I make a living shooting at the pres time I use a ruger 77 in .223 but shes getting long in the tooth& the time has come to move on . I was looking at another '77' but my dealer has offered me a weatherby(built by howa in japan) for a very good price.A lot of other shooters have snaped em up & they seem to be holding out quite well but being the eternal pesimist where new types of rifle are concerned .I thought someone may of had or be using one of these firearms &be able to give me their opion

The Vanguards have the reputation here as being good shooters and being a very good value for the money . In my opinion, the actions are well designed and solidly built.

Matter of fact , my son-in-law picked up the low priced .223 version about a year ago and it has proven to by an excellent shooter , and feeds and functions well . I particularly like them in .223 because the sporter weight comes with a 24 inch barrel...

On the other hand , there ain't many flies on a Ruger either. I have a stainless .223 I use for a truck gun. It has taken quite a beating , and it is also an excellent shooter.....

I presently shoot the Howa M1500 Thumbhole Varminter in .223. I am impressed, the trigger is crisp with no creep. This may be an acceptable alternative for you to bring up with your dealer. Go to www.legacysports.com and have a look at their offerings.

Howa's are pretty good rifles for the money. They seem to hold up and they shoot as well as I can.

OK, OK. They shoot BETTER than I can...

I would take a Howa any day. However, I also have several Rugers in 223, and one is a sporter weight barreled one like you speak of.

I have sent it back to Ruger and they are putting another barrel on it at a pretty low cost. All have been accurate so I see no reason the replacement barrel will not also be accurate.

Sometimes the beauty in a rifle is having it a long time and having it being accurate and have a lot of good memories with it. A new barrel on the old rifle is like putting a new engine in the pickup. A lot cheaper than a new truck and it will still do the same job.

Oh course I drive a Toyota 4 Runner ( 1988 Model), that had the engine rebuilt two years ago, and also the transmission. That was at 430,000 miles, and it now has 468,000 miles on it. But my Camry only has 182,000 miles on it, so it has a long way to go. So I am not one to get rid of something I like that much, especially if it has served me well.

Cheers and Good shooting
seafire