It depends on a lot of were you hunt. Where I hunt short action light recoil compact is king. That's why I like something in a .308 cartridge. .260 or 7-08 is very hard to beat. Shots are 10-75 yards and sometimes a rare 200 yard shot might present itself. A lot of hard walking in swamps and thick timber. Smaller the rifle the better.
Pstores
You do realize that S A rifles w/22" blls are a whole 1/2" shorter than a LA ??
IfN you're looking for a shorter handier rifle it has to be a SA Carbine.
Not only is the OA length JUST 1/2" shorter the nominal weight difference is only ~4oz.
For woods hunting I had a Ruger tanger UL-- 308 w/ 20" bll. That was truly a HANDY rifle for woods terrain.
I guess it's what you get used to. I am very comfortable w/ L A, 270, 06, 7 Mags. No muss No fuss
Jerry
