If you have 1 of the laminated Remington 798 stocks, like those that Stockys sells for $100, remember that they are pretty heavy, so you might want a little longer barrel to balance the weight of the stock for handling purposes.
I have 7x57s with barrels from 18.5", on a Ruger 77 RSI, to 24", an A&B Savage drop-in barrel on a Marlin XL-7. They all work and I would cut my barrel to a length that best suited the balance of the rifle and than I would consider the type of terrain that I was hunting. Open country, longer barrel, woods and thick brush, shorter barrel. Although I haven't hunted with it, I have held/carried the 24" Marlin parts gun enough to know that I wouldn't want to hunt with it in thick cover.
JEff
