes down to a few things, but honestly is really just an argument of minutia.
QUALITY factory match ammo not crap ball ammo, Creedmoor is cheaper by a tad. ANYTHING that will go bang and can be cheaply fired, the nod to the 308.

Do you reload?
Bullets are cheaper in the Creed by a bit. Cases for the 308 can be found under your sofa cushions.
Drops to 600 go to the Creed, but the amounts are small enough that many would never notice.
The Creed will have less recoil.

Barrel lengths really don't bother either cartridge significantly, as far as velocities are concerned.

Barrel life:
This gets constantly bantered by online personalities, and primarily over-hyped.
The typical conversation comes from very competitive shooters, who fire A LOT or rounds QUICKLY. Those folks also tend to WAY over-pressure the Creedmoor, but oddly enough not the 308.
Their comparison is typically about the 175 SMK Vs. the 140 class bullets in the Creed. That really isn't a fair comparison if you look at friction. If you want to compare things on a more equal footing for bearing surface length, you need to compare something like the 185 Juggernaut to the 140 Hybrids; those two are a much closer comparison.

At any rate if you take the worse case scenarior for the Creed: 2,000 rounds. How long will it take the average shooter/hunter to hit that? Likely as not, never will.

I vote Creed, but have both and wouldn't feel out-matched with either.

I shoot the 260 and 6.5 CM,either will work great for you. My E.R.Shaw 6.5 CM barrel is the most accurate shooting barrel that I've ever owned,and I've owned barrels from most aftermarket barrel makers over the years. It's no big thing to just buy a pre-fit 26" barrel,and have a good gunsmith cut it down to the length you want and re-crown it.