Weatherby Vangaurd adjustments

[teampete]

Hey all this is my first time posting and what an awesome website. I am getitng very addicted to long range shooting after this past year of hunting. I statred out wanting a rifle that could shoot 600 yards and I built a cheap set up. I bought a weatherby vanguard in 7mm rem mag. I lowerd the trigger pull as low as possible according to the manual (hope i did it correctly). Added a nikon buckmaster 4.5-14 with BDC reticle. I ssighted in with 175 rem core lokt bullets and harvested a nice 300 inch bull this year. The shot was 483 yards! I am very proud but now I want to advance my rifle to shoot 1000 yards. What can I do to make my vanguard more accurate? Adding a timney triger or floating the barrel? Also should I look at a better scope. I have seen these scopes with adjustmetns up top that allow you to dial in to the exact yardage. I am really interested in those but dont know much about them. I do not load so should i switch to a better bullets like Hornaday? Any recomendations are apreciated. I am very new to this and am just looking for some guideance and realize this site has some smart people.

Thanks,
Dennis

 

[sp6x6]

How does it shoot now. Most of my vanguards are sub moa, and I am fine with the stock trigger. Mine are all older fashion wood stocks, that I floated and bed. Not familiar with your scope, but I have a B&C Lupy and I dial off the last hash mark, for 600+. Take what you have and see what you can do at the range at 500 and plus. My scope is 4-14 and I can see with it to easily 1/4 a elk in cross hairs at 800+, taken elk out to 850 w/3-10

 

[teampete]

Thanks for the reply. I honestly have never shot it on the range at long distance so idk if i can answer that fully. I really am interested in floating the barrel and bedding it. Do you have any instructions on how you did that? Is it fairly easy?

Thanks,
Dennis

 

[sp6x6]

Do a search on this site and you will get plenty of info, think there might be a video

 

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

If I wanted to spend some money and make my rifle a little better I would get a new stock. make sure I have a good base and a great set of rings. Triggers are nice tuned but it can wait.

You have a great rifle to say the least. It will afford you many options to upgrade in the future

 

[teampete]

Thanks guys. What are really good scope base and rings? I purchased Leupold dovetail base and rings. I was told those were top notch. Are those good for this application? Also, what is a good stock?

 

[roninflag]

replacing the barrel with a krieger will give you the biggest change per dollar invested.

 

[ubettcha13]

I followed this on my Vangard
http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f37/howa-trigger-adjustment-how-52584/
Bedding; I would practice a pillar bed job on the current stock if you plan to diy your bedding. If you want wood look to stocky's
Stocky's New Rifle Stocks - America's Gunstock Specialist!
a site sponsor for a laminate. Some feel the thumbhole stock places the hand in a better position for more consistent trigger squeeze.
They also have composite stocks.
Check your scope at the range Take a 6' piece of paper put a target near the bottom. for zero. After the zero shot crank in 5 minutes shoot once crank another 5 mins, and repeat till you have shot 6 times
Now repeat the same procedure back down always aiming at the original zero bull's eye
This will tell you not only if your elevation turret is repeatable but exactly what the clicks are. Some scopes say 1/4" this way you can positively check.
Lay the target on the side and do the same thing using the same zero bull's eye with the windage turret. This will tell you if it repeats as well as if the 2 turrets are the same as the shots should group at each stage the same.
If your serious about shooting far start reloading if you don't already

 

[rscott5028]

In addition to the other suggestions, premium bullets may get you the most bang for your buck.

The 175gr core-lokt that your shooting with an estimated MV of 2860 fps and BC of ~.460 will have ~95 inches of wind drift at 1000yds in a 10 mph wind from 3 o'clock.

Compare that to a 180gr Berger VLD with a BC of .659 with only ~58 inches of wind drift under those conditions.

That's almost a 40% bigger margin for error in reading the wind. (That's huge. So, perhaps someone should check my numbers?)

In addition to a high BC projectile, you'll need accurate groups and consistent velocity. If you don't or aren't ready to hand load, you can try HSM ammo with the 168gr Bergers.

You'll need a 9.25" twist or better for the 180's anyway.

Hope this helps,
Richard

 

[jskmtd]

I shoot a weatherby sub moa in 7mm rem mag I use a leupold 6.5-20x50lr with fine duplex on this rifle. With 168 gr bergers it shoots well out 1200 yards.At 200 yards it shoots a 3 shot group under. 5" if I do my part. I'm sure if you bed your stock and work up a good load with a high BC bullet your rifle will do the job. Good luck.

 

[sp6x6]

Just came back from range, trying some 85 gr. nbt, for varmits. 5 shots in under 1/2 @ 100 w/ my 257 vanguard.luepy 4-14, going to hand down scope and get 6-20 type.

 

[diriel]

You need accurate ammo first and foremost. Hunting grade stuff is Ok, but is far from ideal once you reach out beyond about 500 or so for accuracy.

HSM makes 7mm remington ammo in a match type that is reputed as being very good ammo. If you do not reload, you must buy GOOD accurate ammo.

7mm Rem Mag for Sniping
Read this. Obviously he sells HSM ammo, and if you go to HSM website he is listed as an HSM vendor, along with Cabelas, Sportco, and Corlane. He has a good write up that will help you Ammo Wise.

If you want to shoot long range, you Must have LR type ammo. No other way around it. So Save your money for now, and try some of this ammo first.

You may look into a good bedding job for your stock, but other than that try *GOOD* ammo. Nothing like dropping a ton of cash into a project only to find the ammo you have access too is limiting you, and you do not end up shooting much better.

Gary

 

[Firecat]

+ on Ammo. Remington is not touted for it's long range ability. If you are shooting this well with Remington Core-lokt bullets, my guess is that you will be pleasantly surprised with some Premium Ammo. If you want to make long range your game then ultimately you will want to start loading your own. By doing so you can tailer a specific load to your rifle. For now I would recommend a few for you to look at.

HSM 168 Grain Berger, These bullets are what "The Best of the West" are using on their long range television show. Surprisingly they are not super expensive

Nosler Trophy Grade 160 Grain Accu Bond

Hornady Superformance 162 Grain SST

Black Hills Gold 162 Grain A Max

All of these can be found at MidwayUSA and are a good place to start for Factory ammunition.

Bedding your action is a good option as well. It sounds as if you have already adjusted your trigger and an article was furnished above if you have any questions. It's true. Later you can always rebarrel your action and get a new stock and on and on. However, it would be a shame to invest all that money and resource if your current rig is shooting well for you. For me, I would find a good ammo that shoots well and use this as learning opportunity. Find out and study all that you can, that way when you do decide to invest in a custom you will have a good direction and be satisfied your first time around. Measure twice and cut once type of a mentality. The Scope that you have is a great starter scope. It will certainly get you started. The Buckmaster that I have tracts true. When you're ready to graduate to the next level Optics will be one of the first things that you will want to invest in. Good glass goes a long ways.

Leupold Dovetail Rings are good rings, However most who are shooting long range and looking for the utmost in accuracy are using a Picatinny rail of some sort and Rings that match. Some are using one piece ring/base combinations like Talley offers. I would agree that good bases and rings are crucial to the whole package. For now until you upgrade your optics I would say to keep using the Leupys. Just check them regular to ensure that they are not loosening up.

 

[teampete]

Thanks everyone. I think I am going to try and float the barrel then go from there. I really need to get on the range start practicing from 500 yards plus.