Longer length in a bow is inherently good for shooting characteristics and inherently bad for hunting in confined spaces. Everything in life is a trade off and a compromise. If you get the chance someday, try shooting some of the bows that are designed to be short and still shoot well. The vintage Bear bows you are comparing were not designed to shoot well at shorter lengths. On the other hand, Howard Hill always professed that he had never shot a short bow that would shoot nearly as well as a longer bow and advised everyone against shooting the short ones. While I am not a competent enough archer to disagree with Howard Hill on that subject, I would observe that Howard never shot the newer, short designs of some bows that are being made today. There is still no doubt that the longer bows tend to be inherently more stable and more accurate. You only need to see what bows are winning all the target competitions to be convinced of the advantages of a longer bow. So, if you are planning to be a target shooter, the longer bow will probably be better for you. For hunting, absolute accuracy is not always paramount and other factors come into play which may favor a shorter length bow.
Allan