Help choosing a rifle

[DURAMAXHAL]

I know I am opening a big can of worms here but I have thought and thought and read and read till I have a headache and still cant come to a conclusion that satisfies my mind. I have decided I want 30-06 and have found a local gunstore that has Weatherby Vangards on sale 399.00 or stainless for 499.00 the sub moa weatherbys for about 250.00 extra,  I have always had Brownings but for the money I cant in my mind justify the extra 300+ for the Browning, I have been reading ALOT on the boards and really dont find much on the Weathrbys pro or con,  so I guess what I really want to know is,   the Browning worth the extra money?? is there something "crappy" about the Weatherby that I am missing I mean it comes with the 3 shot target from the factory?  Should I go stainless vs black?  I am so very confused, I havent bought a new rifle in about 10 years and try to put alot of thought into it when I do. All thoughts are appreciated Hal

[Val]

Wetherby Vanguards are Howa 1500 actions with a different stock when they wear the Wetherby handle. There is no reason why you shouldn't buy that rifle if you like the feel of it. It should be a sub MOA shooter with the right load or commercial ammo. If you reload you shouldn't have much trouble finding the right load. If you don't, you'll need to try different commercial ammo until you find the one your gun likes the best. More expensive does not equate to more accurate. Have a look at the Savages in about the same price range as the Vanguards.

[longwinters]

The Vanguards have a very good reputation.  I would not hesitate to pick one up if it was what floated my boat.

Long

[tscott]

I have had a Vanguard, in fancy walnut stock, 20" barrel for 20 years... It is a terrific deer rifle. In fact if I was to buy another deer rifle, I would get a Howa 1500 barreled action, and add the stock of my choice!

[nasem]

If you want a cheap and accurate rifle, any of the cheaper savages will spank any browning or vangards hands down.

Do your self and your wallet a favor and get your self a stevens 200 in 30-06.  Will cost you less than $300 (and thats shipped) and IN MY OPINION will give you better accuracy than the vangard and the a-bolt.  The savages are known for thier out of the box accuracy

[Little Joe]

HI DURAMAXHAL
I picked up a new Weatherby Vanguard last week in a 300 Winchester Magnum. I put on a Leupold 3X9 scope set in Leupold mounts. This rifle can shoot! The trigger on mine was set a little over five pounds. I was able to adjust it down to four pounds and no creep.  It is easy to do as the instructions  on how to do this are in the manual. I went to the range and it shot Winchester factory 180 grain power points at 1 1/4 inch groups. I have not even had a chance to play around with it on any hand loads. I really like the rifle so far. The only complaint is the swivel set that came with the rifle. They squeak and are to long for the stud that are on the rifle. It clicks as you carry it. Not good if you are trying to put the sneak on game. I picked mine up on a day after Thanksgiving sale at Bi Mart for 369.00 $ It is the black stock with blued barrel. I couldn’t go wrong at that price. My factory target that came with the rifle was at one inch. I would recommend the Weatherby Vanguard to any one who wants a good rifle at a great price.

Little Joe

[Eagle Eye]

The Weatherby Vanguards are fine rifles...well made, good fit/finish and a good history.  I trust you know they are made in Japan by a third party...Howa.    If you like the stock shape, go for it.  The best alternative IMHO, is a Remington.  They too can be had for a budget price (the SPS series) and they are a workhorse rifle that simply work well. 

[Don Fischer]

You sound like a guy just looking to get a new rifle. If you need to justify the cost of a rifle, you can't do it by brand name unless for some reason it becomes valueable down the road. A 30-06 will do pretty much the same thing out of a Mossberg that it will do out of the finest custom rifle in the world. If you even concider the Mossberg, then the only difference is cost! My brother and his son both have a Howa rifle and as I recall they were very nice rifles that shot well. Change the name from Howa to Weatherby and it's still a Howa. That according to you is $300 cheaper than the Browning and it meet's the same end! Sounds like what you need is a Weatherby, or someone to talk you into a Browning.

It's kinda like buying shoes. I saw a guy in pink tennis shoes once. He thought he was pretty good looking!

[lilabner]

I recently bought a Vanguard stainless .270. It is an accurate rifle and well built and I am a happy owner. There are a couple of things about the rifle that I didn't like. The floorplate looked like stainless steel but is just painted that way. Try not to scratch it. I took the rifle to a gunsmith I've used for years and he was unable to remove the last little bit of creep from the trigger. Trigger pull is very important to me so I bought and installed a Timney and it is crisp (also gave the rifle a three way safety which I think is a good feature) Complete with a big variable scope, the rig weighs nearly 9 pounds so it wouldn't be classified as a lightweight. If ballistics turn you on, the Vanguard has a 24 inch barrel so it turns up a bit higher velocities than the usual 22 incher.

[DURAMAXHAL]

You sound like a guy just looking to get a new rifle. If you need to justify the cost of a rifle, you can't do it by brand name unless for some reason it becomes valueable down the road. A 30-06 will do pretty much the same thing out of a Mossberg that it will do out of the finest custom rifle in the world. If you even concider the Mossberg, then the only difference is cost! My brother and his son both have a Howa rifle and as I recall they were very nice rifles that shot well. Change the name from Howa to Weatherby and it's still a Howa. That according to you is $300 cheaper than the Browning and it meet's the same end! Sounds like what you need is a Weatherby, or someone to talk you into a Browning.

It's kinda like buying shoes. I saw a guy in pink tennis shoes once. He thought he was pretty good looking!

actually I would prefer to ask questions first rather than after the purchase. So I guess I should just buy ANY rifle then when I have questions about why it wont group or eject the shells correctly you could make wise cracks about what a bad choice of gun it is, or how notorious they are for problems?

[Slamfire]

Well, Winchesters are gettin' pricy, now that they aren't makin' any more. Remington's reputation is goin' down the tubes, Rugers are supposed to be chancy. So we come down to Savage, with a solid rep for accuracy, and strength. With the accutrigger smooth shootin'. If that's a bit too much money, there are the Stevens, which are Savages without the accutrigger, but one that is adjustable. Mossbergs have a good reputation, but they git out of the centerfire rifle business pretty quick when competition rears it's ugly head. CZs, Tickka, and Howas are supposed to be good, but they are made somewhere's else, and who knows what the new Congress will do? Pretty much the same thing for Remingtons rebadged Mausers, except there are plenty of parts for Model 98s. Actually, you pays yore money and takes yore choice, mostly for personal reasons, I'd check the fit of every rifle I coulld git my hands on, and take the one that felt best.