I have an opportunity to purchase a nice rifle and the only draw back is the barrel is to heavy. It finishes at .700 at 26 inches.
If I purchase this rifle the barrel will be cut back to 23 inches.
Which would be a better option, have the barrel fluted or turned down to approximately a #3 contour ending at .650?
Which process would result in the most weight savings and is there any negative points to having this done?

snow

Much will depend on who does the work. Either method will result in weight savings but either method can also ruin a barrel if not done correctly. For the $$$ that you would spend having this done you may be ahead by installing a new barrel. For just a few more $$$ you'll end up with two barrels.

JMHO

Ray

turning it down will save more weight, just make sure whoever does it understands that doing the job to fast on normal machinery will stress the barrel. Nice & slow, plenty of coolant & it should be OK