That's the one of the things that stopped me from buying one of those vanguards also. I don't want to end up with a hamstrung 257 weatherby with 25-06 ballistics. I've heard you lose anywhere from 20-75 fps per inch of barrel depending on the characteristics of the cartridge and the propellent used. My guess is that overbore magnums suffer the worst. They need more barrel to burn all that slow burning powder. Maybe someone who owns a vanguard 24"bbl in 257 Weatherby will chirp in here with some fps numbers from their chronograph.

I'm interested in one of these but it only comes with a 24" barrel,will the performance suffer badley?
thanks