RE: Which of these two centerfire rifles would you suggest for my use?
If your talking target shooting get the varmint model. .308 is the better round for targets in my opinion, plus it has the heavy barrel and is heavier over all. The longer barrel really doesn't mean anything though, especially not for target shooting.
And magazine capacity means nothing in target shooting, single shots work just as well off from the bench. I rarely load my magazine on my bolt guns unless I'm hunting.
Paul