Palma vs light varmint

[MDQDM]

Been going back and forth between the two contours. Thoughts? This is for a .223 Wylde. I'm also debating length (20, 22 or 24 inches)? Will likely be sitting in a MDT chassis (LSS) or XLR.

Edit... Light Palma vs. Light Varmint.

[Robinhood]

Light varmint.

[J.Baker]

Guess it really depends on how you plant to use it. The factory stealth barrel is 0.750" at the muzzle which mimics the Light Palma, and would be better for mobility (PRS type stuff), whereas the Light Varmint is a good but larger at the muzzle at 0.875" which would be a better option for bench or prone shooting (F-Class).

Personally I would go with the Light Palma.

[RC20]

Length also depends on how far you want to shoot.

If you are reaching out into the 600 yd area, then more inches gives you more FPS.

But as noted, it depends on what you are doing with it, brush hunting a longer barrel is more a hindrance and less handy.

Sitting still and shooting gophers is a different story.

[Deadshot2]

Like said before, depends on what you plan on doing with the rifle. If all the "packing" you'll be doing is carry the rifle from car/truck to a shooting position, don't worry about length or weight.

If packing the rifle around he hills, actually hunting, then length and weight are a larger factor.

I'm in my "golden years" and there's not much hiking or packing left in my body. I do enjoy the heck out of shooting at targets/critters at long distances so I went to the extreme of a heavy barrel at 26" for my .223 Bolt Action. It's a Benchmark .223 with a NATO Match chamber (modified), 3-groove, 26" long, and an MTU profile. Barrel alone weighs as much as some light rifles. The chamber has a .224 freebore diameter and is throated for longer bullets. The best shooting bullet is a Berger 80.5 gr Fullbore but 77 gr SMK's also keep up with the Bergers.

Like I said, it depends on what you intend to do with the rifle. Nice thing about a Savage, one can take off the heavy barrel and substitute a lighter barrel without a 3 month wait at a gunsmith (if not longer).

(For the record, my bolt action .223 is not a Savage but I will soon have one just like it for lightweight bullets. I love a good project.