Weatherby Vanguard 2 vs. Remington 700

[sunray]

A Vanguard is a Howa 1500. Might be the other way around though.
They're hunting rifles. Makes no difference which one you buy/shoot, it's a Chevy vs Ford thing.

 

[condomboy]

A Vanguard is a Howa 1500. Might be the other way around though.
They're hunting rifles. Makes no difference which one you buy/shoot, it's a Chevy vs Ford thing.

Vanguard is made by Howa so it's like the VW Routan is a rebadged Dodge Caravan.
They're sub-MOA hunting rifles so that must mean they're Precision Rifles. (I forget how Caramel tried to justify his AR in here but it boiled down to because it shoots impressively for what it is, mean's that it's a Precision Rifle)

 

[CanadianMarksman]

leaning towards a vanguard s2 as of now, is there a reason it's cheaper than a comparable Remington?

 

[bunny]

I have a mint 30-06 Howa with Tally mounts [same as Vangaurd but has three position safety] for sale its very accurate only fired it perhaps 20 times on one trip to range. If interested send me a p.m.

 

[jables]

I've got a lot of both of them.

When you go to the low end of both brands it's Vanguard all the way. The cheapest SPS type stocks are junk where the Vanguards are at least somewhat better. SPSs tend to have bolts rough enough to use as a file. Some makers of $2000 rifles could learn a bit about feeding by looking at a cheap Vanguard.

Once you go up the ladder in price you can go with whatever grabs your fancy. You could just pick the stock you like and let it go at that.

Remington's design is full of cost cutting short-cuts that haven't really caused much problem. Things like the bolt body being made in three pieces and soldered together; and the washer style recoil lug. The Vanguard bolt is forged in one piece; and the action with integral lug is either forged or extruded depending on who you ask. The Vanguard's extractor is the M-16 type and although it probably won't pull cases out any better it is slightly superior in that it won't render the whole rifle inoperable with a few grains of sand stuck behind it like a Remington can be. The no tools field strippable bolt is a nice touch. You can do the same with a dime and your bootlace on a Remington if you know how.

Both are likely to shoot very well out of the box. The Vanguard is warranted to shoot, for whatever that's worth to you.

If you are planning on building on the action later, you probably should go with the Remington. Its not so much because the action is better as that the aftermarket is shaped toward it and every gunsmith and his brother knows how to work on one.

Out of the box triggers are better on the Vanguard. It never used to be that way. Vanguard bottom metal is a little chintzy. Remington's is a little less cheezy and there are quality replacements available.

I couldn't agree more. I owned my Vanguard S2 in 22-250 for a while before I bought my Sendero SFII in 300 win mag and after shooting one day at the range with the 700 I had no choice but to go buy a Timney trigger immediately. I felt the trigger (XMP) was complete junk compared to the smooth 2-stage on the Vanguard. As for stocks, when I first handled a 700 SPS I almost discounted the Remingtons right off the bat. The 700s with the nicer stocks certainly feel better and there are infinitely times more aftermarket upgrades available for the 700s (why I ended up with one). At the end of the day, mine both shoot MOA or less when I'm doing my part, but with the S2 coming out slightly ahead. I'd say if you don't plan on doing any upgrading down the road buy a Vanguard and never look back.

 

[kennymo]

I'd consider an older M700, but for new, off the shelf, it's Vanguard all the way. Some of the higher end Remmy's are still pretty nice but I think the Weatherby is more bang for the buck in the sub $700 price range.

 

[Tac Man]

I have both. The Vanguard is better out of the box for me. Sub-MOA and a great trigger. My 700's hasve the xpro trigger which is not anywhere as good as my Vanguard 2. But they shoot sub-MOA most of the time.