goodshot,
I suspect Ruger made the change because so many shooters are prejudiced against 26" barrels on a bolt rifle. There are as many myths about longer barrels being "unhandy" in brush as there are about 6x scopes being too much for woods deer.
I even know some custom gunsmiths who won't build sporter-weight rifles with 26" barrels, claiming they're too whippy to be accurate. This hasn't been my experience with several 26"-barreled sporters, both factory and custom, but there it is.
