Help me understand why on an A-bolt (and maybe others)the short mag calibers only have a 23" barrel, when the old standard magnumsusually have a 26" barrel. Thanks, Jim

To reduce weight, goes in conjunction with the short action.

i have a 23" barrel on my A-BOLT 300 wsm ..great for HUNTING ,at 100 yards i can shoot clover leafs [that's good enough for me ]

Tikka short mags are generally sporting a 24 3/8 barrel.

Hard to argue with the Brownings, though.

My .02

The shorter barrels are starting to become more popular. The gunmakers have finally decided that it doesn't take a 4 ft. long barrel to shoot accurately. I'm shooting a custom built .270WSM with a 22 inch barrel. I'm shooting 3/8" groups at 300yds. The extra length just isn't necessary.

Thee's absolutely nothing NEW or startling about 22" barrels - the 22" has been a standard in 270's and .30/'06's since at least the mid-1960's......

I heard somewhere that the 23" barrel was optimum with the short mags. My Ruger 300 WSM has a 22" barrel and I can shoot 1/2" groups at 100 yards.

Where did I say that anything was "NEW or startling" about a 22 inch barrel? Are you reading something I am not? Pretty well all of the MAGNUM calibers have come standard with a 26 inch barrel, until recently, especially anything built for extremely long range or bench rest conditions. It was just standard thought that a longer barrel shot more accurately. I know that a 22 inch barrel is standard on many guns, but thank you for your input.

I don't think 26" barrels have been standard on most magnums for awhile, unless you are referring to the Weatherby Magnums which do come with standard 26" barrels. Most of the short magnums come with 24" barrels, most of the "conventional" magnums (i.e. 7mm Rem, 300 Win, .338 Win) also are primarily available with 24" tubes. most standard calibers these days ship with 22" barrels in sporters. There are exceptions, of course. The main advantage to the longer barrel is velocity, period. No one ever said short barrels are inaccurate. Theoretically, a shorter barrel should be stiffer, and might even have more consistent harmonics, thereby aiding accuracy. But the longer barrel will always give higher velocity, all other things being equal. The nice thing about the short mags with the 24" barrel is that they handle almost as easily as a 22" barrel long action sporter, yet provide superior performance to the comparable standard caliber. I like mine, a Winchester Model 70 Super Shadow in .270WSM with, you guessed it, a 24" barrel.

Actually all of the winchester model 70's and browning a-bolts as well as some remingtom 700's do come with 26" barrels when chambered for the standard magnums such as the 7mmremmag and 300winmag.