Weatherby Vanguard for PR?

T

TRDJer

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
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Location
Bruce County, ON
Hello,

I'm just curious to see if there are many people out there that use Vanguards in a Precision Rifle application, and if so, what is the longest distance do you generally shoot them?

In general it seems like Remingtons, Savages or custom builds are the go-to rifle here but with all of the good things that I have read about the Vanguards (and price) I wonder if anyone has already gone down that road.
 
I shot a Howa 1500 varmint .308 for a few years and had some reservations about selling it after finding a great deal on a 700P .308. Out of the box they're excellent. Good bluing, smooth action, trigger is ok when adjusted down to about 3 lbs. Its a 2 stage but its not very consistent. A Timney 611 is an amazing upgrade and money well spent. B&C stocks are a good value and DBMs are available from PTG, CDI, Atlasworx and ATI. ATI makes the drop-in unit sold by Weatherby and LSI. It fits and feeds well but has a terrible design flaw. It uses a cone washer under the action screws that spreads the plastic DBM causing it to split around the cone washer. Both ends did that to me while torqueing the action screws to the recommended 55 in lbs. The mag is limited to 2.800" OAL. The other 3 use AI mags and will require inletting. They're all aluminum and much better built. As for accuracy they shoot as good as any factory Remington or Savage. With handloads they do consistent sub moa accuracy. The only reason I sold mine was to get into a Remington for the aftermarket. That's where the Howa/Vanguard fall a little short. The aftermarket is coming around for them but it's not anything like what Remington and Savage have available.
 
I shoot a Weatherby Vanguard Varmint in .308 with B&C stock, Timney trigger, Vortex PST scope. I've only shot it out to 400-500 yards so far, but no issues at that distance. I think the Howa 1500's are underrated.

 
Thanks for the feedback guys.

The HS3 does look like a nice chassis, plus it converts it to a box mag. I'm going to have to look into the other options.

As supernova said, it doesn't seem like the aftermarket is huge for the Howa actions, but it seems like there are just enough options out there to build something nice.

Would a built up rifle be 1000 yrd capable?
 
Of course it will be capable of 1000 yards! If you re barrel, you could always switch to 260rem or 6.5x47 for better ballistics and less recoil. And cheaper bullets.
 
The Range Certified series looks like they come in a B&C stock, so that may also be a good way to go.

Since I don't reload at this point (tiny apartment) I am planning on going with 308 purely for the availability of match ammo. 6.5 Creedmoor would be nice but from what researching I've done I haven't been able to find much in the way of match ammo. Some places may carry it but always seem to be out of stock.
 
I have the vanguard s2 in 6.5 Creedmoor,I use it for hunting deer.I have shot a little target with it but only to 400 yards.I have always wanted to take it futher but will have to change scopes.Maybe after hunting season.
 
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