I am looking for anyone's opinions on these guns. How do they shoot, are they good for deer and varmint hunting? No specific caliber intended for this question. I also was told the barrels of these guns heat up very quickly?...
Weatherby Vanguard
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The Vanguard a decent rifle for the money. I think they are around 1.5-2 moa rifle. You can hunt deer and varmints with nearly any hunting rifle out there. The caliber will have more to do with your intended game. The barrel will heat up on any rifle if you shoot enough rounds through it quick enough. Don't see why the Vanguard would heat up quicker. I'd rather have a new Howa with the Hogue stock though. The new one's even have fluted barrels and the triggers are nice. They are around 500. Great deal.
Ive owned a few and right now Ive got one in 257 weatherby and with a round like that the barrel obviously heats up very fast. You dont want to touch it after firing a slow 3 shot group but in a standard chambering it would be no differnt then any other gun. As to accuracy mine about refuses to shoot a group over an inch at a 100 and many groups have gone a 1/2 inch or a tad more. I bought two howa 243s for my grandsons and basicaly there the same gun and both are tack drivers. As a matter of fact i will say ive had better luck with accuracy in vanguards then i have in mark Vs
Arkansas Paul
Member
Only the sub-moa models are guaranteed to be. The standard Vangaurds are 1.5" guarantee. I heard someone say they don't come with the factory targets anymore, but when I bought mine in .30-06 about a year ago, it did. The target with mine was three shots touching. It's been very accurate with any factory load I've tried, as well as about six or eight different recipies I've worked up for it. I have zero trouble getting 1.5" and I'm not the best shot in the world. I know the gun is capable of better. That's about all I'm good for though.
I paid $390 for it at Wally World and would do it again in a heartbeat.
As far as the barrel heating up fast, I'm with Blackops. I don't see how it could heat up any faster than anything else.
I deer hunted with mine last year. I fired two rounds and killed two deer, one was a 150+ shot and the other was darn near touching the end of the barrel. It was less than ten yards.
My only knock against it is that it is a bit heavy. Overall, great value.
I paid $390 for it at Wally World and would do it again in a heartbeat.
As far as the barrel heating up fast, I'm with Blackops. I don't see how it could heat up any faster than anything else.
I deer hunted with mine last year. I fired two rounds and killed two deer, one was a 150+ shot and the other was darn near touching the end of the barrel. It was less than ten yards.
My only knock against it is that it is a bit heavy. Overall, great value.
rbernie
Contributing Member
Good accurate rifle, decent but not terrific trigger, a bit heavy for walkin' about but great in a stand or off a bench. I think well of them, and have owned both 'regular' and SubMOA versions. They are the best value for the money in bolt guns, IMO.
Gander Mountain often has 2nds of the MKV Fibermark line. They are only 2nds cosmetically. I bought one in 338win and I can't find the flaw. I think it was only $550. I have a thing for American made stuff and the lower bolt lift is a major plus to me. I shot a running deer twice once and my brother thought I had an autoloader.
I didn't see why the barrel would heat up any faster, it was just a rumor that I was told. Because I am looking to sell my RRA Predator Pursuit and get either a Tikka T3, Weatherby Vanguard, Howa 1500 (pretty much a Vanguard), or one of the model 700s. Not too sure on the cartridge, but I will be using the gun mostly for coyotes, deer, and just shootin squirrels and rabbits.
I consider the Vanguard to be the top of the line, when it comes to entry level rifles-- that and the Howa ironically. The Vanguard is more of a typical all american sporter rifle, and what that has allways meant; wood stock, classic design, easy to carry, clean and nice metal work, decent shine to the metal. I would not hesitate to get one.
Or maybe a Winchester 70, but I am open to any other suggestions. Once again I like the way the Vanguard looks, I haven't really held one, only a Mark V and I don't know how similar the specs are on the two or whether or not it would be in my best option to spend more money in getting a sub-moa one or not.
Not a premium rifle, but a really remarkably good deer rifle for the money.
I got one at WalMart for $349 last year, end-of-deer-season special, and it's an excellent deer rifle. Much, much more rifle for the money compared to other bargain guns.
Mine has a 7 pound trigger, and the fore end of the stock rubs the barrel on the bottom. It shoots 1.5 to 1.7 inch at 100 yards with no wind. Perhaps better if I shave down the stock so it doesn't rub the barrel. Nice action, nice bolt, easy to clean.
Barrel heat up? I suspect someone was talking about the Weatherby magnum calibers. Weatherby magnums have the reputation of short barrel life. Heat and pressure burn up the bore at twice the rate of a non-magnum, but that's also true of other magnum cartridges from Winchester, H&H, Norma, and other big magnums.
I got one at WalMart for $349 last year, end-of-deer-season special, and it's an excellent deer rifle. Much, much more rifle for the money compared to other bargain guns.
Mine has a 7 pound trigger, and the fore end of the stock rubs the barrel on the bottom. It shoots 1.5 to 1.7 inch at 100 yards with no wind. Perhaps better if I shave down the stock so it doesn't rub the barrel. Nice action, nice bolt, easy to clean.
Barrel heat up? I suspect someone was talking about the Weatherby magnum calibers. Weatherby magnums have the reputation of short barrel life. Heat and pressure burn up the bore at twice the rate of a non-magnum, but that's also true of other magnum cartridges from Winchester, H&H, Norma, and other big magnums.
Have a 20-inch .308 Vanguard carbine with synthetic stock, averages 1.5 inches & that's all I need. I deliberately chose it over a Remington, a Ruger, and a Winchester for an ATV go-anywhere-rifle. The bolt is smooth, the gun's fairly light, the barrel's short & handy, the trigger was fine out of the box, and it had a decent recoil pad already on it.
I prefer a CRF for a dangerous animal gun, but I consider the beefy extractor to be superior to the Remington extractor (and easier to service if necessary), and I very much like the bolt vents angling gases out the ejection "port" instead of down into the magazine if a shell ruptures. I also have other guns for large animals if needed.
The plastic stock is a trifle cheesy, but it fits my longer neck & leaves the gun a shade lighter than a solid wood or synthetic stock.
The barrel heating up depends on caliber, barrel thickness, and rapidity of fire.
Mine has a thick enough barrel that two or three followup shots is not going to make much difference. It's not free-floated, which means when the barrel steel does expand with heat buildup it'll push against the fore-end. In a "solid" wood fore-end that typically pushes the barrel upward slightly, but in my Vanguard the plastic fore-end seems to be flexible enough that the barrel pushes it down when it heats up, not vice-versa.
Definitely do not have to worry about dinging the stock on this one.
I think it's an excellent buy.
Denis
I prefer a CRF for a dangerous animal gun, but I consider the beefy extractor to be superior to the Remington extractor (and easier to service if necessary), and I very much like the bolt vents angling gases out the ejection "port" instead of down into the magazine if a shell ruptures. I also have other guns for large animals if needed.
The plastic stock is a trifle cheesy, but it fits my longer neck & leaves the gun a shade lighter than a solid wood or synthetic stock.
The barrel heating up depends on caliber, barrel thickness, and rapidity of fire.
Mine has a thick enough barrel that two or three followup shots is not going to make much difference. It's not free-floated, which means when the barrel steel does expand with heat buildup it'll push against the fore-end. In a "solid" wood fore-end that typically pushes the barrel upward slightly, but in my Vanguard the plastic fore-end seems to be flexible enough that the barrel pushes it down when it heats up, not vice-versa.
Definitely do not have to worry about dinging the stock on this one.
I think it's an excellent buy.
Denis
Arkansas Paul
Member
You can't go wrong with a Remington 700 either. I got the Academy sales paper this morning and the ADLs are on sale for $329. That's a bargain. If I was in the market for a deer rifle, I don't think I'd pass it up at that price.
Unfortunately, you CAN go wrong with a Remington 700. Most are fine, but check it over carefully before you take delivery.
Denis
Denis
I have a Vanguard purchased at Cabelas a few months ago. I traded in an older Vanguard for it. The new one is better than the old one. The new one I have is a 257 Weatherby Mag, stainless. I highly recomend it. The trigger has no creep and breaks very light. I have not grouped it. I have only bore sighted it and fired a shot, adjusted scope, fired a shot and so on. During this process no shot has yet gone left or right more than a quarter inch out to 220 yds. I think if I grouped it, it would be scary good. It is wearing a Leupold VX1 4-12 LRD in Leupold QRW rings on top of a Warne one piece tactical base.
The stock dimentions are almost identical between the MKV and Vanguard. The Vanguard is a Mauser-style, push feed action (Is there such a thing? Read two lug) with a kind of Sako-style extractor and the MKV is, well a MKV, 6 or 9 lugs depending on cartridge head size.
I hear they are good for the money. I handled one at sportsman warehouse and did not like the feel of the synthetic stock, looked real cheap and did not like how the bolt felt. Made me think of a toy. I than handled the T3 Tikka lite in 30-06 and you won't believe what happened next my umbilical cord wrapped around it and it ended up coming home with me.
Haha yeah I think I would rather go with a 700, Tikka, or Model 70, because I don't like the fact that the Vanguard doesn't have a free float barrel. The other thing I am stuck with is on what scope. A Simmons Master Series, some form of Loopy, or an SWFA SS 3x9. I currently have a 6x42 SWFA SS on my Predator Pursuit and love it, but I am looking to get a variable powered scope instead.
I have been thinking about getting a Howa barreled action and adding a stock to it. Either a Boyds or other. I like doing working on little projects like that. That is why I have a stock coming for my CZ 550.
Arkansas Paul
Member
Well yeah. Maybe I used the wrong word. You CAN go wrong with anything. As long as humans are putting things together, there's a chance you'll get a bad one. That doesn't change the fact that the Remington 700 has a longtime reputation of being one of the best bolt guns for the money you can get. Their cheap lines have tainted their reputation somewhat, but it doesn't change their good stuff.
Remington QC has been an issue for quite a while, but I was told that new upgrades at the Ilion plant & new monitoring processes have improved the odds in favor of the purchaser. Remington's aware of the issue. Internet forums mention it, gunsmiths mention it.
I've had two Model Sevens that both had to go back to Remington, and I've seen two very rough 700s personally in the past four years.
I've also worked with a new one in the last year that was quite nice. I'm certainly not knocking the company in general.
Brand loyalty aside, it's a good idea to give ANY new rifle by any maker a thorough lookover before taking it home. My Vanguard was chosen over a Ruger (which actually was my first preference in selecting one .308 to have & to hold) because the Ruger's action was very rough & I didn't want to spend the money to address it in this case.
Not to start a brand war, just saying Remington has had their ups & downs, and it's not realistic to make a blanket statement about their quality. Or any other maker, nowdays.
Denis
I've had two Model Sevens that both had to go back to Remington, and I've seen two very rough 700s personally in the past four years.
I've also worked with a new one in the last year that was quite nice. I'm certainly not knocking the company in general.
Brand loyalty aside, it's a good idea to give ANY new rifle by any maker a thorough lookover before taking it home. My Vanguard was chosen over a Ruger (which actually was my first preference in selecting one .308 to have & to hold) because the Ruger's action was very rough & I didn't want to spend the money to address it in this case.
Not to start a brand war, just saying Remington has had their ups & downs, and it's not realistic to make a blanket statement about their quality. Or any other maker, nowdays.
Denis
Arkansas Paul
Member
Lite Stainless. Don't think you can get the Hunter stainless in the US unless you make your own. If you want wood and stainless, you need to but a Tikka lite, then order a wood stock from CDNN.
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