Weatherby Vanguard 300 Win Mag

Just took 5 rifles to the range yesterday and all shot exceptionally well except the Weatherby Vanguard. Guns were boresighted at home and I couldn't get the 300 WM zeroed. Holes were everywhere! Took it apart today and noticed that the barrel was under severe tension, touching the front of the wooden stock by .035. Opened up the barrel channel to allow .012 clearance and epoxied the front lug & 2" of the barrel. Will have to wait until I can punch some more paper to tell if I did any good. Also noticed that the factory bullets were .248 from the lands!!! Reloaded what I shot yesterday and set them .011 from the lands. I can't imagine my modifications; not making a huge difference on the range, but would like to know if any Vanguard shooters have had these initial problems???

[Imortal Wombat]

arn't vanguards supposed to shoot 1 1/2 MOA outa the box? and dont they come with some factort shot test targets?

It came with a target, but this one was bought used. It has not been shot out by any means; almost new. Whoever had it before must've been a novice. I know that this rifle did not shoot the target that came with it! Too many factory conditions working against it to shoot a 1" group, even at 25 yards! Fortunately, whoever the previous owner was, didn't shoot it much. One warning... If you have a Vanguard, go to the weatherby site and check your serial numbers against a bolt recall. Mine was one of them. I always do some research on anything I buy before shooting it. Anyway,
I anticipate some decent groups after the bedding job and free float. Barrel channel had no wear and looked new. Just came with a lot of pressure on the barrel. So much for quality control...