For just general target plinking and the occasional prarie dogging, is it worth getting a heavy, 26" barrel or would a standard, 22" barrel suffice? Will likely only go prarie dogging a few times a year and target shooting maybe every other week. Most likely a .223 caliber. Thanks for info and opinions. kcihak

If you always shoot from a rest there's no harm in going with the long heavy tube. If you plan to walk around with it, or shoot from positions other than prone or from the bench then get the shorter sporter contour. Of course some fellas split the difference with a short heavy tube...

Thanks nordrseta. kcihak

Kcihak,
If this rifle is dedicated to the two activities you have cited long and heavy is the way to go. On the other hand if the rifle is to be used for other shooting activities the sporter weight would be better.
The thing to consider is that a sporter weight barrel will heat pretty quickly and erode accuracy.
GOOD LUCK and GOOD SHOOTING!!!

Savage and Remington's Predator Series is a very good compromise here...

light weight stock.. magnum contour barrel in about 22 to 24 inches... it is rigid and stiff for not heating up too quick.. yet lighter than a full blown varmint rifle with the 26 inch heavy barrel.. so it is a lot easier to carry, without giving up too much of the benefits of the heavier rifle...

Really a balanced package....

The CZ 527 Varmint weighs from 7.2 to 8 pounds, depending on the stock. About like some other sporter rifles.

Walnut 7.2
http://www.cz-usa.com/product_detail.php?id=47

Kevlar 7.5
http://www.cz-usa.com/product_detail.php?id=13

Laminated 8
http://www.cz-usa.com/product_detail.php?id=14

26" heavy barrel. No looking back.

I have a Single Shot Savage 112 (Long Action) in .223 Rem. It has a 26 bbl that has a semi-heavy contour barrel. It is slightly heavier than a sporter, but it is so well balanced, I can make 200 yd shots at groundhogs off-hand! In this case, the added weight is not an issue due to the exceptional balance of the rig.

If I wish, I can also attach the Harris Bi-Pod. But that messes up the balance and makes it too front-heavy for off-hand shooting.

Wouldn't a heavy barrel be slower to heatup?

quote:

Originally posted by CARNE:
Wouldn't a heavy barrel be slower to heatup?

Yes. And it is slower to cool off also once it gets hot.

If you want a compromise, something that is useful more than one application, Seafire is correct.
If you want a boat anchor, VarmintGuy, uh, Buliwyf is correct.

quote:

Originally posted by Buliwyf:
26" heavy barrel. No looking back.

+1 Bigger is better

I like The CZ Varminter also. Less than 8.5 pounds w/ scope. The contour of the barrel is not a classic bull barrel, but plenty accurate. If you take into consideration that the action was designed around the cartridge it is almost perfect. 24.5" varmint barrel, excellent balence, dead on accurate and has a great single stage trigger.

quote:

Originally posted by kcihak:
For just general target plinking and the occasional prarie dogging, is it worth getting a heavy, 26" barrel or would a standard, 22" barrel suffice? Will likely only go prarie dogging a few times a year and target shooting maybe every other week. Most likely a .223 caliber. Thanks for info and opinions. kcihak

If you are going to CARRY it occasionally, get a CZ or similar weight rifle.
I have a CZ527 Varminter in .223 and it flat shoots and it is not awful to carry.
Not only is the regular trigger pretty good, you can set it (single set trigger) which turns a decent trigger into an AMAZING trigger. More than a dozen people have shot it over the years and were truly impressed with it overall.

I also have a 26" heavy barreled varminter that weighs more than 10 LBS. While it is extremely accurate, you don't want to carry it for very long, even with a Boonie Packer or similar sling device.
And it is front heavy, no matter what people may tell you about their 26" heavy barreled gun being "balanced."
It is balanced--FRONT BALANCED.

My advice is to shoot and HANDLE as many rifles as possible in different configurations.

Ultimately you're the one that has to live with it, not me.

Just for grins, I went out and weighed both my CZ527 and my HB varmint gun (6mm Rem with a 26" Douglas HB, built on a Remington '03-A3 action)

CZ527 Varmint .223 ready to go (5 rounds in mag, sling, 6X18X44 Swift scope): 9 1/4 LBS
HB varminter ready to go (no ammo in mag, but sling and 6X24X50 Redfield Varminter scope): 12 3/4 LBS

Now which one would you rather carry?