Remington 700 SPS barrel length?

[BoilerUP]

Looking at getting a "tactical bolt-action"...for my purposes it'll basically be used to punch paper and blow up water bottles at 100-400 yards, hopefully will avoid any two-legged targets. My preference is for a .308 weapon.

After reading the thread about the .223 Rem 700 SPS Varmint I started looking at that rifle, and also saw that there is also 700 SPS Tactical. Biggest difference between the two I saw is the Tactical has a 20" tube, whereas the SPS Varmint has a 26" barrel. Both seem to be pretty affordable, under $700 MSRP.

Anybody care to offer pros/cons to one rifle and barrel length vs. the other?

 

[skinewmexico]

400 yards would be no big deal with a 20". Beyond that, the 26" would be a huge help.

 

[GunDoctor]

More than anything else you are loosing velocity with the shorter barrel.
Like was said above, "400 yards would be no big deal with a 20". The extra few hundred fps you would gain with the 26" is helpful beyond 400 yds. If you know your rifle and how it shoots you can reach beyond 400yds with the 20" barrel.

 

[Billy_H]

I just posted this article the other day in regards to someone else's question...HERE

I'm not familiar with the Tactical model, but I have read some very favorable reviews of the SPS Varmint and know of a few people who have had some nice builds using them as a base.


One such review, with some information as well:
http://www.snipercentral.com/remspsv.htm