The All Weather models always felt better in my hands than the old standard 77 ( i.e the thick forearms, and the flat under the magazine bugs me, but its OK.) I traded an old Universal 30 carbine to a guy for a standard M77 tanger in 243 for my dad. It had a Weaver 3x9 WideView, but the guy had dropped the rifle, bending the scope tube down. It cost me $40 (late 70s) to have them repair it. Its trigger was "OK" and it shot very well, but it was heavy! ha That 308 Ultralight I tried was one kicking little devil too! ha It was one sweetheart of a woods rifle though. I just couldn't shoot it well enough to hit a 2 liter pop bottle at 200yds with it 1x4 Leupold. My first 77 in .280 was not terribly heavy, and I shot my first "long range for me" buck down a pipeline ROW with a handloaded Hornady 139sp. 276 long steps! Up til then, 90yds was my farthest. ( SE Texas) I traded that rifle for a brandnew 6" Colt Python .357 Magnum. That was the "loudest" 357 I have ever shot! Checkered grips hurt and the bluing was "too pretty" to put in a holster, ha. I traded it for my first Remington 700 Classic ('82) in .257 Roberts. Now, the Mod 77 and the Classic were very similar in shape , but the Classic became my favorite.
BTW, in a local gun shop here, I saw an old Tanger 77 7x57 with a Leupold 2.5x8 for $750 if anyone is interested. Its at Daves Shooting Sports, Taylorsville, Utah. Older model...iffy on barrel make!
