Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Semi Custom 375h&h - customizations

So I will be taking my recently purchased Weatherby Vanguard DGR 375 H&H rifle on a moose hunt to Northern BC this September. Being that I am a rifle tinkerer and this is a very expensive hunt, I am trying to customize this rifle to provide the very best tool for the job for this hunt.

I ordered an in stock McMillan Grey Marble Sako Classic Stock for the rifle to replace the factory B&C stock. I also ordered a replacement Timney to go in place of the factory trigger. I am going have the barreled action glass bedded in the new stock.

Metal wise, it may not be needed, but to be safe I am going to have the smith install a side bolt stop in place of the factory option. Lastly, I am going to Cerakote the entire barreled action in Graphite Black.

The rifle has steel 2 piece warne bases, Leupold PWR steel rings, and a VX-R 2-7X33. In the event of a scope failure, it has the factory express sites to fall back on.

Am I missing anything? Would you do anything different?

Seems you're making a good rifle, better.

Enjoy your hunt, and let us know how the new ,375 does for you. Which bullet/ammo are you planning to use?

Guy

Once the rifle gets put back together, I will try once more with 260 partitions and 270 TSX's. The most accurate load with at least 2700 FPS will get the call.

Load work up and your done. I would Dyna bore coat just for added corrosion resistance even if it doesn't foul. I like to have a spare scope as a back up in the same mounts ready to go, I have never switched in the field but should have a couple of times. I only found out that something was wrong after a miss, riding around on a four wheeler can do that to a rifle. Now I keep the rifles in a double padded case on the front rack. In your case I would get a brighter scope with raingard for load work up and rainy days like a 3-9 Bushnell elite. With a 375 just about any bullet is a moose thumper.

Have you shot it as purchased? If so, how did it do?

I have shot it and the best my reloads did was 1.5" - which is not the worse thing in the world as realistcally 1-1.25" for this caliber is fine for me, what I couldn't stand was the blockyness of the B&C stock. The grip was to big as well as the forearm - couldn't keep a good hold on it while shooting. Also, felt like the monte carlo popped my face a lot harder than my non monte carlo guns. The two stage factory trigger was terrible, so it immediately got replaced by the timney.

I'm sure there are a few more things you can do with your new rifle before headed out on an expensive hunt. Bonus points for getting it done right before you leave.

Sounds like a reasonable plan. I have always read that they shoot pretty well as delivered. Good luck on your hunt. Northern BC is a darn nice place to hunt.

You will probably need a need is a good muzzle brake and a barrel de-resonator to bring that groups in and keep the recoil down.

No muzzle brakes - cant stand them. I did talk to Karl Kampfeld from Kampfeld customs and he informed me that there is not enought clearance on the rear bridge of the Vanguard to install a side bolt stop. So this is what I will be doing to the rifle.

1. Bed stock into the mcmillan
2. Cerakote barreled action in Graphite Black
3. Replace front site bead with a fiber optic bead.

Should be pretty simple, but will get this rifle ready to chase moose and handle the elements.

Dyna bore cote, Essox, Johnson's paste wax and blue tape and your all set.

The only thing you did not mention is "practice" shooting. I am sure that is in the plans.