Should I cut my barrel ???

2 inches off won't make much difference in weight or velocity... 2 inches off and having the barrel turned lighter will make a difference in weight and balance but not much loss in velocity...

I was told by a smith that once a barrel has a couple hundred rounds down it you can't re-contour the barrel any more because the metal gets shot hardened and hard to work with.
I would sell the barrel and use the money towards a barrel more suited to what you want to do with it.
Cutting a couple inches off the end won't change the balance enough to make it worth while. I personally like shorter barrel rifles (my 308 has a 20 inch heavy contour) but I would buy one rather than trying to turn a used barrel into something else.
I would call ATRS or Mystic and ask them for their advice. Either one of them will be able to source you the exact barrel you want on your rifle.
 
Regarding cutting or not, I'm not sure what to say. I can see in your photo that the long, heavy barrel kind of overwhelms the sporter stock. Is replacing the stock with a lighter fibreglass stock an option?

If it was me, I would be hesitant to cut such a good barrel. Would it be an option to simply buy another rifle for field carry and keep the Rem 700 as it is? Maybe a Tikka T3 lightweight in 6.5 x 55?
 
the 17 fps went up with the barrel cut down
the 222 fps went up barrel cut down
the 22-250 lost fps barrel cut down
the 375 lost fps with the barrel cut down
some keys not working right it is time to dust the keys Any way the snow stopped falling time go
 
I have a 6.5 55 remington 700 classic with a 26" shelin heavy barrel, I love this gun it shoots great, but I find it very heavy and unbalanced. What would you say if I cut it at 22" or 24" ? Does this make that much difference ? Thanks
sure,,,,REALLY? ummmm i really thinking ,, ok i got it .. cut where ever you want .. then throw both pieces on shelf.. or dont cut it and send the classic shelin rem to me ..and yoou buy new gun.. ahh sounds like we both win.. as Homer says DOH! MARG will be happy now!.. just kidding ya know!
 
the 17 fps went up with the barrel cut down
the 222 fps went up barrel cut down
the 22-250 lost fps barrel cut down
the 375 lost fps with the barrel cut down
some keys not working right it is time to dust the keys Any way the snow stopped falling time go

So mrak, what your tests seem to indicate is that with smaller cartridges, longer barrels are too much to make use of peak gas expansion and fails to overcome drag / friction from the bullet before it leaves the barrel. Correct?

And since the 22-250 is relatively similar in size (of your cartridges listed) to the OP's 6.5X55 and my .260, the fact that you observed loss of velocity from a shorter barrel would indicate that peak expansion had not yet occurred. Given that your 22-250 was at 26" and displaying higher velocities, I don't believe that either of the aforementioned 6.5's (being larger cases) would start to lose velocity due to peak expansion vs friction and barrel time at the same barrel length as your 22-250 or at 1" more, as in the case of my .260.

I think I know what you're driving at and I think it's interesting but I can't see it happening - at least with the cartridges in question. Do you have actual velocity differences in each instance that you could post for interest's sake?

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