Possible to rebarrel Vanguard 30.06 into varmint rig?

[bosshoff]

My dad won a Weatherby Vanguard in 30.06 at a fundrasing dinner. It is a nice blued rifle in a laminate wood stock. It came with a Nikon 3 X 9 in low rings. The thing is, we (brother, myself, and pop) all hunt with 7mm Rem Mag's. (It is kind of nice in Elk camp if everyone is using the same ammo.) We have no real use for a 30.06. I'd like to maybe re-barrel it into a varmint caliber, maybe something like 22-250? I know **** about gunsmithing, and just want to know what is possible. I do understand that a 30.06 is considered a "long" action, correct? Also, before you say "sell it", my dad won't. He is excited he won it, and wants to keep it. I just want to morph it into something he might enjoy a bit more than something that will never be used. Any ideas guys? Thanks.

 

[Jim Watson]

Sure, it can be done.
A Shaw barrel can be bought, installed, polished, blued, and shipped back to you for a little under $400. Shaws are kind of a medium grade standard barrel. A top line barrel like Krieger would be $600+.

.22-250 might not feed out of a long magazine, but that doesn't matter much for a varmint rifle. I'd just put one of those single shot loading trays in the magazine and go shooting.

 

[ftierson]

Even though you may currently have no use for a .30-06, try a few rounds of .30-06 though it as is...

He might actually end up liking it. I know that I really like the Howa that I have in .30-06...

(And, although this might sound like a cutsie comment, I really mean it seriously)...



Of course, the action can be rebarreled in just about anything that isn't too long for the action. Getting other cartridges to feed well might be slightly more of a problem. .22-250 might work all right, but is somewhat short for the action. You can always have a spacer installed in the back of the magazine well to accommodate the shorter cartridge, and, since the .30-06 and .22-250 cases are reasonably close to each other in diameter for some distance, the shortened magazine well should probably work with the new cartridge...

However, I should add that it's probably cheaper to go out and buy a new Weatherby Vanguard in the cartridge you want and sell off (or keep) the current one...

Forrest

 

[asknight]

He is excited he won it, and wants to keep it. I just want to morph it

I'm wondering if he's even going to let you touch it!

 

[bosshoff]

My dad is a very fit and young 74. Things like setting up his rifle for him to go hunting, mounting scopes, zeroing actions, are just stuff I have always done for him. A member on a different board suggested I look into a 25-06. In this case, I would probably just send the rifle out, have it rebarreled, have the action bedded, maybe a Timkey trigger installed, all under his nose. We have a bunch of stuff around, I don't think he will miss it as long as it is not away too long.
I also understand a cheaper route would be just to start with a different round, and sell this weapon, however, my dad realy likes the laminate stock on the Vanguard. I have not seen a similar stock like it anywhere. I am sure it is a special run for a distributor like Acu-Sport or somebody. At this point in my dad's life, spending the money seems very unimportant to me.
I just want to set him up with something he will be able to shoot like a laser beam, without beating the hell out of him.

 

[rcmodel]

Somehow, re-barreling a brand new Weatherby just don't seem right!

As for your dad shooting it, if he can handle a 7mm Mag's recoil, he can most certainly handle a 30-06. They don't kick as hard as a 7mm Mag in my experience. And it will kill Elk just as dead as a 7mm Mag at any range you should be shooting at them.

As for "ammo interchangeability" in hunting camp, I can't buy into that either.

Unless all of you are shooting the exact same brand & lot number of 7mm ammo, they are not interchangeable.

No two brands will shoot to the same POI without sighting in the rifle with the different brand of ammo, and that is not too practical in the midst of an Elk hunt!

I would suggest your dad at least try the 30-06 before screwing up a perfectly good, brand new Weatherby.


rcmodel

 

[Fumbler]

Somehow, re-barreling a brand new Weatherby just don't seem right!

It's not like it's a real Weatherby, it's a Vanguard (same as a Howa 1500).

If you're going to rebarrel it to turn it into a varmint gun then you may as well have the action and bolt squared up while it's apart. That'll get you the most accuracy out of the new barrel.

You'll have to recontour the barrel channel in your stock and probably go ahead and bed it too. If you have any hand tool skills then you can do that part yourself and save money.

 

[bosshoff]

rcmodel maybe we are all just lucky in my family. My brother has a Weatherby Mark V Eurosport in 7mm Rem Mag. My dad has a Remington 700 BDL in 7mm. Rem. Mag. I have a Weatherby Vanguard in 7mm. Rem Mag. All THREE of the rifles LOVE Federal Premium 7mm Rem. Mag's loaded with 175 grain Trophy Bonded Bullets. This makes us very fortunate when hunting as we can share bullets if necessary, whether in the Bitteroot Widerness in Idaho, or in South Africa, or in New Zealand. (I didn't make the last two trips)
Fumbler, I would definetly take the full plunge as long as I was having it rebarreled by a gunsmith. I would have the action trued, and the chamber section of the barrel and action bedded, the stock opened up for the contour of the barrel, a pinned Holland recoil lug installed, some trigger work done or a Timkey trigger installed, etc.
rcmodel, hunting elk and shooting one or two rounds is one thing my dad has never had a problem with. I have never heard him complain of the recoil from a 7mm Rem. Mag. or our .338. Now SHOOTING is different than hunting. My goal here is not to dis the 30.06, but to possibly set this Weatherby Vanguard up with something that doesn't beat the hell out of the old man, and is something different and or fun, that we do not already have in the gun cabinet.
As far as your statement about "ammo interchangeability", It makes me think of the time my dad slipped crossing the stream in Alaska. For a moment my brother could only just see his favorite ball hat floating down the brook. My dad was completely under the rushing water. Although is was only one or two feet deep, and not moving terribly fast. My dad wanted to kind of fall flat, as not to damage his rifle or himself (mainly his tail bone.). Needless to say, he was completely swamped, let alone cold. Nothing a good fire could not dry out. My point is this, after traveling ALL the way up to Alaska, for the hunt (that may be one, of the two or three times in his life he is able to get up there) investing all the time and money, would you trust the cartriges in you pocket which just got soaked by a moss covered submerged rock, or would you take some comfort knowing that your son had some dry cartriges to lend from his daypack?

 

[rcmodel]

Wet cartridges from falling in a stream?
I'd shoot what I brung!

But I'm a stubbern old cuss who has never had a wet rifle cartride mis-fire in his life.


rcmodel

 

[quicktime]

I say go for it in 25-06. Add a Vais muzzle break and a couple of mercury recoil reducers to your list and you your brother and your dad will be fighting over who get's to shoot it. Nothing better than squeezing off a round at a varmint 600yards away and getting to watch the carnage through the scope because the rifle never even twitched

 

[JG2000]

You could get into reloading. Load a 110 grain Hornady V-Max up to 3400fps. That will knock the hell out of those varmints and you could always shoot some 180's for elk. Just a thought

 

[ranger335v]

IF you seriously want to mess up that great hunting rifle, convert it to a 25-06. There is little else that would avoid feeding problems and serve well for varmiting. Proper feeding from a box magazine requires that both the length and geometry of the feed rails be correct for the cartridge.

Certainly don't go to down to a .22-250 or .243. A 6mm Rem. MIGHT feed smoothly from a blocked-off magazine but I question even that.

 

[TehK1w1]

As a side note of my own, it seems to me that a 7mm mag would kick harder than a .30-06. I personally would leave it in .30-06--loaded correctly it is appropriate for anything from varmints to moose-and there is a very large variety of ammo for it.