The Compact is available in blue/walnut or stainless/laminate. The Frontier did come with some blued barrels, but they all have the laminate stock.
The last versions of the Frontiers had the stainless 'target grey' finish.
The Compacts and Frontiers are the same overall length, barrel length, and length of pull. The big difference is weight. The Frontier has the thick barrel to allow the mounting of the forward scout scope rib; more metal, more weight.
And with that heavier barrel- they chambered the Frontier in some bigger calibers that aren't available in the compact like 358 Win and 338 Fed. The biggest cal the Compact comes in is 308.
The Frontier has the forward rib for scout scope mounting, but you can also mount the scope in the conventional placement too.
