If you're going custom, a 1-9 won't hurt anything and will help sometimes.

Barrel length doesn't matter as much as people think, except possibly in terms of rifle balance for a particular shooter.
I've had several .25-06's over the years but right now the only one left has a 26" barrel.

“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
John Steinbeck