When my wife started shooting I let her try a .223, a .243, 7mm-08 and .308 (all chambered in Remington 788's). Her favorite was the 7mm-08 because it had the 18 1/2" barrel. I trimmed the stock to fit her and added a Pachmayr recoil pad.
She handloads the Remington 175 grain Core-Lokt at about 2250 fps. The muzzle blast is the same as that from a 22" barrel as far as I can tell. It is very accurate, recoil is mild and she has killed two deer with one shot each. She loves it and would not take a pile of money for it.
Just another sample of one and YMMV but hope this helps.
