I'm guessing there is a reason you don't see carbon wrapped barrels in benchrest, that tells me all I need to know about pure accuracy and what barrel steel to choose. Now this is a mass produced item, I am guessing it will be a wash with a slight advantage to the steel one just because of more steel available

 

You should be aware that the "carbon" barrel is just a pencil thin steel barrel inside a hollow space which is covered by a thin carbon fiber tube...it is not "wrapped" in carbon, like a Proof barrel is.

The comment I hear most about the carbon barrel model is that the balance of the rifle is very rear heavy. I found my B14R steel model to be well balanced.

As commented above...go look at a benchrest or F-class match...not a single carbon barrel on the firing line.

 

https://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1207537

^ I started this thread above to try to get a better idea of which one is shooting better. I've done quite a bit of looking around elsewhere too. The water is still as muddy for me now as it was back then. The difference in weight between the two is only about 1# but I'd probably still go with the steel one just for the extra weight

 

I now own both. Haven't had a chance to put the newer (steel) rifle through the same testing as my carbon but it'll take some doing to outshoot the carbon. I don't shoot off barricades in competition so I also like the lighter weight of the carbon as well. The steel is more common in competitions mainly because there is more weight out forward. Neither IMHO, is a great offhand gun due to weight but both shine off a rest. Honestly, I don't see how you could go wrong with either.

 

I have the steel barrel. I have shot about 6800 rounds through it. Currently it’s my my favorite rifle. Only scoped 22 RF I own. I shoot longer distances these days and even the 100 yard range seems to close. I shot lots of different varieties of European target ammo in it when I started out at 50 and 100 yards. The gun under good shooting conditions will group 1 MOA 10 round groups with ammo it likes. Beyond 100 it gets very hard to maintain 1 MOA
The biggest problem I have is wind. I had to go to a wind flag or flags to get consistent groups. When the wind is over 10 mph and erratic, it’s tough to keep it all together. My group sizes double +++. I use mine mostly prone with lightweight rear bag and a harris bipod. occasionally I will shot it off a shooting bench when shooting with friends. I still use the same bag / bipod setup then too.
Gonna try a 6 x 24 x50 FFP scope on it just to see if the higher magnification and FFP MIL scale reticle improve groups at 200 and 300 yards. It should be here this week.
My gun weighs 12 1/4 pounds now and will go up to 13 with the new scope. So it’s not a sporter. But it is fun. Hope this helps.

 

I've had a B14r carbon for about six months so I've been following all the threads on this question. Like others have said, there are plenty of happy owners with both. I went with what was available and I'm perfectly content with the CF. If knowing what I know now and both were sitting on the shelf for the same price I'd grab the all steel one.
End of the day ammo matching and technique are going to make more of a difference than which barrel format.

 

So why would you choose Steel over Carbon if you were to buy again. Are you competing where the extra weight out front is desirable?