fgr39,
Good info posted so far. I can't argue with any of it on principle.
I'll only add one detail as food for thought..... Go to ANY extreme accuracy shooting event such as BR, Long Range BR, Highpower X-Course, Highpower Long Range, Palma, F-Class, etc...... You will have to look a long time to find ANY rifle on the firing line with a hammer forged barrel.
When top accuracy is the name of the game the cut rifled barrel is King with button rifling running a very close second. You will find-see pretty much 100% of the serious competitors using these two types, with a higher percentage using cut rifled.
Hammer forged tubes are not even in the same ball park.
Best,
Swampy
Garands forever