Holy smokes!!
Let's get this mess sorted out.
1) It's a savage. To change the barrel, you loosen the nut, replace with any barrel of your choosing, headspace and lock the nut again. Only pertinent info is whether or not it's a large shank. Either buy a threaded barrel, or have the new one threaded, should be standard 5/8 thread.
2) You "have" have to change stocks if you don't like the current one. Otherwise only a bit of barrel channel opening.
3) blind Mag is an issue, only if you don't like it for the style of competition you plan on shooting.
4) Do you want to buy another gun, or change this one? That's your call on what you "should" do.
5) you can order a savage drop-in barrel from about every barrel maker on the planet. Just pick what you like best.
Honestly the cartridges aren't the hold-up. If you spend a little time with a ballistics calc, you'll see that the WSM running flat-out with 190's Vs. 140's at a regular pace in the 260 has zero drift difference at 1,000; and only 1 Mil difference in drop.
Do what makes you happy, by all means. For the extra effort and component price needed to keep the WSM up to what the 260 can already do, i'd stay there.
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