The scope is mounted using a saddle mount (b-square) over the receiver.

Although the gun may not shoot exactly the same way after removing and replacing the barrel, would an inch or so difference at 100 yards be that big of a deal since a deer's vital zone is roughly the size of a pie plate?

By the way, an inch or so difference at 100 yards is just an estimate, and not based on experience. Is this realistic? The last thing I want to do is take a shot at a deer with a gun so far off zero that I wound it or even miss.