Any Way to Lighten A Vanguard

[SHOOTALL]

I found an HS percision stock at a gun show , it replaced the plastic green Remington stock on a 308 W/ 26" heavy bbl , It looks nice and shoots well.

[parkergunshop]

Bart Solo,
I have installed the MPI stocks on several barreled actions with excellent results, in addition to being very light weight, they are stronger  and flex less than most of the after market composite stocks.   
Examples a .338 Winchester mag that shoots in the 3-4 tenth inch range and a .35 Whelen with which I shot a 3 shot group measuring .178 of an inch.   I also had excellent results on a .257 Ackley improved. 
Doing it yourself reduces the cost to around $300.
Glas bedding with Brownells Acra Glas Jell is not at all difficult if you follow the instructions and use plenty of release agent, A tip, I use headless stock inletting screws and clamp the barrel action to the stock using a large c-clamp and a couple short pieces of wood on the top and bottom when Glas  bedding. To remove the barrel action from the stock after inletting remove the c-clamp and the wood blocks and use a mallet to tap on the headless stock inletting screws to remove the barrelled action.  I never use the trigger guard floorplate and magazine when glas bedding and remove the trigger mechanism.
 
 

[pastorp]

Bart,

Too lite a rifle is hard to shoot well, for me that means a little weight forward is helpfull. I would not do any cutting on the barrel until I got it all together and saw how it balanced. Reducing the stock weight & a liter scope may very well make it perfect for you.

Lloyd's right if you get a 257 weatherby you really need a 26" barrel. I've hunted with 3 over the years. The weatherby ultralite is as close to perfect as I ever found in that caliber..

Regards,

[Bart Solo]

Tonight I spent a little time mounting the rifle to my shoulder to see how it feels.   As Doc at MPI told me the restocked Vanguard is now a little barrel heavy. That is exactly the same as how my action shooting competition rifles are set up. The new stock shoulders and points much better than the old stock.  Handling, not weight, is the reason for me to think about shortening the barrel from 24 to 22 inches.  Right now I not too worried about handling.  I will reevaluate after the next deer season. 
   

[Bart Solo]

I reinstalled the scope and took the rifle to the range to resight it.  Shot 14 shots.  I shot Winchester 150 grain bullets from Walmart.  The first 6 at 25 yards to dial in the next 4 at 100 yards to tighten it down. The last 4 were shot at 3 power and one to see where the scope is at 9 power.  Attached is the last 4 shot group.  All shots were from the bench, but I didn't use a mechanical rest.  The longest distance across 4 shots center to center is 1 1/8th.  Yes I realize the target is upside down, but that is how I had it on the backstop.  It is pretty clear the Leupold's point of aim doesn't move when you change power. 
 
The rifle hasn't lost any of its inherent accuracy.  Plenty good for scaring deer, or (as the range officer said) rabbits at 100 yards.  I think I can do better with handloads and I am positive I could do better with a Caldwell leadsled style rest.  I suspect I could do even better if I shot everything at 9 power, but 3 power is what I use for normal hunting.  The scope is a Leupold vx1 3x9 40mm. 
 
As to the stock, since it is lighter, the rifle does kick a little harder, but not hard for a hunting rifle.  Today I was wearing a light jacket over a tea shirt.  I was warned that while fiberglass stocks have a softer kick than wood, kevlar and graphite don't give the way fiberglass does.    I think I have a winner, but I want to do some more shooting before reaching a final conclusion.  I probably need to shoot some 165 and 180 grain bullets.  I would also like to test Remington ammunition.
 
You are going to say that the 4 covered shots are all over the place, but remember, I was dialing in with those shots.  I moved zero every shot.  I made an adjustment before starting the final group based on what the rifle was showing me.  I didn't change anything after that final adjustment.  The four shots you see were shot from the same scope settings.  Of course, before deer season I am going to have to move zero up another inch or so.  That will give me zero at 200 yards. 
 
 

[dpe.ahoy]

I would say you acheived what you wanted to do.  The Howa/Vanguard rifles have always shot very well for me, I have several of both.  The new ones I handled felt lighter than half a poound difference to me in the store, and a 24" barrel instead of the normal 22.  There of the Howas I have have been lightened by the receiver being scalloped on the side, 20" barrel and the bolt handle with a hole in it.  That is what's visable.  The Camo package in 7mm-08 weent to my 17 year old son when he saw the 205 yd,  6/10" 2 shot group of Winchester 140 gr Failsafe, (all I had left with me at the cabin) I got sighting it in.  Same day with a new stainless 22-250 was a 3 shot grou[ of Win. White box 45 gr. landed in a nice triangle that was .75".  Congratulations on what you created for yourself, enjoy it!!!!  DP

[Bart Solo]

Thank you.
I suspect the rifle will do the job for years to come, but I am already thinking about another rifle--one that I will build for myself.  I just have to decide if I want to go larger or smaller.   Funny the way planning and building guns gets into your blood.  I am glad I have an understanding wife. 

[Zachary]

For what it's worth, I have a Kimber Montana in .300 WSM.  The Montana version is a Stainless Synthetic model.  It's stock is very light (I think it's kevlar, or at least partly kevlar).  Kimber also makes its Montana available in long action cartridges like .30-06 and .270.  In any event, this is the lightest rifle that I own, and the older I get, the more I appreciate lighter guns and lighter recoiling guns.

[Bart Solo]

I thought I would revive this old thread to let you know that my decision has been proven.  I used the rifle exclusively this deer season and the results were  great in terms of lowering weight and increasing handling.   We have an eight point rule in my part of Missouri, since I only saw 6 point bucks or less I haven't taken a deer yet, but at the range the rifle has been extraordinary. 
 
Lesson, you don't have to spend thousands for a "custom" rifle.  You just have to spend wisely.  My only complaint is it kicks a little harder than it used to, but not so much that I can't handle the recoil.

[Graybeard]

Let's bring this one back up and see if folks might want to talk more about it.

[Lloyd Smale]

ive had a couple vaguards and my buddys got 5 of them he uses and ive yet to see one that wasn't an exceptional shooter. Like you said though they are a bit hefty. but no more so then a rem bdl or win xrt. Not what id call heavy but not light either. Only way to make a gun lighter is to either take off metal (shorten barrel, rebarrel in a lighter profile) that's were weatherbys gain there weight. Most have a heavy sporter weight contour barrel and even in standard calibers they tend to use 24 inch instead of 22s like most do and magnums are usually 26 instead of the typical 24. You can also loose weight by going to a custom stock like a Kevlar. Problem is both of these suggestions are expensive. if you going to buy a vanguard for 500 bucks and spend 300 bucks rebarreling it or for a Kevlar stock your probably better off trading it in on a lighter rilfe like a win featherweight or even one of the new vanguard high countrys. Light weight costs. I have a 308 Kimber montana with a 22 inch barrel that runs just over 5 lbs. its a full pound lighter then my 20 in model 7 308 but I could have bought two model 7s for what that Kimber cost and my model 7 hands down outshoots the Kimber. Most of my deer killing has in the last 10 years been crop damage shooting. We plunk down in a blind or for me mostly on my portable shooting bench and shoot deer between 200 and 400 yards. Because of that ive come to actually like heavy guns vs light ones. there much more steady off a rest. I use small guns in regular deer season but because my shots are a 100 yards or less not because I cant walk a 1/4 mile with an 9lb gun. Its just a chance to use my smaller guns. But plunk down on my shooting bench with that little Kimber and try to steady on a 400 yard deer and then compare it to a good hefty bolt gun and you will see for yourself that unless your trapesing up and down mountains or walking 5 miles a day or are crawling through the brush and need a short little gun that weight is your friend.