I have both blue and SS. If not much price difference I prefer SS. But when I bought my blue 6.5 CM rifle it was $600. SS was $750. Not worth $150 more to me. My 308 is SS. But I ran across a deal on it for $600.
SS is easier to keep looking nice, but with reasonable care it isn't a problem. I have blue guns that are 60-100 years old. They have a few character marks and the blue is worn thin in spots. But they haven't fallen apart.
To the original question. My 308 is 22", the 6.5 is 24". I'm tempted to chop 2" off of both.
