Here's my Ruger Lightweight Deluxe .308 with Circassian walnut, 200 made for Talo
dude thats gotta be the sexiest looking ruger i've ever laid eyes on fo sho. i'd love one just like it but in 7mm-08. that said both my sons started with a teeker t3 compact in 7 0h 8 and its never failed to impress. not as sexy as the aforementioned ruger but if looking for plug and play thats your ticket. Big Ed
"Only accurate rifles are interesting" Col. Townsend Whelen
Tikka T3 lite topped with SB 4x16-56 Polar that shoots factory rem corlocks and fed blue box damn near in the same hole. I in the process of working on loading some 155 lapua scenars for it to stretch it out and see what it will do at longer ranges.
A lot of great choices here and hunt with a carbine myself(Weatherby Mark V carbine ss with 20" barrel in 7mm-08). To me, if hunting with a gun and the barrel is less than 22", you are hunting with a carbine. The OP's original question on a "Compact" to me says a shorter barrel and length of pull. The Tikka T3 lite compact is a great choice. The gun Jackmountain put together for his son is another great choice. Had one for each of my boys, they get older and want a full length stock, easy enough to find and drop in.
I've owned/had a number of short barreled .308 bolt guns. I had a M70 lightweight carbine for years, but traded it off after its accuracy fell off and I wasn't smart enough to fix it. Other .308s are a M600 Mohawk, a M700 stainless DM cut from 24" to 20", a Ruger American stainless compact, a TC venture compact, and also a Winchester M670 carbine in .30-06. I like short barrel rifles for hunting in thickly wooded areas. They're handy in tree stands.
I've owned/had a number of short barreled .308 bolt guns. I had a M70 lightweight carbine for years, but traded it off after its accuracy fell off and I wasn't smart enough to fix it. Other .308s are a M600 Mohawk, a M700 stainless DM cut from 24" to 20", a Ruger American stainless compact, a TC venture compact, and also a Winchester M670 carbine in .30-06. I also have a Krag cutdown .30-40 with a 20" barrel. I like short barrel rifles for hunting in thickly wooded areas. They're handy in tree stands.
I've been extremely impressed with my Kimber Adirondack in 308 with 18" barrel. Completely stock from Kimber with no work done on it and it puts factory Barnes 130ttsx in one ragged hole at 100yds. Fired as fast as I could chamber round and line up scope.