These rifles are supposed to shoot less than 1" with factory ammo out of the box.Do you own one? What is your opinion on them at a cost of less than $800.

I own two of them, both purchased back in the early 1990s when they were made by Howa in Japan. One is a .243 Win, and it drives tacks. I have several 200 yard groups shot with this rifle that are less than one inch. I use it for groundhogs with light bullets and for whitetails with 100 grain Nosler Partitions.
The other is my big game rifle. It is a .300 Weatherby. It also is far more accurate than a big game rifle needs to be. I have taken a whole bunch of game from mule deer through african game with it. This year so far, I have five one shot kills on African game with it, and plan to take it on a goat hunt in British Columbia this coming September.
For the money, it is very hard to beat a Vanguard IMO.

I have one in 7mm rem. Mine is the old walnut stocked version, and it is not only very accurate, it is very nice to look at as well, if you like Weatherbys. I bought mine in a pawn shop for $400. Just one of those, "can't pass up" deals

DGK

The standard vanguard is a very good buy as the ones that I have fired were quite accurate at a reasonable price.However,I wouldn't pay the extra money for the MOA version.

Guys, I think this is a newer rifle than the one you are talking about same action.These are syn. stocked and pillar bedded and come with a target.3 shots that measures 3/4" or less with factory ammo is the standard.

Folks will pay 4 or 500 bucks for an aftermarket rebarrel and then throw another 2 to 400 into the rifle for a better quality stock .

Yet if a factory offers similar quality for a couple of hundred extra , they figure it's a bad deal ?

I think the MOA Weatherbys are probably worth the extra money , if you can get them bought for less than retail .

quote:

Guys, I think this is a newer rifle than the one you are talking about same action.These are syn. stocked and pillar bedded and come with a target.3 shots that measures 3/4" or less with factory ammo is the standard.

I am very well aware of what the MOA option provides.According to the weatherby web site,the barreled actions are hand picked from the normal vanguard production runs and are then pillar bedded.The truth is that the majority of vanguards will actually accomplish 1 Moa with no modifications.At the regular vanguard prices these guns are a bargain,but I would rather get the same MOA rifle in the form of a tikka t-3 for less money than the cost of the vanguard MOA.At the same time,while weatherby is picking out the most accurate vanguards as MOA rifles they are decreasing the odds of the standard vanguard rifle purchaser receiving a very accurate gun.In other words they are decreasing the quality of the standard vanguard in order to make more money on the MOA.

I'd just buy a Howa and play with it a little. You will never find a Tikka T3 anywhere near the price of the Howa if you are worried about the price. Most of the Howa's I have experience with will shoot 1" or less.

I think the the VG MOA is probably a "good deal" and based on a very solid design. Why pay a gunsmith when you can get this right off the shelf.

Just my opinion

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I'd just buy a Howa and play with it a little. You will never find a Tikka T3 anywhere near the price of the Howa if you are worried about the price. Most of the Howa's I have experience with will shoot 1" or less.

True, but the t-3 is cheaper than the vanguard MOA and all tikka rifles must shoot 1" groups at the test facility before being sold.

Last year I tested a Vanguard in 257 Wby. Mag. that was well under MOA right out of the box with Weatherby factory ammo. It was a delightfully accurate rifle, and it functioned well. The injection-molded stock was my biggest objection.

But based on that rifle, plus others I've heard about, I'm not sure you need to spend more on the MOA Vanguard version to come up with an accurate rifle.........

AD

I think any rifle in a bolt action under 375 should shoot an inch or better at 100 yds period.

If I can't get one to shoot that good I wouldn't want it. just my .02 cents

If your criteria is less than an inch, then just buy a Savage and be done with it !!! My Savage .300 RUM shots .6 MOA out of the box with no tweaking, and my Savage .270 WSM shoots an incredible .25 MOA with handloads. I've never really seen an inaccurate Savage, at least not yet.

bowhuntrrl,
Remington, winchester, browning, savage whatever unless there barrel is trash any of them just about will shoot under an inch.

IMO more times than not when a good bolt action doesnt shoot under an inch I believe it is the shooter and not the gun.
bowhuntrrl that is not aimed at you just saying in general

Get a Remington 700 and spend the extra on glass.

If you are gonna go Weatherby, You might as well get the Mark V.

Good Luck!

Reloader

I guess if you will be totally unhappy with a rifle that "only" gets 1 1/2-inch groups instead of that magic MOA, then you might want to spend the extra money for the MOA Vanguard, a Sako or a Tikka. I have a standard Vanguard, and I am still working on loads. But I realize that a 1 1/2-inch group is plenty good enough for deer, hogs, elk, moose or bear.

I also agree that most new medium-bore rifles with a little load development and possibly some minor bedding work will shoot under an inch.

quote:

If you are gonna go Weatherby, You might as well get the Mark V.

So you can spend two to three times as much for a 1-1/2" accuracy guarantee?My howa built rifle was much more accurate than either of my mark v's.

quote:

Posted 19 July 2005 01:30
quote:
If you are gonna go Weatherby, You might as well get the Mark V.


So you can spend two to three times as much for a 1-1/2" accuracy guarantee?My howa built rifle was much more accurate than either of my mark v's.

I've worked w/ at least five Mark Vs and everyone of them shot well less than MOA. On the other hand, I've only been around a couple of Vangaurds and both of them shot over MOA. Mark Vs not accurate, YEA RIGHT!

Reloader

quote:

Originally posted by Mohawk:
I'd just buy a Howa and play with it a little. You will never find a Tikka T3 anywhere near the price of the Howa if you are worried about the price. Most of the Howa's I have experience with will shoot 1" or less.

I think the the VG MOA is probably a "good deal" and based on a very solid design. Why pay a gunsmith when you can get this right off the shelf.

Just my opinion

Same here. Why pay for Weatherby's name when you can get the same exact rifle for about $150 less?

Most of you are talking about the standard Vanguard/Howa. The MOA (new this year) is selected because it will shoot 3/4" 3 shot group at 100. It is pillar bed and the stock is the same as the Mark 5. Check their website. I was just asking to see if anyone owned one and how they liked it.

quote:

I've worked w/ at least five Mark Vs and everyone of them shot well less than MOA. On the other hand, I've only been around a couple of Vangaurds and both of them shot over MOA. Mark Vs not accurate

I have owned two mark V'S and neither would consistantly shoot under 1" despite a great deal of load development.One averaged around 1-1/4" and the other right around 1" with their favorite loads.On the othe hand my s&w 1500(same rifle as vanguard) would easily shoot 3/4" and a friends vanguard would consistantly shoot groups smaller than 1".All of my factory 700's shot as well or better than my mark V's for half the price.

"All of my factory 700's shot as well or better than my mark V's for half the price."

Got to agree w/ ya there! There's nothing wrong w/ a good ole' Model 700, I haven't come across one that wasn't a shooter.

Have a Good One!

Reloader

I hope the MOA has a different trigger. The standard Vanguard are not easy to adjust without screwing up the safety.

quote:

Originally posted by Jarrod:
bowhuntrrl,
Remington, winchester, browning, savage whatever unless there barrel is trash any of them just about will shoot under an inch.

I would have agreed with that statement some years ago, but as of late, Remington and Winchester have been building some real crap. For that matter, ruger barrels have been pretty bad also. It now appears that it's abnormal to get a rifle that will shoot 1 MOA or less. From what I have seen lately, Savage is producing some of the most accurate barrels available in a production gun. On the other hand, I would never sell my Japanese Browning A-Bolt, it just shoots too good. I would say that a standard Howa would most likely shoot under 1 MOA without going the extra bucks for the Weatherby MOA.

quote:

Originally posted by bowhuntrrl:
If your criteria is less than an inch, then just buy a Savage and be done with it !!! My Savage .300 RUM shots .6 MOA out of the box with no tweaking, and my Savage .270 WSM shoots an incredible .25 MOA with handloads. I've never really seen an inaccurate Savage, at least not yet.

Beautifully said bowhuntrrl. No tweaking, bending, shimming, bedding, etc. Just unpack it, run a patch through the barrel, lock and load! Smoker