Well have your girlfriend or you invest in some good hearing protection, for the one or two that she will shoot hunting not a major concern, target shooting, yep and then some! Take if from an old man, who's hearing is shot in part a lot of shooting and a lot of flying noisy airplanes and helicopters, the barrel length is really not much of a factor! Oh White Tail deer here in my part of New England average about 100 to 180 lbs with some bigger and some smaller, I have a 130 lb Doe hanging right now, a guest got one with a bow this evening, the bow season started on Monday, so fresh venison is going to be on the table! Over night lows in the 40's too!
