Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles How do you like the Weatherby Vanguard SMOA?

LOL! Someone has too much time on their hands!

Mine is in 270 wsm and it will shoot just about any ammo you put through it. I had my gunsmith tinker with the trigger and he got it to 3 lbs without any creep. He thought he would try and adjust it before I bought a Timney. It is a pleasure to shoot.

Man that is so cool the Ed Weatherby just answered the thread. Don't know to many presidents that are actually listening to the customers words. Thanks Ed!

You are welcome. You can never spend too much time listening to what serious hunters and shooters have to say about your products. I am not sure how often I can be here but there are others from the company who will be when I am not.....

Ed, welcome to the campfire! It's great to have THE owner here. Thanks for my Sub-Moa and Athena III.

405wcf

Dude!? Stop! You're going to get me all pumped-up over nuthin'!

405wcf Thanks. I have been enjoying reading posts on 24 hour campfire for some time and thought it was time I posted.

Ed,
I've been enjoying my Weatherby rifles for many years now, and have used them all over the world.

I own a Wby Vanguard SMOA, in .270 WSM. I bought it over a regular Vanguard because I really like the stock that the SMOA comes with. I have worked up two handloads, 130 gr. and 150 gr. NP, that not only are super accurate, they cover about any game situation that comes up, from antelope to moose.

After fussing with the factory trigger, I installed a Timney, which really makes this rifle an easy shooter.

I find the quality of the Vanguard to be the equal of my MkV's, and would recommend them to anyone without hesitation.

Bighorn glad your SMOA is serving you well. It is certainly one of my favorites out of our whole line. I know a lot of people like the Timney trigger. Even with the extra cost of an aftermarket trigger it is still a lot of gun for the money.......

Just wanted to say hello. I can't wait to pick up my .300 Weatherby sub-moa next Friday and start shooting it. Thanks for being on the forum - very cool.

Ed - I personally think the Vanguard Deluxe is one of the most beautiful, well priced rifles on the market. Job well done.

Ed,
Forgot to say- welcome to the Campfire!

I still watch the video of you and Boddington hunting Cape Buff with the then-new .416 Wby. I happen to have one in Euromark, and my next trip will be to somewhere in Africa, for Buff, sable, and whatever happens to be available.
BTW- that .416 is one of the most accurate rifles I own!

Ed,

Another big vanguard fan here. Gotta ask, why the safety block trigger setup? It's a simple enough modification to make the trigger really nice, but it sure is a pain in the A$$ to tear it down and modify it, when it was designed to be adjustable anyway. Why not just make the change to allow it to be adjusted so that folks don't have to buy the timney? Don't get me wrong, I love my vanguards, but sure would be nice if the trigger were fully adjustable...

DHIA, If yours is anything like mine you'll love it. The stock and Decelerator are a great combination. The 300 Wby has a good bit of recoil for a 300, but in this gun it's not bad. I've been shooting mine off the bench, working on my skills. This is the first rifle I've owned in near 10 years.

So far, I've shot the Wby. 150gr. SP through it with excellent groups for my current ability, I'm getting 1" or better with no trigger mods. as of yet. I've also shot some 180gr. older Fed. Premium Sierra Gamekings with it. They shoot same respectable groups to same windage and about 1/2" loss in elevation. The surprising part is the percieved recoil is less with the 180 grain bullets. Doesn't make sense, but the 180's are much more comfortable to shoot.

You'll love it I'm sure. Good luck.

David

Personally,I would not own any of the weatherby cartridges in a rifle with a 24" barrel.They need a 26" barrel to reach their potential.I also feel that the regular vanguard is a great gun for the money,especially compared to the mark V which I consider to be greatly overpriced.

Thanks for the info and positive review! Now I am looking forward to it even more. I'm not too worried about the recoil. I have an old Win Model 54 in 30-06 with a steel buttplate that I used to shoot a lot. And I have a Rem Classic in 35 Whelen and a Rem 700 in 375 H&H. My dad kind of got me hooked on big bores! I also have a Magnum Research BFR in 500 S&W.

Still think I might replace the trigger. Going to shoot it first though.

I have a MarkV synthetic in .270 Winchester that I am 100% satisfied and confident in. It shoots all 130 grain bullets very well. I wonder how the SMOA would sell in 9.3 x 62 Mauser?

Bighorn. Thanks for your comments. I can't believe people are still watching the .416 Cape Buffalo video. That goes back a few years. Still a great cartridge.

Mtnman1 I apreciate your comments regarding the trigger. This is a on going subject here at Weatherby and we are always looking at ways to improve the design while assuring it is safe and reliable. Unfortunately it has become a "complex" issue in our day and age. Rest assured we are constnatly working on improvements.
E.W.

Ed why does Weatherby not offer a classic style stock? I think your sales would improve dramatically if you offered a choice over the high comb European style stock.One of the only complaints about Weatherby I hear is I can't live w/the stock! powdr

I don't believe that you are Ed W-

To prove you are who you say you are you will to ship me a SS Vanguard SUB-MOA in .257 WBY so that I can confirm this.

In all seriousness, welcome to the fire. As can be seen from my handle, I am a big fan.