I've not shot the carbine muzzleloading barrel, but I did shoot the Katahdin barrel in 450 Marlin with the "muzzle tamer" and it still jarred me pretty good. The carbine barrel would make it a very light packing rifle, but the recoil will be quite a bit stiffer(especially with magnum charges). I'd also go with the standard 26" barrel just in case you need the extra range someday.