Rem 700 Six Five Questions and Help (learn me something)

[LynnJr]

People are constantly buying equipment that cost a lot of money trying to buy there way to accuracy.
It is more important that you get things right than do them in a hurry if your shooting distance is 500-1000 yards.
Right now www.Bullets.com is having a black Friday sale were they have a Bald Eagle front rest on sale for $139. That $139 would be a better purchase than any scale costing 20 times that amount. I own two electronic scales that will measure less than a kernel of powder with ease but while nice you can only measure to the nearest kernel.
Mine require you to turn them on two days before you plan on using them to eliminate any drift.
A great scale requires its own environment a granite stand and has a window to put the pan through so drafts don't affect the reading. A great scale but not very practical for a reloader.

On JMP's point about barrel length if one was to go to most 1000 yard matches regardless of the type of shooting or the sanctioning organizations the first thing you would notice is 99 and 44/100 percent of the shooters using barrels 28-34 inches long. It's the cheapest way to get a ballistic edge while still maintaining gilt edge accuracy.

[Shootin25]

People are constantly buying equipment that cost a lot of money trying to buy there way to accuracy.
It is more important that you get things right than do them in a hurry if your shooting distance is 500-1000 yards.
Right now www.Bullets.com is having a black Friday sale were they have a Bald Eagle front rest on sale for $139. That $139 would be a better purchase than any scale costing 20 times that amount. I own two electronic scales that will measure less than a kernel of powder with ease but while nice you can only measure to the nearest kernel.
Mine require you to turn them on two days before you plan on using them to eliminate any drift.
A great scale requires its own environment a granite stand and has a window to put the pan through so drafts don't affect the reading. A great scale but not very practical for a reloader.

On JMP's point about barrel length if one was to go to most 1000 yard matches regardless of the type of shooting or the sanctioning organizations the first thing you would notice is 99 and 44/100 percent of the shooters using barrels 28-34 inches long. It's the cheapest way to get a ballistic edge while still maintaining gilt edge accuracy.

Personally at my stage I would stay away from any electronic scales and keep things simple and old school.

Would I be ok with say a 30” Barrel?

[LynnJr]

In your situation I would opt for a barrel length of 26-28 inches leaning towards 26 inches.
I say that because the longer barrels make the gun nose heavy so they require extra forend length or weight in the buttstock to balance them out. If we go back to high school science with a lever and fulcrum the same principles apply to a barrel. The longer barrel applies much more upward pressure to the buttstock. To counter that affect we lengthen the forend moving the fulcrum further forward or add weight to counter balance the leverage.
A nose heavy gun will shoot just as well but it's a real chore.
I took a Borden 6PPC and put a 30 inch 6 Dasher barrel on it. It was like a workout shooting small groups. I changed the McMillan Benchrest stock for a 1000 yard stock and anybody can shoot small groups with the same gun.

Where are you located? I ask because I own the equipment and you can give it a test drive before making any decisions.
I am what is called an old school shooter. My guns are traditional proven designs without all the latest gadgets but they shoot known groups.
A good setup makes shooting a fun thing a poorly setup gun may look cool but it becomes a real chore trying to make it consistent.

[sigstroker]

Blech. I've put in my time squinting at a poise with a crik in my neck, sweating my balls off because the a/c fan blows the scale around. I have a Lyman scale I bought circa 1980 and I'm not convinced in the least that it's any better than my electronic scale other than not needing batteries.

[LynnJr]

Sigstroker
Nobody said the cheap balance beams are better. I said they are good enough to set world records with.
And a good electronic scale is affected by the AC the same as a beam scale with regards to the air movement.
Unfortunately the electronic scale is also affected by the electricity going on and off to the AC unit your overhead lights and the radio you listen to while reloading.