My wife uses a Ruger compact in .243 for whitetails here in Wisconsin. It is a great little rifle. I like it so much that I ended up getting my 12 year old son a Ruger frontier in 7mm-08. It has the same stock dims. but a little larger diameter barrel. And the scout mount. They are both great rifles to carry and both are very accurate. The only word of caution I would give is when your on the bench keep a good hold of it. The compact is just light enough that the scope will give you a nice little kiss if it is mounted far enough back. My wife is small (5' - short arms) so the scope sits back pretty good. It has got me a couple of times.