Unlike some, I "like" the look of the International.....and I like the shorter 18 1/2" barrel (the main reason I chose a Mannlicher style rifle is to be short and handy, so why not go as short as possible).
I chose the .308 over the .30-06 due to the fact it performs better with a short barrel, but the '06 should do quite well too. Sure, there is going to be some velosity loss (not so important at "normal" hunting ranges, except the loss of "bragging rights" when comparing rifles with your friends), and there very much will be an increase in noise and flash. The noise is insignificant when hunting (only a few rounds are fired at a time anyway) and the muzzle flash may as well not even exist (unless you are in the habit of hunting after dark).
The one significant issue with any Mannlicher style rifle is that long forearm which CAN cause accuracy problems. Someone else mentioned making sure to relieve the end cap, and I'll add that the entire forearm should be bedded and/or free floated. I've even gone so far on some rifles of inletting a steel rod under the barrel to stiffen the forearm and prevent warping.
The Ruger rifles tend to have fairly straight grain wood, and that's an advantage as highly figured wood tends to wander more with moisture and temperature, but still the stock MUST be sealed very well.
The common knock on these rifles is a loss of accuracy when the barrel heats up (once again....relieve the forearm and end cap, and add a "stiffener" if nessisary...and this is normally solved), but this is less of a problem for a "hunting" rifle than many believe.
I've suggested to many that the "proper" way to test accuracy in a "hunting" rifle is not a 3 or 5 shot string, but rather a series of 1-shot groups. Hunting rifles should be judged by where it will place that first shot from a cold barrel......not where the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th shots go. In a hunting situation, any shot after the first is probably taken at a rapidly departing deer and pin-point accuracy is much less important than the ability of the shooter to judge lead and hit a moving target.
I've suggested to those I shoot with that they set up a target and shoot 1 shot.....then put the rifle away until the next day, and shoot another single shot at the same target. After 3 or 5 days, measure the "group" to see how well the rifle performs in a "real world" siuation. Many times you will be very surprized at how well an "average" grouping rifle does when ALL shots are from a totally cold barrel. The Mannlicher rifles are almost always better shooters with a series of 1-shot groups than with a string of shots.
My own Mark II Ruger International (after relieving, sealing and free floated) will put 5 shots into 1 1/4 - 1 1/2" with a "normal" string......but will keep 5 single shots right at 3/4". That is more common than most believe, in ALL rifles.
After all.....it's the first shot that really counts anyway. If that first shot misses, the following shots are less and less likely to be effective no matter how well your rifle groups on paper (paper targets seldom bold for the horizen after the first shot).
As to the price....$550 is very close to retail and a bit high in my opinion (I got my Ruger with less than a box of shells fired through it, for under $500) but not too far out of line. If you like the rifle and style.....and accept the "problems" encountered with a full-stock rifle, I'd buy it and enjoy......and I'm sure you WILL enjoy every minute.
