Re: Hunting rifle 22" or 24"
If you're hunting long range, you'll want all the length you can get.
If you're hunting woods and in deep cover, you'll want short, if not even shorter.
I have several hunting rifles:
.280 AI with a 25" magnum contour
.260 Rem with a 20" M7 contour
.308 Win with a 22" Ruger sporter
.35 Whelen with a 24"
The 25" on the AI snags everything in the woods and the barrel has several scuff marks to prove it. Its a .25 MOA shooter and the CBS is within half an inch of the warm-bore groups. Its my go-to gun for hunting if I may have to make a longer shot.
The .260 M7 is a pooch when it comes to velocity/accuracy, but it does handle like a dream. I'm not comfortable shooting the rifle over 200 yards. I really haven't found a great load for it yet, but maybe a fast powder and light bullet will alleviate some of my problems. If I can't come up with a good load, I'm going to re-barrel it in .308 or 7mm-08 AI.
The .308 handles quite well, but I'm just not a fan of Ruger rifles or wood stocks. Its not a tack-driver, but it consistently shoots under MOA for 3 rounds, but the cold-bore is a good distance from the warm-bore groups.
The .35 Whelen I haven't even fired yet. I'm still waiting on a B&C Alaskan Ti stock for it. I'm thinking about swapping to an old-style Rem trigger and cutting it down to 20 or 22".
I think your best bet is to go 24" and see how it does for you. You can always have it cut down the extra 2" but you can't cut it longer.