Opinions on WBY Vanguard series 2 (On sale)

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dwight_Shrute

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So Wholesale is having a sale on these for 499$ (200 off) with the Next Camo Whitetail Bonz stock. I ordered one in .270 Win as it will be my first Big game rifle and seemed like the most versatile caliber available. I really wanted a wood stock but figure with the $$ saved on sale i can buy aftermarket if it bothers me that much or try to make my own (Amateur woodworker here :) . A quick search tells me they are great rifles on Par with Tikka (Whatever that means as i have not handled either rifle.) What are your opinions on rifle and caliber choice? Will be used to hunt whatever my experienced hunting buddy wants to hunt this year, i haven't yet hunted Large game (So likely Deer/Black bear maybe Moose as well if we can pull it off). Available calibers were .243, .270, 308, 30-06, 300 win... No magnums.

Also how is aftermarket availability with weatherby? I usually like tinkering/upgrading. Thanks all.
 
The Vanguards are probably the biggest value in bolt action rifles. The caliber you chose will do what you want; choosing the actual most versatile caliber would require a 300 page thread and a couple of fistfights and it would still not be settled.
 
I would jump on the 30-06. Great all around caliber, and Weatherby's are awesome rifles (especially for $499!!!). You can purchase an aftermarket stock for it later on for the same combined price as a normal S2 model. Not tons of aftermarket upgrades. They do make detachable box mag kits for them, and most brands of rings/bases/rails make something to fit the Weatherbys.
 
I should also note that the 270 is an awesome caliber as well (that's what my Vanguard is in), some guys may argue its a little light for moose, but if you use the right type of bullet and have good shot placement, you'll be laughing.
 
dwight_Shrute said:
So Wholesale is having a sale on these for 499$ (200 off) with the Next Camo Whitetail Bonz stock. I ordered one in .270 Win as it will be my first Big game rifle and seemed like the most versatile caliber available. I really wanted a wood stock but figure with the $$ saved on sale i can buy aftermarket if it bothers me that much or try to make my own (Amateur woodworker here :) . A quick search tells me they are great rifles on Par with Tikka (Whatever that means as i have not handled either rifle.) What are your opinions on rifle and caliber choice? Will be used to hunt whatever my experienced hunting buddy wants to hunt this year, i haven't yet hunted Large game (So likely Deer/Black bear maybe Moose as well if we can pull it off). Available calibers were .243, .270, 308, 30-06, 300 win... No magnums.

Also how is aftermarket availability with weatherby? I usually like tinkering/upgrading. Thanks all.
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300 Win is a magnum.....
270 is a good choice. The Vanguard is a good choice. They take the same 2 piece bases as a REM 700. There are aftermarket stocks, and kits to convert to detachable mags, check Prophet River, they stock all that.
 
At 500 bucks that's a better "value" then a Savage Axis for $1 :)

You can't fiddle with these the way you can with a Rem 700 - they don't have that kind of aftermarket support.

But you can get a stock from B&C, or a number of styles from Boyd's to name a couple.

In a long action, non-magnum (so 25.06/270/30.06) you can get a factory DBM kit.

In any action and non-Wby magnums you can get an aftermarket DBM kit from LSI.

These already come with a super nice trigger - a two stage (which you will either love or hate) - but absolutely "no need" to go swapping triggers on these.

And they are guaranteed to shoot sub-moa "out of the box with off the shelf ammo" or Weatherby will "fix it" for you.

And while you may not like the "camo pattern" on the Bonz model, for a synthetic stock these are actually "not bad" compared to many of the others out there that are stocked from "plastic trees".
 
kamlooky said:
Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-ah, butt, t'ain't the Phlame Kammoe thoe.............. Yuh dun mizzed duh bote.
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Yup i was a few hours late for that one lol. Gotta say though i much prefer this camo to the flames. (If i understood your jiberish correctly lol)

Thanks for all the replies Gents. Some good info here. I Been planing on a hunting rifle for a while now and this deal definitely got my attention. The only thing i don't necessarily like about this rifle is that the barrel is not floating. (But probably only because the internet tells me that floating is everything and all else can suck it lol) I currently only own Rimfire rifles (apart from my Beretta shotty and some Milsurps), and have never shot at anything beyond 100 yards so at this point my talent (or lack thereof) has a lot of catching up to do with the accuracy of the gun i'd imagine.

Just curious, in all honesty and in real life Hunting situations, is there anything a .308 can do that a .270 cannot? A little bird is whispering in my ear to get .308 or 30-06 instead. (The Bird is my hunting buddy lol). Keep in mind this may very well be used to hunt anything i need it to. So coyote on up to Moose.
 
dwight_Shrute said:
Yup i was a few hours late for that one lol. Gotta say though i much prefer this camo to the flames. (If i understood your jiberish correctly lol)

Thanks for all the replies Gents. Some good info here. I Been planing on a hunting rifle for a while now and this deal definitely got my attention. The only thing i don't necessarily like about this rifle is that the barrel is not floating. (But probably only because the internet tells me that floating is everything and all else can suck it lol) I currently only own Rimfire rifles (apart from my Beretta shotty and some Milsurps), and have never shot at anything beyond 100 yards so at this point my talent (or lack thereof) has a lot of catching up to do with the accuracy of the gun i'd imagine.

Just curious, in all honesty and in real life Hunting situations, is there anything a .308 can do that a .270 cannot? A little bird is whispering in my ear to get .308 or 30-06 instead. (The Bird is my hunting buddy lol). Keep in mind this may very well be used to hunt anything i need it to. So coyote on up to Moose.
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The .308 and .30-06 has a wider variety of bullet choice and can toss a heavier pill...... But for what you want, a .270 is fine.....
 
.270 is suitable for just about anything in NA. Use a proper bullet, place a proper shot.

This "must have magnum" hysteria is getting a bit ridiculous.
 
dwight_Shrute said:
Yup i was a few hours late for that one lol. Gotta say though i much prefer this camo to the flames. (If i understood your jiberish correctly lol)

Thanks for all the replies Gents. Some good info here. I Been planing on a hunting rifle for a while now and this deal definitely got my attention. The only thing i don't necessarily like about this rifle is that the barrel is not floating. (But probably only because the internet tells me that floating is everything and all else can suck it lol) I currently only own Rimfire rifles (apart from my Beretta shotty and some Milsurps), and have never shot at anything beyond 100 yards so at this point my talent (or lack thereof) has a lot of catching up to do with the accuracy of the gun i'd imagine.

Just curious, in all honesty and in real life Hunting situations, is there anything a .308 can do that a .270 cannot? A little bird is whispering in my ear to get .308 or 30-06 instead. (The Bird is my hunting buddy lol). Keep in mind this may very well be used to hunt anything i need it to. So coyote on up to Moose.
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I picked up one of the Flamers in 308 on the last sale when they were giving them away for $399 but I agree the Bonz camo on these is much nicer, good score!
I believe that Weatherby recommends some barrel pressure on the Vanguards and for them not to be free floated? I am sure someone will correct me if i am wrong.
Your 270 will do fine. Enjoy!
 
kc34 said:
I picked up one of the Flamers in 308 on the last sale when they were giving them away for $399 but I agree the Bonz camo on these is much nicer, good score!
I believe that Weatherby recommends some barrel pressure on the Vanguards and for them not to be free floated? I am sure someone will correct me if i am wrong.
Your 270 will do fine. Enjoy!
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Hmm, interesting. I haven't heard that before. I know B&C makes aftermarket stocks for the Vanguards, and they're the same company who makes the stocks for Weatherby's Mark V's. I have my S2 in a B&C and haven't seen any issues yet, in fact quite the contrary.
 
These Vanguards shoot pretty good with the front pressure point, but having 2 Howa's and 2 Vanguards, I can't say they shoot better then the free floated Howas.
The front pressure point all depends on how even the stock halves got molded together. I have one that was great, one that was about 1/16 higher on one side, this caused issues needless to say, and I ended up having to free float it to get it shooting consistently.
 
Hitzy said:
These Vanguards shoot pretty good with the front pressure point, but having 2 Howa's and 2 Vanguards, I can't say they shoot better then the free floated Howas.
The front pressure point all depends on how even the stock halves got molded together. I have one that was great, one that was about 1/16 higher on one side, this caused issues needless to say, and I ended up having to free float it to get it shooting consistently.
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Good to know.
 
We we're out last weekend with 5 s2,s .1 in 270 2 243,s and 2 223. The 243 and 270 heat up a lot quicker than the 223.The 270 shot moa at 100yds with federal blue box 130g. It also shot good with 130g SST. The 243 seems to prefer federal blue box 100g also shooting moa. The 223,s are sub moa with a lot of different rounds. I actually had a sub moa group with federal AR 55g fmj at 200yds. No problem hitting a pop can @300yds. The triggers came at about 2.75lbs on them. Talley makes a decent ring that bolts right on too the receiver, better than bases and separate rings. I paid $399 for a flamer last fall. The most we paid was $525 .WSS has great clearance prices on them.
 
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