croz2173,
I am thinking fluted to save weight.
Welcome to the 'fire.
Two things I will address. Twisted barrel fluted a barrel for me. I told him to lighten it as much as possible. He fluted with six straight flutes and reduced the weight by seven ounces despite it matching the lightest barrel Weatherby makes.
Also I would suggest Hasting Micro-cell recoil pad. Mine is 1.26" thick and weighs 2.9 ounces. Thaat's about half the weigh of other pads. It's been there three or four years and been on lots of hunts in different states and still looks good.
