Weatherby Vanguard quality?

[otis332]

I am on the hunt for a 300 win, just because I want one. Looking and saving some money. I was looking at the Win model 70 or Remington 700, wood stock, cheek rest. The vanguard new can be had for about the same price or better as a used Win or Rem. Never owned a Weatherby and nobody I know has a Weatherby.

How good are these vanguards, or is it better to spend more on a model 70 or 700?

 

[MontanaRifleman]

The Vanguad action is actually made by Howa and they make a very good action. the Vanguard is guaranteed for 1.5 MOA and the sub MOA vanguard is guaranteed for sub MOA accuracy. They come with factory fired targets to verify the accuracy. Many of the Sub MOA rifles shoot .5 MOA or better and some of the regular Vanguards will shoot better than MOA. The Sub MOA Vanguards also have a better stock. The two top factory rifles on my list are the Sendero and Sub MOA Vanguard.

-MR

 

[britz]

IMHO the remingtons and the win's are a little overpriced for their performance. They are both excellent rifles and If I was going to plan on a custom in the future I'd get the Remington simply because of the aftermarket parts available. The Vanguards are very good for the buck. I'm not impressed w/ the stock, but they are much better than Savages stock IMHO. a few of the best rifles for the buck in the low end IMHO would be the Tikka, Vanguard, Howa, Savage in that order.

 

[CliffM]

I shoot a .300WBY with the wood stock. The factory target was .310". The best group I've done is .26" with 210 Bergers. The one thing I intend on changing is the stock. The wood shrinks and swells with the weather. For a rifle to pack it is as good as any I have used. Cliff

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

The Weatherby Vanguard is the best buy hands down. It is a very good rifle with an excellent action and at $399 it is the best deal in the business. Also the Tikka T-3 for the price is very good. With the Tikka you do not have to buy a custom trigger since the Sako action can be adjusted very easily to suit any hunter. So deduct a custom trigger from the Tikka price and it becomes a very good bargain. During my near 40 years of rifle building the Sako action has continues to be the best action available for custom builds without going to a full custom action. The Sako and the Mk 5 wby actions are far and away the two best. The Savage rifles will flat out shoot. I am just not a fan of the actions. For the price though the low end Savage is a bargain. I have seen several come to my range and shoot incredible groups at several hundred yards with the Savage. With the capabilities of these three rifles at there price you do not need a custom unless you are a serious long range hunter shooting regularly beyond 800 yards.

 

[blipelt]

I have a submoa vanguard and have had vaguards out of their custom shop. They all shoot well but there is a few things myself and friends changed.

#1 they are pressure bedded. Out of the 8 or so myself and friends own we have seen one change it's point of impact. We assumed it was because of the weather change we encountered. I would rec. free floating your stock or just getting a new one. The submoa is pillared and the others aren't. The synthetic stock IMO has to be reinforced after freefloating because the stock gets pretty spongey in the front.

#2 trigger, replace the factory trigger with a timney they run around $100.

All in all I think they are nice rifles I have just been spoiled with my customs and the rest of mine sit in the safe.

Brent

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

I will second that. All you have to do is free float the barrel and bed the action. Then put a good trigger on it and you will have a very good rifle. Midway has a good price on aftermarket triggers for the Howa/Vanguard action.

 

[otis332]

Is free floating something anyone can do, or does a gunsmith need to take care of this?

Thanks to everyone for the help! I will consider looking for a vanguard. This will not be a regular hunting rifle. I just want one to have one and may shoot it here and there, but I do want it to hit where it is aimed! I am just fond of the wood stocks so I am leaning that way with for one.

Thanks again!

 

[MontanaRifleman]

Is free floating something anyone can do, or does a gunsmith need to take care of this?

Thanks to everyone for the help! I will consider looking for a vanguard. This will not be a regular hunting rifle. I just want one to have one and may shoot it here and there, but I do want it to hit where it is aimed! I am just fond of the wood stocks so I am leaning that way with for one.

Thanks again!

You can't get the Sub MOA rifle in a wood stock. The Sporters are guaranteed to 1.5 MOA. With a little work you might get it to shoot .5 to 1 MOA. If you want a wood stock, I would recommend a pillar or full aluminum bedded block laminate. If I got a wood sock, I would get it from Joel Russo who is a member here. And if you are going to an after market or custom stock route, you may as well just get a Howa rifle and sell the original stock. You will basically get the same rifle as a Vanguard minus the Vanguard name on it for less $$$ unless you go with Vanguard stock which will still need to be pillar bedded and will be susceptible to warping with moisture changes.

The only reason that I would get a Vanguard instead of a Howa is the Sub MOA Vanguard has a less than 1 MOA guarantee with factory shot target.

-MR

 

[otis332]

Hmm, gives me something to think about.

Thanks again for info!