RE: 7MM Rem Mag. Rifle Built - 24" vs. 26" Barrel?
IMO there is absolutely no point in having a rifle chambered in 7mm Rem Mag, or any other bested magnum,if you are going to handicap it with a 20 or 22 inch barrel. If I were building a compactrifle with this short a tube it would be chambered in.280 or 7mm-08. I honestly don't think that a few inches of barrel are going to make enough ofa difference in weight to make a particular rifle too heavy to carry. But that's my opinion.
A belted magnum needs at least a 24 inch tube to makeit worth having and is agood compromise between being handy and getting the performance out of a belted magnum.