Weatherby vanguard problems

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Jmiverson

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I have a weatherby vanguard SS in .300 win mag. Basically i'll shoot two groups with all six holes within an inch, then after that my shots all end up high-left, within a 6 inch group-all at 100 yards. Then ill go out to 200 yards and my shots all fly about 8 inches high-3 inches right!!! I am ex Army with near perfect shooting scores, so it isnt me. if it were the ammo every shot would be way off, i wouldnt have a nice first two or so groups. The only thing i can come up with is that after 6 to 9 shots everything heats up enough to where the barrel is contacting my stock. suggestions!? i really dont wanna b into this rifle for more than its worth.
 
Jmiverson said:
I have a weatherby vanguard SS in .300 win mag. Basically i'll shoot two groups with all six holes within an inch, then after that my shots all end up high-left, within a 6 inch group-all at 100 yards. Then ill go out to 200 yards and my shots all fly about 8 inches high-3 inches right!!! I am ex Army with near perfect shooting scores, so it isnt me. if it were the ammo every shot would be way off, i wouldnt have a nice first two or so groups. The only thing i can come up with is that after 6 to 9 shots everything heats up enough to where the barrel is contacting my stock. suggestions!? i really dont wanna b into this rifle for more than its worth.
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Sounds like heat to me. Try letting the barrel cool for 10-15 minutes between shots (not between groups) and see if the groups stay consistent. You may also check to see how "free-floated" the barrel is and adjust as necessary.
 
woolly said:
Sounds like heat to me. Try letting the barrel cool for 10-15 minutes between shots (not between groups) and see if the groups stay consistent. You may also check to see how "free-floated" the barrel is and adjust as necessary.
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now, that would b something i dont know much at all about. i can shoot, and care for my guns, but as far as modifications im as good as clueless. how do i check for that? whats the next step if it isnt floated well?
 
If your rifle consistently shoots several rounds really well and then wanders after that, almost guaranteed it's overheating.

I have a P17 in 30-06, normally it is crazy accurate, but... if I make it overheat groups go from 5/8" to 3" right now.

The only option is to simply slow down the shooting.
 
I'f you're not comfortable with bedding or floating your barrel yourself just take it to a gunsmith that would be your best bet. It's not that expensive.
 
thumper1 said:
I'f you're not comfortable with bedding or floating your barrel yourself just take it to a gunsmith that would be your best bet. It's not that expensive.
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or

If your not comfortable, try it on a low value rifle.


Chances of screwing up the rifle in my mind is very low.
 
Jmiverson said:
now, that would b something i dont know much at all about. i can shoot, and care for my guns, but as far as modifications im as good as clueless. how do i check for that? whats the next step if it isnt floated well?
Click to expand...

Take a piece of paper and slide it between the barrel and the forestock towards the action. Nothing should stop it until you hit the action screw.
If the paper binds or catches, then the barrel is not 'free-floated'.
You can remove the barreled action and sand the barrel channel down to give you clearance.
Bedding the action is a longer process and not that difficult. There is a thread on bedding a rifle in the 'gunsmithing' section of this forum.

Being a military shooter are you using a shooting sling to wrap your left arm? You could be putting a lot of sideways torque on the stock and the Vanguards injection molded stocks are not the stiffest. The stock could be being pulled into the barrel, causing inconsistent pressure and throwing the shots off.
 
Curt said:
Take a piece of paper and slide it between the barrel and the forestock towards the action. Nothing should stop it until you hit the action screw.
If the paper binds or catches, then the barrel is not 'free-floated'.
You can remove the barreled action and sand the barrel channel down to give you clearance.
Bedding the action is a longer process and not that difficult. There is a thread on bedding a rifle in the 'gunsmithing' section of this forum.

Being a military shooter are you using a shooting sling to wrap your left arm? You could be putting a lot of sideways torque on the stock and the Vanguards injection molded stocks are not the stiffest. The stock could be being pulled into the barrel, causing inconsistent pressure and throwing the shots off.
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Lots of awesome advice, thx guys. And haha that's exactly how I shoot standing. But I've been mainly shootin off a bipod, I geuss that could put a lot of pressure on it too eh? How do I float the barrel so that it clears hot? I mean I could do it on my work bench cold, but how can I b sure there's enough room for expansion? Again, thx for the input
 
Shoot from a good solid rest on a bench, and allow the barrel to cool between shots. Also, magnums don't take kindly to rapid fire. Shoot 3 shot groups, not 5 or 10.
 
If you can't comfortably hold your hand around the barrel after shooting your groups,you are letting the barrel heat up far too much.If you keep overheating a barrel to that degree,the throat will soon be eroded,and you will be shopping for a new barrel.
 
Jmiverson said:
Lots of awesome advice, thx guys. And haha that's exactly how I shoot standing. But I've been mainly shootin off a bipod, I geuss that could put a lot of pressure on it too eh? How do I float the barrel so that it clears hot? I mean I could do it on my work bench cold, but how can I b sure there's enough room for expansion? Again, thx for the input
Click to expand...

Try the previous mentioned method. Shoot it and check it on the range. Mark the location where/if the paper hangs and either remove the action at the range and do the sanding there or do it at home and check it again when you are back tot he range.

Bipods on factory plastic stocks can also cause this kind of problem. Try sand bags.

A rather low cost solution is a laminated stock. Laminated stocks offer the stability of synthetics and the warmth of real wood. A laminated stock will handle slings and bipods much better than the factory plastic stock.

Boyd's offers them for under $74.00 plus $25.00 for shipping or $119.00 fully finished. You'll have to wait for the fully finished to go on sale as they will not ship anything over $100.00 to Canada.

Richard's Microfit stocks offers more variety (both styles and wood/laminates) and they are willing to ship any of their stocks to Canada.
 
You could also stiffen the forearm on the rifle your self. A fella on here just did a Stevens 200, which have a 'flimsy' stock. Search the forums for his thread. Seemed to do the job he was after.
 
Just take a couple of .22's with you to the range, and shoot the holy hell out of everything between groups with the .300 WM. Thats what I do. I take a brick or 2 of the bulk ammo, and make swiss cheese out of everything. Then before you know it, the big boy is ready for another group. (and do the other things mentioned above, such as checking the barrel channel for true free floating, and having the action bedded.)
 
I agree with Sgt Rock. My Brno 2E always gets its exercise while I am waiting for the centerfires to cool. I also take several centerfires so I can rotate the rifles while they are cooling. I set up a 9 bull target and each rifle or load gets it own bull. I keep track on a piece of paper back at the shooting station, so I don't get them mixed up.
 
My Vanguard shoots some great groups, however the stock is very tight to the barrel. There is no gap at all. If this rifle was bedded and the barrel floated it would shoot even better.
I also noticed that the barrel on mine heats up faster than other rifles.
 
Vanguards are not free floated.A gun does not need to be free floated to shoot good.I have a SUB MOA and it will group under an inch all day.Before you go and free float the barrel would slow down a bit.All barrels will start to shoot crappy when they get to hot, free floated or not.Most remingtons are not free floated either.
 
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