Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Howa HS Precision vs. Weatherby Vanguard Wilderness

Tempted by both these rifles, and curious who here has experience with them. I live in Wyoming and do all my hunting in the west so lighter is good - but I've got no need (yet) for a sheep rifle so I'm not counting ounces.

Weatherby Vanguard Wilderness:
-6.75 pounds
-24 inch #2 contour fluted barrel (matte, bead-blasted)
-Weatherby's monte carlo stock with aluminum bedding block
-3 position safety and 2-stage trigger


Howa HS Precision:
7.6 pounds
-22 inch #2 contour barrel
-Kevlar/fiberglass/carbon fiber stock by HS Pres. with aluminum bedding block
-3 position safety and 2-stage trigger

I've been out of the gun retail business for a few years, so I don't know if Howa and Weatherby actions are still being manufactured in the same place. Anyone know what (if any) the difference is with the two companies barreled actions and their trigger assemblies?

Thanks in advance.

http://www.weatherby.com/products/ri...ilderness.html

https://www.legacysports.com/catalog...ecision-rifle/

The stock on that weatherby rifle is a bell and Carlson.

I would go with the Vanguard Wilderness and not even close. The stock on the Vanguard may be B&C but it is proprietary and a lightweight 24-26 ounces per the Weatherby Parts department.

good morn port. I can't speak to the hs precision but I do have a weatherby vanguard s2 backcountry which is the exact same rifle as the wilderness except its cera coated gray in .257 bee that shoots 110 accubond factory ammo less than 3/4" at 100 yds for 3 shots.
good luck on the journey,
Big Ed

No difference, they are both Howa barreled actions. The Wby shows modest cosmetic changes such as markings and back bolt variation. Both will fit in the same stocks providing barrel contours are same. Most have #2 contours at 0.620 inch at the muzzle. What chamber are you considering? Regardless of which rifle/stock you choose you should glass bed to obtain best accuracy. If bedded properly both will shoot lights out.

I have the Vanguard Wilderness in a 6.5-300 Wby. I love it! It has a great trigger and has spit out everything I've fed it MOA or sub and that cartridge is finicky. I want the exact same gun in a .270 Win one of these days. With Talley Light Weights holding VX3i 4.5-14x40 CDS and leather sling it weighs in right at 8 lbs. Almost too light for the cartridge as the barrel is hot after one shot. The only time I have ever shot it twice in a row as fast as I could turn the bolt was at the bear I killed a few weeks ago with it. Suffice it to say the barrel was hot...

Just from my experience, I would not hesitate with the Vanguard Wilderness.

Good luck,

Todd

I have a Howa 6.5 Creedmoor in an H-S Precision stock. Haven't shot anything in it yet except for the 129 grain Hornady whitetail factory loads. It's averaging right at 3/4" with those. The B&C stock on the Weatherby Backcountry is the same one B&C sells on their website as the Weatherby vanguard/Howa 1500 stock.The H-S stock is of better quality than the B&C and is made to free float the barrel whereas the B&C is not and uses dual opposed forward pressure pads. Of course you can remove the pressure pads yourself but the problem with that is the B&C stocks are often crooked enough that it will end up looking like hell with a big gap on one side and very little forend left on the other by the time you get the barrel free.

The B&C stock on the wilderness is not the same stock that is available retail. It is a weatherby proprietary stock. Call Weatherby Customer Service and ask them.

Gun company folks have been known to lie or at least stretch the truth. I know. I've worked for one for years. We used to use B&C stocks on our rifles but quit because we got too many crooked ones. Even IF the Weatherby factory stock is made of lighter weight material, which I doubt, it's still made in the same moulds by the same folks who sent us plenty of crooked stocks.

Then Weatherby is lying. I suggest you call them and tell them that. Here is a newsflash, I called B&C and asked them , they won't sell the stock to me. I had to go thru Weatherby.

I suggest you also call B&C .

Huh, when I talked to B&C on the phone they said it was the same stock Weatherby uses on their rifles. Make of that what you will.

DID they tell you could buy it? They flat out told me it was not for sale to retail. That said, I am moving away from Weatherby anything these days.

Yeah, I bought one last year, at a discount no less through their professional purchase program because I work in the industry. Ended up sending it back because it was crooked.

Thanks for the info gents, this is all good stuff.

I plan on getting it in .25-06. I know, I know.... I should get it in 6.5 Creedmore.... but the 25-06 is one of my pet calibers and I have TONS of factory and reloaded ammo for it. Just need a new rifle to shoot it out of.

I've owned several Weatherby's in the past and haven't had any problems yet. One of my favorites is a Vanguard Sub-Moa (that's the actual name - made before the S2) in .243 that's killed many speed goats. I just wish Weatherby made the Vanguard Back Country in 25-06.

I have an original iteration Back Country (all stainless, no Cerakote) in .30-06. It’s one of the last rifles I would ever sell. Light, accurate, great pointability. My son used it to kill his first two bucks.

Good luck finding one.




P

For 25-06 you would be better served with the Wby and 24-inch barrel. Suggestion, you could by the 25-06 in Vanguard S2 version for around $400, junk the stock and restock with lightweight Mc Edge and have a very nice setup. Or choose another custom stock.

Good! Maybe the slow down in sales to you and Weatherby haters might force Weatherby to drop prices for guys like me. LOL!

I have owned Weatherbys for 40 years, I think they made plenty off of me. That said they need to update their lineup , pink stocks, rifles with a womans name ,Hushin and the cosmetic BS will not make people forget they still sell the same dated product with basically no aftermarket parts offered and everything proprietary driven. Some will never learn GFY

port,wby does make a 25-06,on roids,in the back country. its called a 257 wby lol!
Big Ed

I don’t know about the back country or wilderness stocks but I know the stock from the vanguard dangerous game rifle is only available through weatherby, there just isn’t another rifle t would fit, that’s what weatherby told me last year.

As for the other stocks, it makes sense because they have the weatherby style/profile. I’m sure b&c makes stocks that will fit vanguards but I guess I was u set the impression that the ones that come on weatherby rifles are speciallly madenfor them.