The most important thing is that it fit you. Some of the "compacts" are another way of saying "youth."

You might consider also a used Remington 600. The "Mohawk" model was very common in .243 (I have one of those). Muzzle blast is what you'd expect from an 18" barrel, but the term "muzzle blast" and ".243" really don't belong together. Very fast handling, and surprisingly accurate (never had a problem achieving 1 MOA or less).