I've owned a few Ruger 77s in 7x57, all tang safety style actions, and they all had deep throats. I have shot quite a few Hornady 139, 154, and 175 grain bullets from them and didn't notice that the deeper throat caused the lighter/shorter bullets not to shoot as well as the rifle and shooter could do.
Having owned several of both the short and long action 77 RSI, I think that the long action rifles balance a little better than the short action rifles, even though they share the 18.5" barrel length and contour. I'd agree that a 20" barrel, like the Husqvarna mannlicher stocked rifles have, would improve their balance, but WBR, Sr., didn't ask for my input.
JEff
