I sold my ported Guide Gun and replaced it with the 22" non-ported 1895, which was much easier for me to shoot well.
The ported Guide Gun was a hoot, but oh my goodness, what a muzzle blast! At the rifle range it wasn't too bad. I could put on ear plugs and ear muffs, giving myself double protection. When I'd haul it out though, my sons, and my friends, would get off the firing line. Nobody liked being near it when I was shooting.
Shot a mulie at about 70 yards with it. That worked out real well, she went down like a bag of rocks, but of course I was hunting without ear protection. My left ear rang for an hour afterwards and hearing only slowly returned...
Yeah, I vote for the non-ported, 22" model... Never heard anyone complain about the even longer-barreled Cowboy model being too loud!
Regards, Guy