Ive had a ruger M77 MkII compact in 243. LOVED IT sold it to get an AK, then raisin went bat raisin crazy so I got my NRA Instructor Cert instead. Still miss it. really accurate and light weight, and comfortable for my height and reach im 6 foot 2 inThink I'm going to part with the sr22 pistol. Want a more lightweight compact rifle, maybe something the little one could use if she wanted(when that time comes). Really like the looks of the Ruger m77 hawkeye compact. I had one in .223 when I was ten. Barrel is only 16.5" certainly compact enough compared to the model 70 I carry during deer season
Never had any issue with my M77 MkII. The bolt slit smooth and crisp looked like a gunsmith did some nice work to it. Trigger was crip as well. The 243 in compact, specialy in the M77 Compact (since its not designed for youth) shot rather well and bairly any recoil but still had a lot of stopping power. the only adv the 308 would be is bigger game and maybe range in that length of a barrel. If you ever see a compact M77 in 243 send me a PM!!Did yours have feed issues? If mine wasn't loaded just so the cartridges would feed funny and dent. After that dad got rid of it because the model 70 would feed right no matter what you do. If I got another m77 compact it'd be .243 or .308