Majority of what I'm doing this day and age, trending short barrels. 20" 65 Saum, 18" 6mm creed, 22" 22gt, 21" 300 norma Imp. I start with an action that will run the cartridge of choice with heaviest desired bullets seated well ahead of neck shoulder junction. Next I pick a barrel length of convenient length, especially with a 7" TBAC can attached, that's generally been 20-22". As long I can get 2900+ fps with heavy for cal bullets, I'm good! They'll perform and BC will keep me in killing velocity out to 800y. I shoot a lot, and I know my wind reading ability is what keeps my ego in check these days. I personally have kind of kept my shooting distance on game under 700y, unless it's dead calm, or fully open terrain and I have my kestrel and wind is relatively straight forward. My learning lesson on this was a drill I did a few years back. I put a 12" round plate at 900y in a pasture on my family farm, the contour wasn't a lot, somewhat of a lingering twisting draw in the prairie. Shot was south, and in NE Montana the wind BLOWS. There would be an occasional morning that it was a 4-7mph, avg was 10-16, sometimes it was 23-30mph, 90% of the time the wind is 80-100% full value from R to L, wind speed and vector is always varying. In a months time, I took roughly 50 shots at the plate, always a morning round, sometimes an afternoon round. I gave myself 60 seconds to get out that included building a shooting position and make a wind call. Somewhat similar to a hunting situation. My connection rate initially in the first 2 weeks was about 55%, the last two weeks it went up to 68%. I repeated this drill moving the target into 680y, now plate is closer to 2moa. My hit rate was 92% averaging the 4 weeks together. If I cannot be within a 90% certainty my bullets gonna make it inside the vitals at my shooting distance, I should NOT be taking the shot. Guess what, out to 700y dang near every cartridge with 55+ gr case capacity whether it's from a 20" or 28" barrel, is going to perform ethically within your ethical shooting zone. Everyone squabbles about bullets and barrel length and powder this and that. Own your ability, drop the ego, and the vast majority of us will realize a 6 creed does everything we need for medium game, and a medium capacity 7 or 30 does it all for elk, anything bigger is juts excess.