Is there that much of a speed difference between the Vanguard 24 inch barrel vs the Mark V 26 inch barrel? What about getting a Vanguard adn putting in something like an 26 inch fluted ER Shaw barrel? or am I just throwing good money away without much improvement. Again Im not using this for shooting competitions but for hunting, but I do understand that once you get out to 400 + yards those small differences can make a big difference
I got 3650 fps in the accumark and my friend got 3590 fps in his vanguard. Thats 100 gr tsx hand loads for both rifles. Not really any difference. You can have more variation than that do to chambers and barrels. There is no reason not to buy a 24" 257 wby.
I also think the action (mkv) is to big for the "small" 257 and I think the accumark is to heavy and unwieldy which is why I sold mine. Get the vanguard. You can put a McMillan on it (I ordered mine) and for a grand you will have a great rifle.

























































