Another choice

[Jack]

The 308 will work very nicely without requiring a 26 inch barrel. 22 inches is plenty, and the 308 will perform well with a carbine barrel, too.
Any high velocity (over 2000 FPS) rifle at close range will give you some meat damage. The 308 would likely give you less than some of the 3000+ fps rifles like a 270 or 7mm mag.
The 308 is a good choice for a compact rifle. My 308 has an 18 inch barrel. I use a 165 grain Nosler Partition at a muzzle velocity of 2600 FPS, and find it very effective. I've used the rifle for deer since 1971, and I haven't had to shoot twice yet.