I am interested in a good, budget priced rifle chambered in 30-06. The three manufacturers listed above all sell an '06 in my price range ($400ish). Is there a stand-out in that crowd or simply go with the best price locally available?

The Howa and the Vanguard are the same basic rifle and Savage has more 30-06 models than most of the rest of the
U.S. manufacturers combined .I have a Howa and several Savage rifles including one with the new accu-trigger and that alone is enough to lean me very heavily towards savage.The trigger is a gem compared to the older factory triggers!

Thanks Clam. Does your Savage have a synthetic or wood stock...is one "better than" the other? If I get a Savage, my local dealer would have to order it. He only has one Savage in house, a 10FP with the Accutrigger. I agree, that trigger was the best out of all the rifles he has in his shop...even a $1000 Sako didn't break as clean.

Mike the Vanguard and the Sako both have fully adjustable triggers. So they can be adjusted for let-off and sear engagment.

SAVAGE...no question!

JoeCool - What it the trigger adjustment range on your Vanguard (I didn't know it was adjustable)? Also, is your Vanguard the older Weatherby Vanguard or the current "Walmart" Vanguard?

This thread MADE me got to the gunshop over my lunch hour; I shouldered a synthetic stocked (non-accutrigger)Savage and a Walmart version Vanguard. The Vanguard sure feels better. The action on the Vanguard was far superior to the Savage. But, so much has been written about this new accutrigger.....is there a way to add a cheek piece onto the Savage stock to mimic the feel of the Vanguard? (Monte Carlo-ish)?

Pop, do you own a new Savage?

Mike I have worked on several of the vanguards and you can get them below 2 pounds. And yes the new Vanguards are fully adjustable. Go to the Weatherby web site it should show you there. I have there new catalog and it shows the Vanguard triggers. myself i'm whating for the Vanguard in the .257WBY Hope Bi-Mart stock's them when they come out.

Mike north west Bi-Mart's had them on sell a week or so ago for $340.

IMO you can't go wrong with any of the above. There's no standout; they're all fine rifles.

The Savage has the new AccuTrigger that has the gun world talking and it too is adjustable. One more thing the Savage is American made. Lawdog

I would probably get the Savage, it will also have better aftermarket support. I did have a Howa 30-06 that was very accurate, it would put 3 Federal 165gr Premiums in 3/4" or less at 200yds everytime!

I can't speak to the 30-06, but I have a HOWA 1500 Heavy Barrel Rifle in .223 that sure shoots nice. I've been thinking about getting another in the sporter model in either a 243 or 308. Trigger came from the factory set at 3lbs.

i have 2 howa 1500 barreled actions that i stocked myself. the 270 is a stainless model and shoots 1/2" groups all day long. these are reloads. the 30-06 is a blued action and it did the same. the bolt and triggers are a bit sloppy but boy do they shoot. i have leuopold scopes on each (3x9's). about 750.00 in each. id buy them all day long. you can't beat the accuracy for the money. jazz them up with a pretty stock and they look great. again a little trigger work will be needed. paid 330.00 for the stainless action and barrel and 285.00 for the blued.

I'll just say that the AccuTrigger is the only thing I don't like about my new Savage. It's a LawyerTrigger with a catchy name. There's nothing about it any more accurate or effective in any way than another trigger with a similarly light pull. Safer? Perhaps. Safe gun handling is the key to that. I despise that safety lever, which is harder to pull than the light varmint trigger itself is, with a very long, creepy pull.

That would be in Oregon they were on sell for $340 and the Ruger stainless mkII were $399 I bought a .338 Win Mag in the Ruger. All of there center fire rifles were $60. off. plan on getting the .257Wby in the Vanguard.

The only vanguard I have seen was a .338 at fred meyers.

Vanguard.

Just my 2 cents, I got a Vanguard in 300 Weatherby mag for Christmas went to the range last week with it after mounting the Zeiss Conquest and for about a $400 rifle you cannot go wrong. The rifle shot just about 1 inch out of the box with factory amunition. I do not own a Savage or a Howa so I can't comment on them, But from what I experienced with this rifle I would not hesitate to recommend it. I was worried about recoill and that synthetic stock absorbed alot of it. In 30-06 that Vanguard should be sweet to shoot all day. I read the owners manual and the trigger is adjustable, I haven't tried it yet because it felt so good the first time I shot it. Don't hold me to this but I was told that the actions for the Vanguard are made by Howa, now I don't know if that's true or not. All I can tell you is that the Vanguard is worth the $400 in my eyes.

The vanguard is a howa with the weatherby name stamped on it.

Right Stumbblejumper, the Howa once carried the Smith and Wesson name also and were in a model 1500. My boy has one of those gun's. They all have the same exact trigger , and they Howa and Wby vanguards had the same recall on the bolt's saftey system. I have the Wby Vanguard Vgx but with a fancy wood stock, and a #1 barrel. The stock was just like the Mark fives. You can also buy a customed barrel action in the Howa. My friend had the Howa with a cheap Butler Creek syn stock, that was the only difference. Also I bought the wife a Wally special-Vanguard-same syn stock as the Howa had, a butler creek.

I Have a Howa 1500 ss in 30-06 with a burris fullfield II 3-9x scope. The gun functions really well right out of the box. I have no complaints about it and it does what I want. I have done no tweaking to it and I can get it to shoot 1 inch or better groups with factory ammo. Great rifle for the price.

Sevens

I've got the Wally World special Vanguard in .300 Weatherby with the Butler Creek plastic stock, and I agree with everything said. It's a very nice rifle, accurate, pleasant to shoot. I have a Savage 12BVSS, and it's a very nice, accurate rifle as well. And the Howa and Vanguard are essentially the same. That's why I said "Take your pick. There's no standout among them." I don't think you can go wrong among the three. (Although I still dislike my Savage's AccuTrigger.)

Howa is a Japanese company that makes the Weatherby Vanguard so basically they are the same. I
think the Savage would be your best bet here. I honestly don't think there is much difference between
the three though. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

Mike I have both synthetic and wood. Synthetic is hard to beat
for ruggednes and durability I have a synthetic Howa also in .223 and that shoots very well also.My Savage bvss with the accutrigger has zero creep and breaks at just over 2 Lbs.If I were to buy another in 30-06 it would be in the weather warrior series in stainless synthetic with the new trigger or for a little more money the Tikka is a fine rifle also the only drawback is it has a clip which I personally do not care for.

The TRIGGER of the Accutrigger has zero creep, true. But squeezing down the safety lever is a long, creepy pull before you get to the trigger. Out of the box, the safety lever's a lot harder to pull than the trigger is on mine. I despise that thing. It's a cleverly named LawyerTrigger that adds nothing functionally over any good trigger that can be adjusted to light pulls. It's an attempt to "dummyproof" the thing.

I wish I could find what my wife did with the envelope containing the manuals and that special tool needed to adjust the trigger! Or that Savage had designed it to adjust with a commonly available tool. While I'm at it, I wish Savage had designed it to be adjustable without removing the action from the stock, as is the case on several other nice bolt actions.

I bought a late '80s Vanguard in 30-06 with the Classic walnut stock, and it has always been a great shooter, with either handloads or factory ammo. A friend of mine recently bought one of the Walmart Vanguards and we compared them - pretty much the same as far as we could see. Besides the accuracy, the bolt operation is very smooth, the trigger is adjustable, and the rifle (24" bbl) balances very well.

Hey Sputster, did you get the recall on you gun.? And BTW is that one you have A Vanguard VGX model.?

Let us know what you decide Mike and good luck!

4BamBam, my Vanguard is a 1989 Classic II, don't know if that falls under the VGX designation. Thanks for the heads up about the recall. I have seen the recall notice, and my Vanguard does fall within the listed serial number range, but unfortunately it is in storage in the States and I am in Germany. I'll definitely hit it up when I get back.

I am sure 88 was the last year that made the VGX. My friend has the Classic with the lesser finished stock, bought in 1990. Cause my friend wanted exactly what I had and they said it was not available any more. Wished I would not have sent my bolt back to get fixed, the firing pin went bad second shot, AFTER