[Clocks]

I would definitely say that depends on your needs. If you are hunting or truly using this rifle for "tactical" purposes in a security, LEO, or property security sense of the word, then the shorter barrel and its lighter weight may serve you better, given that your ranges and use case probably dont demand that extra quarter MOA of accuracy.

If you are looking for a good range rifle or an all purpose rifle AND dont mind the considerable extra weight of the 700SS 5R, go that way. 5Rs are relatively rare compared to normal production 700 rifles and are VERY accurate off the shelf.

For those "under a rock" as a previous poster joked, the 5r variant is a small annual production run which refers to a remington 700SS constructed with a special barrel that uses the same production process as those constructed for the military M24. The barrel is grooved with a special process which provides a gradient between the lands and the grooves. Further, the rate of twist is 1:11.25 rather than the "usual" 1:12. Further the throat of the barrel is "shorter", resulting in the projectile portion of a round constructed with the standard OAL of 2.8 inches nearly being at the point of the rifling. This, too, improves accuracy slightly.

Advantages: Excellent (in fact extraordinary) out of the box accuracy. Relatively easy cleaning after the breakin period (lower instance of copper fouling).

(Although with a rifle of this quality, i would STRONGLY discourage use of cheap target ammo. If you want something to shoot the cheap crap in, go buy a savage and save yourself some money.)