I think all Continentals have heavy barrels but the Varmint designates it as .223 or .22-250 or maybe .308 but I am not 100% sure. I have seen other ones called Continental Long Range Hunters in all kinds of calibers like 6.5x55 and 300 Win mags and they look the same as the Varmint to me (except the long action calibers would be 695 Continentals, not 595). I don't know if some were really just Continentals or if people just don't use the full name. The box my gun came in says "Continental Varmint", the manual says "Master Continental" and the gun just says "M595". I have a Continental Varmint M595 in .223 and it has a heavy 26" barrel. It's the most accurate gun I own.
The old 595 & 695 series has every bit as smooth an action as the T3, it's just a heavier action with some other differences.
I auctioned a M595 in .243 on gunbroker and it only brought $295, which seemed low to me and last year I bought a new 595 7mm-08 that was still on the shelf of a local gun shop and I had to pay $475 for it, so maybe $400 is an O.K. deal- a better deal if it's a Continental. As far as accuracy, I think its tough to predict but I have personally shot or seen friends shoot 8 different Tikkas and all were accurate but you roll the dice on any new gun as far as accuracy goes but the heavy barrel on the Continental can't hurt.
