Denys,
FWIW... I have a 30" Brux heavy Palma barrel that I put on the Wife's rifle. It has their interrupted or 'spitfire' fluting - looks pretty but doesn't remove a *lot* of weight compared to some others I've seen, and it is on a Savage small-shank action - so the shank in front of the receiver is 1.062" instead of 1.200". Actually, it was originally for a large-shank receiver, and I had it turned down to fit a small-shank action.
According to my little MyWeigh 35 scale it weighs a grand total of 5 lbs 3.5 oz - and that was when it was in the large-shank configuration. Haven't weighed it since the modification.
I know different barrel makers have different variations on 'standard' contours - some only have a 2.5 or 3" full diameter 'shank', whereas others may have a 5" long shank, and as mentioned the barrel I have effectively doesn't have one at all. I don't see that making the difference between 5-1/2 lbs and almost 7 lbs, though. I'd be interested in what the actual dimensions of the barrel were on that barrel your friend took off...
Monte
