handsup,
I've been down the road with Vanguards and the el cheapo stocks, including the B & C Medalist.
I finally ditched the B & C, bought a McMillan Edge Sako Hunter, had it bedded, and turned the Vanguard barrelled action into a super shooter. (Also added a Timney trigger, and Pac Nor barrel).
A lot of folks seem to like the B & C, but if you ever get the chance to compare one side by side with a McMillan, you'll see the difference in rigidity between them. I don't think floppy forends contribute to accuracy.
In other words, I bought a Vanguard for the action, and custom-built it from there.
Once all said and done, if I want to build up another custom job, I would just buy a cheap Vanguard for the action, and go all-in with barrel, stock, trigger, etc. from day one, instead of doing it a step at a time. I do really like the action.
Yeah, I could have bought a 'real' rifle (read factory), but where's the fun in that?
