I know there are people here who would know.

Consider two barrels from a quality maker such as Douglas, Shilen, Pac-Nor, Lilja or other top tier barrel makers.

Both in 260, goal of weight about 30-32 ounces in stainless, and accurate enough to hunt to 500 yards.

One barrel would be 24 inches, would have to be featherweight profile to make the weight.

The other would be 17-18 inches, could even be a Striker barrel. Could be pretty heavy profile at that length.

Being a hunting rifle, there would be no 5 or 10 shot groups. Just one group of 3 shots.

Both properly broken in and using hunting rounds

Not which one you prefer but which would be the most accurate?