Weatherby Mark V vs Vanguard...Here me out

Dogleg said:
If money is a consideration it has to be the Vanguard. I’ve got a fair amount of both.
Between the 300 Win and the ‘bee I come down on the Wn side. I’ve had several 300 Weatherbys and they have always been a bit of a struggle to get to shoot, and the difference in velocity with handloads has been little or nothing. Near as I can tell, that extra powder just goes to recoil and noise. Oddly, I’ve had great luck with the 257 and 270.

The 300 Win the easy way, the 300 Weatherby is a classic itself, but its one of the hard ways to go fast in a 30.
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I wouldn’t say money is a consideration, I was fully prepared to drop $1300 on a rifle. Yes I said budget, but I want SOME quality. Ruled out the tikka just based on mag length of magnums. I just want something that’s going to be accurate. I know the vanguards shoot, like I said the Mark V I had left a sour taste in my mouth. So little hesitant to try one again. But like another nutter said, buy both and sell which ever one you don’t like.
 
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There’s definitely some quality n the Vanguards, they have very good bones, so to speak. Forged action( or extruded, depends on who you ask) forged bolt, integral recoil lug. M16 style extractor. Field stripable bolt. So field stripable that I used pop them apart in my hand and pretend I broke it just to see the look on the owners face😂.These aren’t cost cutting measures.
Downsides are sort of subjective, floor-plate, trigger guard and safety switch all feel a little rinky-dinky, and thee bolt stop is held in by a screw that you can break if you try hard enough. I wish the mag was longer. All in all a pretty good tradeoff for the cost saving. They usually shoot.

The Mark V is more like a bank vault, there’s nothing rinky-dinky about them and they usually shoot too. It’s probably the strongest commercial bolt action ever made, has a 60 degree bolt lift that some like and I have mixed feelings about, Safety locks the striker, which I do care about. The extractor is a bit small and if you load the snot with well used cases it might eventually skip a rim, or it might not. Happened to me,

In the end, I have both, like both. They are different thats all. Whether its worth to cost for you is up to you. I can’t tell you if your new rifle is going to shoot or not whichever you pick. There’s a bit of luck of the draw on any new purchase.
 
hunter-4-life said:
Now, 300 wby, or 300 win...

I don't really care about the price of brass, price or availability of factory ammo, i'll order ADG (300 win) or Peterson (300 wby) brass
I'd like to run a 200-215gr bullet, Barnes TSX/TTSX, 208/215 Berger Hybrid, 200gr Accubond etc. So I think mag length will play a factor....
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I’ve fielded all three of the 300’s over the years.
300win, 300WSM and 300Wby

The VG2 in 300Wby I had shot factory 200gr ELDX at MOA. I never did try the pet loads provided, but the orig owner was getting sub-MOA with them.

It had some upgrades.. 24” length, Trigger Tech, bedded into a B&C Stock. Whether any of those helped or not who knows. It weighed in at 8.2lbs with a Bushy 4200 2.5-10x40mm atop. Just about the perfect weight range for a Mag Cal (8.5lbs) IMO

The only nit-picky thing I didn’t like about the rifle was the concussive blast from the radial brake. Recoil was VERY tolerable with it though, say stout 270- mid 30-06’ish range. That and factory ammo wasn’t cheap (then again nothing is these days).

One thing I did like when deciding on the 300Wby, was that at between 350-450 yrd range it was floating around approx 2200-2400 ft/lbs of muzzle energy at those ranges. That’s 308 muzzle energy territory. Certainly more than enough thump behind it at distance for anything in my province. Then again, so do the 300Win and 300WSM in reality.

Would I do another?

300Win - Yes. Proven track record, plethora of factory ammo and reloading info

300Wby - Yes/Maybe. Hard to argue with that kind of FT/Lbs of energy at distance but I’d certainly would want to reload for it over factory stuff.

As always ymmv

VG2 below..
 

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Stock quality makes a difference too, its not just about the action or barrel
which stock is on the Vanguard. If the WBee comes with a better stock that comes with some $premium but not everyone can appreciate the differences.
Example, Howa comes in a Hogue and with an extra $K can be had in a HS Precision handle, both models sell
ymmv
 
boxhitch said:
Stock quality makes a difference too, its not just about the action or barrel
which stock is on the Vanguard. If the WBee comes with a better stock that comes with some $premium but not everyone can appreciate the differences.
Example, Howa comes in a Hogue and with an extra $K can be had in a HS Precision handle, both models sell
ymmv
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Most of the Vanguard line up do not have an upgraded Stock in terms of Hogue, B&C or HS Precision variants offered as OEM.

Only their “Talon” model which comes in a CF Peak 44 Stock. At around $1800 for that initially, your at the start of some MkV models.

Even if you were to swap out the Stock on any of the other Vanguard models your roughly at the $1500-$2000K mark or more all in depending on which model of Vanguard and aftermarket stock combo you chose.

HS, Stockys or McMillan will all run you into $1100+ range with current exchange/tarriff rates. B&C is probably the cheapest alternative if you don’t mind them. PR has them usually in stock for around $520 excl taxes, shipping etc.
 
I have a 280 AI in a mark V hunter model that I was gifted for a milestone birthday a few years ago, and it shoots amazingly. I have stacked bullets with factory ammo more than once, when I was having a good day.

I have had pretty good luck with both the Vanguard and the Mark V in the accuracy department, but I think that if I left out this 280 AI, the vanguard has typically beat out the mark V in general terms.
 
I own two Mark V's.
They are both German production as in extremely well made with exacting tolerances.
And they both shoot well sub MOA.

Having shot and handled several of my buddy's Vanguards, I won't be seeking to own one.

Cheers
 
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I think they are both great models but IMO the Japan and German made weatherby Mark Vs are the best built wby rifles.

For the 1st time I just shot a new to me Japan 340 wby this week and got a respectable 1" three shot group @ 100 Meters with factory ammo and im sure the gun will do close to 1/2" with reloads once my shoulder gets better...hahaha
 
Falconflyer said:
I used to collect MkV rifles and I can tell you that (IMO) the USA built MkV's are not the same quality as the Japanese built MkV's. They were (again IMO) the best MkV's and better than even the German built guns.
Having said that, and even though I hold the MkV in high regard, I have seen more than one rifle have feeding issues from the magazine. There is however probably not a stronger action than the MkV regardless of where it's made. If I ever have a kaboom with a rifle, I'd want it to be with a MkV action, they are very strong!
The Vanguard/Howa rifle are by far a better buy as far as price vs accuracy goes though and for something to thrash around the bush I'd probably opt for one of those.
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There are 4 that are just as good...
BAT Machine Vesper,
The Mauser 98 (and derivatives),
Accuracy International (AI) sniper,
Remington 700 (Custom Clones)
 
Personally I’m a Mark V deluxe guy. That being said I have a lazergard that shot very well. For me it’s about both performance and looks. I’m more partial to German / Japan mark v’s but own a couple American ones …waiting to pick up my varmintmaster 224 at Prophet that arrived.
 
FLHTCUI said:
When your prc has been around for more than 30 years maybe we can talk about it some more....
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Time... ...
the old
fallback defense when modern ballistics completely disrupts traditional marketing.

Leaning on an "age requirement" rather than looking at real engineering data.

300 Weatherby in 1944) simply could not account for modern Doppler radar, advanced fluid dynamics, and ultra-high-BC bullet profiles.

The .300 Weatherby requires that massive freebore jump because 1940s steels couldn't handle the chamber pressure otherwise.

The .300 PRC relies on precise, tight SAAMI specifications to align the bullet perfectly with the bore before it even moves.

The belted case on the Weatherby was inherited from the 1912 .375 H&H to headspace on the belt, not the shoulder.

The 300 PRC headspaces precisely on the shoulder, which is why it inherently produces more consistent neck-tension and better accuracy.

In just a few short years, the .300 PRC has already been adopted by elite military units (like USSOCOM) and dominates the ELR circuit. It did not need 30 years to prove itself; the data proved it immediately.

Tech over Time
 
adamthebad said:
There are 4 that are just as good...
BAT Machine Vesper,
The Mauser 98 (and derivatives),
Accuracy International (AI) sniper,
Remington 700 (Custom Clones)
Click to expand...
I disagree, the M700 and M98 are most definitely not as strong as the MkV action. I'm also doubtful of the AI and BAT action as well, they may be as strong but I've never seen or read about any comparison testing.
However, you have your opinions and I have mine.
 
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