Weatherby Vanguard Rifles ?????

[Shawnee]

Noticed ads on GunBroker for Weatherby Vanguard rifles and was surprised by the rather buyer-friendly prices. Am not familiar with them at all.

Any of you lads own the beast and have good things to say about them ?


Many thanks !

 

[jerkface11]

It's a rebadged Howa 1500 with some slight changes. Nothing wrong with them at all.

 

[rbernie]

Heavy, sturdy, reasonably accurate, factory trigger cannot be adjusted to remove the creep without also disabling the safety. They are an all-around good value.

 

[aka108]

Good general purpose rifles. Same as Howa 1500.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

How's about .448 MOA first time out to the range, with cheap bulk ammo (winchester white box 45 grain .223)?:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=382142

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=392619

factory trigger cannot be adjusted to remove the creep without also disabling the safety.

Absolutely hit the nail on the head there. This is my "creepy" halloween gun - creepy trigger.

Absolutely outstanding rifle, but for the creepy trigger (on some of them). Light, but creepy.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/wby_vanguard_rifles.htm

http://www.gunblast.com/Weatherby-VanguardSporter.htm

http://www.399weatherby.com/

http://www.399weatherby.com/_pdf/2008_Vanguard.pdf

The Deluxe version has quite a beautiful stock. Some versions have a nice fiberglass stock.

 

[Tarvis]

Weatherby rifles always seemed mysterious to me. The Mark V's are fairly expensive for a factory gun, and the vanguard's are very wallet friendly. Seems like a big jump with no "inbetweeners" to me, but I may be wrong. Also, I know nothing about Howa rifles; they strike me as a less accurate savage for some reason.

 

[Reid73]

I have never personally shot or even handled a Vanguard, but FWIW everything I have read about them in the gun press has been very positive.

I know nothing about Howa rifles; they strike me as a less accurate savage for some reason.

It's noteworthy that Weatherby guarantees the standard Vanguard will group 3 shots in under 1.5" at 100 yards. The sub-MOA version (which has a better synthetic stock) is guaranteed to group 3 in under .99".

AFAIK, Savage (like most manufacturers) does not guarantee accuracy. Of course, that does not mean that their rifles are less accurate than Weatherby's / Howa's. But I see no reason to suggest that Savages are typically more accurate.

 

[ArmedBear]

I've got a Vanguard Sporter in .30-06.

Accurate, easy to shoot well offhand, well-made. I really like the Weatherby stock design; it fits me well, provides a good cheek weld and directs recoil away from her face.

It's not a light gun, but a bit of weight and good balance are what makes it so offhand friendly. I'd get another -- I'm seriously thinking of getting the Howa Ranchland Security rifle. I was thinking Model 7, but between the better price and the better safety, I'd get the Howa (or the Weatherby Compact).

 

[Crazy Fingers]

I have an RWS model 89 (which is a Howa 1500 as well.) .22-250. It's an okay rifle. Certainly nothing is wrong with it, but it isn't as accurate as I would like it to be.

 

[interlock]

They are very popular here in the uk. they use some great design features of lots of different rifles.

 

[Shawnee]

Here's one for you Vanguard fans...

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=113178275