The shortest barrel that I have on a centerfire rifle is 17" on a Winchester 100 in 308 that somebody cut down from 22". It does have both a loud muzzle blast and, in low, dawn/dusk, light conditions, a blinding muzzle flash, but it sure is handy to maneuver through heavy cover when I still-hunt. Muzzle blast is something that you probably would notice when shooting off a bench or inside a blind, but when you're aiming at an animal you're typically concentrating on the animal and will automatically shut out all other environmental factors.
