weatherby vanguards

[pjeffreys]

are the weatherby vanguard rifles good guns or not? i'm thinking about buying one in 25-06 but i haven't talked to anyone that owns one. i just need some opinions.

[Bart Solo]

Weatherby Vanguards are manufactured by Howa (a Japanese company) to Weatherby specs.  They are solid well built rifles.  They generally shoot very well.  Minute of angle is to be expected.  I own one in 30-06 and it is my go to hunting rifle.  Their only drawback in my opinion is weight, but the Weatherby 2 models seem to be lighter than the older rifles like mine.     

[Lloyd Smale]

ive got a 300wby that shoots great and a 257 that shoots not so great. Ive heard of others having problems with 257 vanguards and even 25-06s. I dont know if wby got a bad bunch of barrels or just do something wrong with them but my 257 is up on consignment and i ordered a new 257 rem cdl.

[pjeffreys]

thanks guys for the input. i'm seriously looking at one of the new vanguard 2's in 25-06. i'll take this into consideration. they guarantee sub moa with the right ammo. i'm sure that "right ammo" is the loop hole they stick you with. i reload all my stuff.

[hunt-m-up]

Vanguards are well-built and accurate for me, but as was said they're a little heavier than others. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one.

[Lloyd Smale]

Keep in mind that there accuracy guarantee is 3 shots cold clean barrel with THERE ammo. Plus they leave you no way to actually send them your rifle. You have to go through an authorized service center first that will determine if sending it in is even justified. Gander mountain was my local service center. I brough it in to them and typical of gander mountain it was some collage kid that they called a gunsmith. Good thing though as he was easily swayed to send it in. Thing is it cost me 80 bucks for them to send it. It was gone for near 6 months and came back with a phony looking photo copy of a 3 shot group that could have been shot with any gun at any range. I told them i knew the gun would shoot the first 5 or 6 shots into a decent group but the problem was the bore was so rough that by the time it had 6 shots in it it sprayed like a shotgun. There answer was if i payed them a 100 dollars for range time and 3 dollars a shot theyd take it a step farther. I dont uderstand why they couldnt have just looked at it with a bore scope. I did and the problem was obvious. They basicaly washed there hands of it. NOT a company i want to spend my money to support! MY advice buy yourself a rem sps or a savage. By the way just so you know. They also told me that shooting ONE round of reloads voids that warantee.

thanks guys for the input. i'm seriously looking at one of the new vanguard 2's in 25-06. i'll take this into consideration. they guarantee sub moa with the right ammo. i'm sure that "right ammo" is the loop hole they stick you with. i reload all my stuff.

[the jigger]

Mine is the Vanguard Synthetic( basic) in 25/06. The only modification was to change the trigger springs and polish the surfaces. With IMR4831 and 100gr Partitions it shoots sub-MOA out to 200yds. Maybe I was lucky or maybe these rifles are shooters. I can only speak for mine.
GOOD LUCK and GOOD SHOOTING!!!

[Catfish]

My son inlaw has one in 7 mm and it shoots plently good enough for a hunting rifle. Personally I prefer the Savages, but the main thing is you like it and have confidence in it.

[pjeffreys]

are the stocks hollow plastic or solid?

[Lloyd Smale]

hollow

are the stocks hollow plastic or solid?

[threepdr]

I bought a 7mm-08 last year.  I got it from Gander Mountain NIB for $329.  As others have mentioned, it is heavier than some, but the quality is excellent and they shoot straight.  Here is my best 100 yard group.
 

 
 

[poncaguy]

I own one in 257 Weatherby , it will shoot 1' groups with 100 grain rounds............only ones I have tried so far.............very good rifle.

[His lordship.]

When I went looking for 2 new center fire bolt action rifles I did initially look at the Vanguards, liked the looks and feel.  Read up on the reviews and impressions on the internet and it seems that several of them have bad barrels and the Weatherby company has an indifferent attitude about customer service problems.  So I ended up buying a Remington 700 and a Mossberg 4X4, both are great shooters, no problems.


I hope Weatherby cleans up their act as I won't buy from them.

[dogbuster]

I own a 223 and a 243 vanguard. Both are very accurate and have been on many prarie dog hunts with not one problem at all, I hardly ever clean them.  They are a great budget priced rifle.

[jcn59]

I have a friend with a Rem. & WBY in that caliber & they both shoot under an inch.   I have a Howa .375 Ruger with Hogue rubber stock, shot it maybe 20 Xs, maybe 1.5" @100 yds.  Would buy another.  If I had a choice, and wanted a VERY accurate rifle, I would get either a Savage or a Venture.

[JPShelton]

are the weatherby vanguard rifles good guns or not?

They're essentially a Japanese copy of a Remington, made by Howa.  Howa also made Mark V's at one time, so they can turn out a very nice rifle.  Most people who own them seem to like them.  I've never had a desire to own a Weatherby rifle, but when I was a licensed guide, I had plenty of clients who swore by them. I can only ever remember one fellow who complained, and his complaint was that it wouldn't shoot a five shot group tighter than 1 1/2".  That didn't stop the guy from killing three pigs with three shots at distances out to 325 yards.  It seemed to work okay to me.  So yeah, I think they're good guns.  Nothing I'd want to trade my Remington 721 for, though.
 
 

i'm thinking about buying one in 25-06 but i haven't talked to anyone that owns one. i just need some opinions.

Whenever I've read about people complaining about their Japanese Weatherby's, they've been either .257 W.M. or .25-'06 Rem.  Not just Vanguards.  I know a guy who has a collection of Mark V's and the worst shooter of the lot is a Japanese .257 W.M.  It shoots three shots into a clover leaf but after that, it isn't so precise.   
 
It isn't that their guns are good or that they're bad....  It's more the issue that Weatherby doesn't actually MAKE any of them.  They used to have pretty good customer service -or so it seemed when I lived about ten miles from their former South Gate, CA facility.  I don't know if Ed Weatherby is getting cranky in his advancing age or what, but I know a lot of folks who only owned and only would buy Weatherby long guns who don't think the customer service today is anywhere close to what it used to be when you could stroll in to Weatherby's store in South Gate and have a chat with the "Viceroy of Velocity" himself.