or is 22 all you need with modern loads, and handier in the scrub?

Well a 24" gun can be loaded to 2600fps. You can use whatever barrel you want and adjust the load.

Howdy
For me it all depends on where I go and what I am hunting.
On one elk hunt I had a 338 with a 22inch barrel and the elk was 350+ yards away. The next year with a 340 Wby I shot him at 15 feet.
That is another story.
Just be good with what ever lenght you choose.

Samm

I bought a Dakota Safari 404J. They come standard in 23" barrels.

Good compromise...

My .423" diameter barrel from Lothar Walther is 26" in length. I went with this length because that is what I saw on period pictures. For close in work, I will be relying on my 9.3x64 Brenneke. That rifle has a 22" barrel.

I did find that I can easily maneuver a rifle with a 26" barrel. That is what I use on my Weatherby chambered rifles - 24" for less over bore cartridges like the 375 Weatherby. My new 6.5mm x 300 Weatherby will definitely need all 26". It takes a fair amount of barrel length to accommodate the banded front sight, banded sling swivel, and banded rear sight island.

For each cartridge I look at the amount of powder that is not burnt because the barrel is short. What good does it do if the push is outside of the barrel? JMO

Samm

23 or 24 but I think 24 might be better especially since you don't use a long magnum action on a 404.

I had an original Jefferys with a 27 inch barrel, got some awesome velocity out out of it and it handled like a English shotgun, was the best off hand rifle I ever shot..Shot a lot of Buffalo with it and one elephant..Never a complaint, but it sold for big money so I built myself a 26 inch and that's always been my favorite in the open savanna or the thickest of bush..I had a 20 inch .416 with a fairly heavy barrel and I liked it also..

This business of barrel length has never made any difference to me, I think its a non issue thats been worked to death, so much that some seem to think its critical...10 to 26 is 6 inches, how in the world can that be an issue as far as a big game rifle goes!

Because you want a certain length tube is the only logical reasoning..the other issues like the brush getting in the way applies to any length from 10 to 30 inches, it depends on were the "bad limb is" catching on brush while slung, depends on where your swivels are! and on and on, besides in thick stuff you need the gun in hand..

If you calculate the expansion ratios on a Powley computer you will see that there is only a few feet per second difference in the 404 Jeffery between the 22 and 24 inch barrels. Personally, I prefer the 24 inch barrel because it balances a little bit further forward and smoothes the swing.