77 compact

[Big Ol Boy]

thinking of getting a compact in 7-08 any one shoot them and what do ya think of them.read a few reviews thought i would ask heer thanks.

 

[Trey Whitley]

I bought a 7mm-08 Frontier and "conventionally" mounted a 2-7x Leupold on it for my boys to hunt with. It's not exactly a Compact, but the dimensions on barrel length and LOP are the same...I picked it over the Compact only because it weighed a few ounces more and I wanted as much recoil-damping as I could get (plus I found a used Frontier for a great price).

That rifle may be the best firearms purchase I've ever made. It was my first experience with 7mm-08 and I am incredibly impressed with the on-game performance in relation to the very low recoil. They've shot Remington managed recoil loads, my hand loads, and some relatively hot HSM ammunition with no complaints about recoil...middle son shot hundreds of Remington managed recoil loads out of it when he was 5 without complaint and is shooting the full-speed HSM loads now (at age 7).

The LOP is a little short for precision type shooting for me, though I bought another Frontier in 358 for me and I put up with the short LOP on it. But I find the accuracy in the 7mm-08 to be excellent out of the short barrel. It's a very handy length, manageable for small kids and easy to maneuver in a box blind.

I really couldn't be happier with it.

 

[RJ556]

I fairly recently bought a SS laminated Compact in 7mm-08. I really like the rifle. At first I did not like the medium gray metal finish, but it has grown on me now. I had to do some work on that fabulous LC-6 trigger. It was about 6 or seven pounds with creep. Changing the spring got it down to a bit over 3 pounds, but still had some creep. So, I took care of that the old fashioned way. I ground the sear. Now the pull is just under 3 pounds with no creep. The gun is trying to shoot. I am too cheap to buy factory ammo, so I have only tried hand loads so far. My average ( no internet posting B/S) groups have been aroun an inch and a half. Free floating the barrel did not change group size, nor did re-adding a pressure point, nor did glass bedding the action. I even used a torque wrench on the action screws. The bullets I have tried are: Barnes 120 and 140 XBT's, Nosler Balistic tip 120's and 140's and Speer Grand Slam 145's. For powders, I have only tried W760 and Varget. I suppose 1.5" is really not that bad using a 4x (Leupold) scope, but I expected better. I have not experimented much with bullet seating depth yet, so that may be the answer. On the plus side, the fit and finish is very good on this rifle, having tolerances a bit tighter than past MKII's I have owned. I am taking a break with it right now, but I'll get back to it soon.

 

[Big Ol Boy]

Thanks all I had a 77 rsi in 06 and loved it so I guess I will have to get the compact it sounds like a fine rifle for an old guy to tote.

 

[GD1656]

I have one,my son has one,my brother-in- law has one,--great deer rifle-great tree stand rifle for the thick stuff

 

[Rocdoc]

I love those compacts, make a really handy rifle for deer hunting out of a ground blind or tree stand. I was originally a Remington M7 fan, so these compacts compare favorably to the old M7s in my eyes. I'd like to have the 338 Fed & 358 Win my FFL has listed as available in the SS Frontier model but they out of my price range at present. Another local Davidsons dealer lists a blue 7-08 Frontier at a little over $500. I like the heavy barrel of the Frontiers over the Compacts, but both are very desirable to me. I just like small compact rifles. If you get a Frontier, you may know Ruger will swap the rings for you to mount in conventional position, don't have to have the scout style for your scope.

 

[Con]

For me ... the Compact has too short a barrel. I'd rather an UltraLight and get a 308Win instead, as the 7mm isn't offered. The 308Win Ultralight is one I'm looking at seriously at the moment.

An even prettier rifle is an RSI shifted into an Ultralight stock. I can tolerate well my RSI rifle's 18.5" barrel, placed into a composite or UltraLight stock it would be absolutely lovely with back up open sights as a bonus. The inletting however on the composite stocks is a bit generous given the lighter contour of the RSI.
Cheers...
Con

 

[Bitman]

I have the compact in 260, and I was amazed at how well it shoots 120 grain Nosler Ball. tips. 5 shot group under 1" @ 100 yds.

 

[Buckeye Bill]

I have been considering a compact in 6.8 SPC. I like that round. I better move fast cause they stopped making them and I see fewer each time I look. It is just a supply and demand issue. Low supply of cash and constant demand for it.

 

[sigp220.45]

I got my wife a Compact in .260 - but I like it so much I use it as much as she does. Great gun, and if I was buying one for myself I'd probably get it 7mm/08.