Looking at getting a new rifle in .223 for general plinking and coyote hunting and having a tough time deciding between a few. I'm looking for something more weather resistant and light enough to pack around in the hills between stands when coyote hunting. The rifles I have in mind are the Browning X-bolt stainless stalker, Browning X-bolt Predator Hunter, and Weatherby Vanguard S2 Stainless synthetic. (was also looking at Ruger amercian all weather but wasn't a huge fan of the action and magazine, seemed rougher and I've heard of issues with the mags and they didn't leave much room for seating bullets out further)
The X-bolt stainless stalker is the lightest at about 6lbs 3oz. The x-bolt predator hunter, although it says the same weight on the website, is actually about 7.5lbs (this was weighed on a trade scale but in .22-250 which has a 2" longer barrel so .223 might be a 1/4 lb lighter?) and the Vanguard, depending on the website you look at is between 7.25 and 7.75 lbs which seems heavy for a #2 contour short action rifle even at 24" barrel but no one has had one in stock locally to actually weigh it. The stainless stalker has a 22" tube and both the vanguard and predator hunter have 24" tubes. The predator hunter has a super short action specific to the smaller rounds where as the vanguard has a standard .308 length action just with a different bolt stop and the stainless stalker at this point I'm assuming has the same super short action but I have not been able to confirm this yet for sure. At this point I'm only planning on 55 to 62gr bullets so all 3 rifles have fast enough twist rates for this to not be an issue but the brownings have a slight advantage if I ever want to try heavier as they have 1 in 8" vs the 1 in 9" of the vanguard.
So, a few questions. Does anyone have a Weatherby Vanguard S2 stainless synthetic in .223 to get a real weight of it? Does anyone have a x-bolt stainless stalker to confirm it is the super short action? What does everyone think about the weight differences, will it be noticeable walking/hiking between coyote stands? To me over 7lbs in .223 seems on the heavy side. In saying this, the vanguard weight could be trimmed some via re-contouring or fluting or shortening the barrel or a lighter stock. The predator hunter, aside from rebarrelling, may be somewhat stuck as is, because of the hydrographics and just blued steel underneath. Will the 2" barrel length on the stainless stalker make much difference in .223?
Sorry for the long post and I appreciate any assistance!
The X-bolt stainless stalker is the lightest at about 6lbs 3oz. The x-bolt predator hunter, although it says the same weight on the website, is actually about 7.5lbs (this was weighed on a trade scale but in .22-250 which has a 2" longer barrel so .223 might be a 1/4 lb lighter?) and the Vanguard, depending on the website you look at is between 7.25 and 7.75 lbs which seems heavy for a #2 contour short action rifle even at 24" barrel but no one has had one in stock locally to actually weigh it. The stainless stalker has a 22" tube and both the vanguard and predator hunter have 24" tubes. The predator hunter has a super short action specific to the smaller rounds where as the vanguard has a standard .308 length action just with a different bolt stop and the stainless stalker at this point I'm assuming has the same super short action but I have not been able to confirm this yet for sure. At this point I'm only planning on 55 to 62gr bullets so all 3 rifles have fast enough twist rates for this to not be an issue but the brownings have a slight advantage if I ever want to try heavier as they have 1 in 8" vs the 1 in 9" of the vanguard.
So, a few questions. Does anyone have a Weatherby Vanguard S2 stainless synthetic in .223 to get a real weight of it? Does anyone have a x-bolt stainless stalker to confirm it is the super short action? What does everyone think about the weight differences, will it be noticeable walking/hiking between coyote stands? To me over 7lbs in .223 seems on the heavy side. In saying this, the vanguard weight could be trimmed some via re-contouring or fluting or shortening the barrel or a lighter stock. The predator hunter, aside from rebarrelling, may be somewhat stuck as is, because of the hydrographics and just blued steel underneath. Will the 2" barrel length on the stainless stalker make much difference in .223?
Sorry for the long post and I appreciate any assistance!
