reviews and experiences with weatherby vanguard rifles. looking at getting a sporter.

[phconk]

reviews and experiences with weatherby vanguard rifles. looking at getting a sporter.

[JPMNTMAN]

i have the vangard in a series 2 in 300 win mag. The accuracy they talk about is there and I am by no means a great shooter. The feel of the gun is great. The palm swell on the right side seems to put my hand in just the right spot. The kick of the mag was easily tamed with the simple kick pad that comes on the rifle. I tried several different companies and looked at the synthetics only. The vangard felt good and was easy to grip many others felt slippery and very smooth even in the store in dry conditions. The two stage trigger did take some shots to get use to and i did yank a few off the paper thinking the trigger was not yet ready to snap. The price was great for what they offer and I dont think you could go wrong. But thats my opinion. I did not like the safety though. I have two rugers and love the flip out style safety so going to have to keep an eye on the safety I was able to get it to move to the fire position while putting the rifle over my shoulder and moving the gun up and down with moderate pressure while it rubbed on my clothing. Sort of bugs me a little but will do some more testing with it.

[Treestand]

You cant go Wrong with a New Weatherby Sporter
What Caliber???....What Scope???

[jay]

I have 2 vanguards that are sub-moa models. One is .30-06 and the other is .338 win mag. They do live up to their reputation as being very accurate as the floor plate nomenclature points out. The best commercial load I have found for either is the Nosler with the Partition bullet. They are extremely well made. The only possible negative is the weight of the rifle if you plan to huff up and down mountains. Mountain rifle it is not.

[Sarge01]

I had a Series 2 Vanguard which was a fine rifle, just the caliber I had left a lot to be desired for me. The rifle is a fine rifle and I would not hestitate to get another.

[DakotaMan]

Howa, the Japanese manufacturer who designed and produces that rifle for them makes the best low cost rifles available. I personally prefer the Vanguard design to the Weatherby Mark V for general hunting of non-dangerous game(not quite as pretty but more functional) . I shoot a Howa 1500 (same rifle) 30-06 with a Weatherby Deluxe stock I bought and bedded separately. I am always reluctant to tell people how well I like it because I'd hate to see them raise the price. The Vanguard/ Howa 1500 rifles are:

1. Accurate, Howa consistently produces good barrels with chambers well aligned. The flat based receiver with integral recoil lug is easy to bed right and doesn't move from shot-to-shot. This is a serious accuracy improvement over all the cylindrical receivers like the Rem 700 that use the flimsy but economical recoil washer and round bar stock for receiver. I'm shooting .350 inch three shot groups with Barnes 175g LRX bullets at 100 yards and it shoots more accurate bullets even better. My custom glass/pillar bedding helped here. To me, that means it can hit an elk in the heart at 400 yards or a coyote at 600 yards if I do my part.

2. Dependable - They have a simple action with little that can go wrong. No screws to come loose, no threaded firing pin that can be installed wrong, no BB's to drop in the rocks. It is still a push feed receiver like the Rem 700 or Mark V so it will not feed and eject as reliably as a Mauser style controlled round feed (for dangerous game). The extractor on mine is not as strong as a Rem 700 or my Mark V so it won't pull a stuck cartridge quite as well but it might just be my extractor. It also won't force a fat or dirty cartridge into the chamber like a Mauser cam will but that is constraint common to all the push feed receivers.

3. Strong, if anything it has a little too much steel where it counts to make it a little heavy but you won't have to worry about it blowing up. Good pressure relief system too in case you blow up a case or do something stupid. This is especially important if you reload and might someday make that one potentially fatal mistake. It's also important if you hunt in snow and ice or around muddy cover. If you get some of this in your barrel and fire through it, The explosion might fatten your barrel but it won't likely blow the receiver or blow gas back in your face.

4. Good amenities. Nice adjustable trigger; about the same as the Rem 700 or Mark V in function. Good safety and magazine feed. Good bottom metal. After market stocks, triggers, mounts, etc. are plentiful; not as plentiful as Rem 700 goodies but that may change with the success of the Vanguard/Howas.

Bottom line is that they are a great rifle. Not as fine a finish as their Mark V and no 60 degree bolt throw but I'm taking my Howa 1500 elk hunting this year and leaving my Mark V in the safe because of its accuracy and reliability. I'm not trying to discredit the beautiful Mark V here, I'm simply saying that as a hunting tool, the Vanguard/Howa rifle does one heck of a job. When you consider its lower end price, it is a great value.

[Edward J. Palumbo]

There's little I can add to DakotaMan's excellent post. My experience with the Vanguard is limited to the previous series, and I've been favorably impressed with the Vanguard-Howa rifles. Currently, my personal rifles were (are) varminters (.223, .22-250 and .243). I've worked with others in .270 and .30-'06 in load development for friends who weren't handloaders. I have witnessed nor heard of any disappointments. We fired on adjacent benches and the Vanguard in .270 grouped impressively. The gentleman on the adjacent bench who spent a considerable amount on his personalized Mauser was upset because his rifle (a beautiful piece) grouped well but not impressively, despite the attention he lavished on it. I would suggest that part of the problem was shooting technique, but I cannot prove that; I was not permitted or invited to fire his rifle.
My heavy-barreled Howa, chambered for the .223 (photo in my profile) is a consistent sub-MOA performer. My friend's Howa .22-250 cost him $410 and groups very tightly as well. Interestingly, a gentleman who witnessed our shooting sessions purchased a Sub-MOA Vanguard in .22-250, and that rifle cannot be pried from his grasp, but he doesn't handload. I've asked him to save all his brass and I'd be happy to show him how to reload, but we haven'y had or made that opportunity yet.
In summary, am I favorable impressed with the Vanguard? Yes, with every one that I've had the opportunity to fire.

[shawn earle]

I just ordered a sporter in 7mm08 i'm not going moose or Grizzly hunting so i figured it would be all that's needed and it's a good accurate round. Won't have it in my hands till next week, but from all the reviews i have read it is made much better than anything else in the $600 range. I read a lot of horror story reviews on the mossberg patriot, the ruger American,and the savage Axis rifles. And i am not a synthetic stock guy so i was left with the mossberg patriot, Browning AB3 or this weatherby. I read stories about weak ejectors in both the patriot and Browning so i decided on the weatherby i just hope it shoots good? I'm pretty confident i can work up a good shooting load for it from the reloading bench though.

[Bryan Chaney]

I just ordered a sporter in 7mm08 i'm not going moose or Grizzly hunting so i figured it would be all that's needed and it's a good accurate round. Won't have it in my hands till next week, but from all the reviews i have read it is made much better than anything else in the $600 range. I read a lot of horror story reviews on the mossberg patriot, the ruger American,and the savage Axis rifles. And i am not a synthetic stock guy so i was left with the mossberg patriot, Browning AB3 or this weatherby. I read stories about weak ejectors in both the patriot and Browning so i decided on the weatherby i just hope it shoots good? I'm pretty confident i can work up a good shooting load for it from the reloading bench though.

I on a vanguard 2 sporter in 25-06....I love it...very well made, gr8 fit & finish!
shoot 5/8" to 3/4" groups with Hornany American Whitetail 117grain ammo...I think u will be very pleased!!!! trigger came @ 2.5lbs breaks like grass....ive shot rifle that cost 2 to 3 time more that was not as good as this gun.

[Bryan Chaney]

There's little I can add to DakotaMan's excellent post. My experience with the Vanguard is limited to the previous series, and I've been favorably impressed with the Vanguard-Howa rifles. Currently, my personal rifles were (are) varminters (.223, .22-250 and .243). I've worked with others in .270 and .30-'06 in load development for friends who weren't handloaders. I have witnessed nor heard of any disappointments. We fired on adjacent benches and the Vanguard in .270 grouped impressively. The gentleman on the adjacent bench who spent a considerable amount on his personalized Mauser was upset because his rifle (a beautiful piece) grouped well but not impressively, despite the attention he lavished on it. I would suggest that part of the problem was shooting technique, but I cannot prove that; I was not permitted or invited to fire his rifle.
My heavy-barreled Howa, chambered for the .223 (photo in my profile) is a consistent sub-MOA performer. My friend's Howa .22-250 cost him $410 and groups very tightly as well. Interestingly, a gentleman who witnessed our shooting sessions purchased a Sub-MOA Vanguard in .22-250, and that rifle cannot be pried from his grasp, but he doesn't handload. I've asked him to save all his brass and I'd be happy to show him how to reload, but we haven'y had or made that opportunity yet.
In summary, am I favorable impressed with the Vanguard? Yes, with every one that I've had the opportunity to fire.

I own a vanguard 2 sporter in 25-06....I love it...very well made, gr8 fit & finish! shoot 5/8" to 3/4" groups with Hornany American Whitetail 117grain ammo...I think u will be very pleased!!!! trigger came @ 2.5lbs breaks like grass....ive shot rifles that cost 2 to 3 time more that was not as good as this gun.

[Bryan Chaney]

I have 2 vanguards that are sub-moa models. One is .30-06 and the other is .338 win mag. They do live up to their reputation as being very accurate as the floor plate nomenclature points out. The best commercial load I have found for either is the Nosler with the Partition bullet. They are extremely well made. The only possible negative is the weight of the rifle if you plan to huff up and down mountains. Mountain rifle it is not.

I had a Howa 1500 in 270win...it was a plain jane rifle synthetic stock, to plumb ugly. but it was a very well built and accurate rifle....it would shoot 1" groups with most ammo....back in 2003 when I owned it, I found that it liked PMC 130 grain soft points the best. it would shoot 3/4" groups and under. if I was having a good day I have put 3 out 5 shots in one hole at 150yds....only reason I sold it, was I popped off to a buddy of my and he pulled Ben Franklins out & owned.

[shawn earle]

I just ordered a sporter in 7mm08 i'm not going moose or Grizzly hunting so i figured it would be all that's needed and it's a good accurate round. Won't have it in my hands till next week, but from all the reviews i have read it is made much better than anything else in the $600 range. I read a lot of horror story reviews on the mossberg patriot, the ruger American,and the savage Axis rifles. And i am not a synthetic stock guy so i was left with the mossberg patriot, Browning AB3 or this weatherby. I read stories about weak ejectors in both the patriot and Browning so i decided on the weatherby i just hope it shoots good? I'm pretty confident i can work up a good shooting load for it from the reloading bench though.

Yes it feels like a well built rifle, but mine don't shoot for beans. I've tried factory and reloads in it and have gotten between 2 1\2- 4" groups with it at 100 yards. I'm thinking of trading it for a Mossberg Patriot. I recently bought one of those in a .243 and it easily shoots 1\2" groups at 100 yards