Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Vanguard Rifles

I've always been a mark v guy. Decided to give a vanguard a try. Needed an all weather rifle and just wanted a standard run of the mill caliber. It's a Sheridan wyoming made rifle in 243 win. Has a two stage trigger, which I actually like now, a sako style extractor, and 3 position safety. Am actually impressed with the bottom metal and the compatability of remington 700 bases. The gun shoot lights out. Every factory bullet has went under an inch and my hand loads go into 1/2" at 100. I'm actually considering getting another in an 06. Been shooting mark vs for a while, but I can't see spending 2k on a rifle when you can have one of these that will absolutely hammer for 6-700 bucks. Don't see alot of vanguard love on the fire, what do yall think about them?

I had one in 257Wby. I let a buddy of mine borrow it and he kept putting $100 bills on my table until I agreed to let him keep it. Great rifle, just a little on the heavy side. For a 30-06, the weight would be about perfect. For a 243, I'd prefer something a little bit lighter.

Other than the weight, very accurate rifles with excellent build quality compared to others in the budget category. Although I guess that should be expected since they are in the upper price range in the budget category.

Vanguards are made in Japan by HOwa.

It's not a Mark V and I don't buy them anymore.

Had several, all very good.

Well the Howa's are good to go for the money. Hard to beat for a factory production hunting rifle. I have seen the 308s do sub .25 inches at 100.

They’re an excellent rifle for the money. I have SS Vanguards in .243 and .300 Wby. I’d have a few more if they were still making them in Stainless.

I just don't see them as being a budget rifle anymore. Some are 1500 bucks. I think a budget rifle is a mossberg and a ruger American. I think vanguard has stepped up to remington 700 notoriety. I have/had several Mark vs and they don't shoot any better than this vanguard will. I think a vanguard in a carbon fiber stock in an 06 would be a good tool for getting game. I do agree that they are a bit heavy

You can still buy a vanguard for $600 or a little less.

Walmart has blow out sales on Weatherby Vanguard synthetic rifles quite often

I know they can be had cheap. As well as a remington adl or sps from academy or Walmart. But I think they are just very well made rifles. The new stuff from howa is pretty good as well. I have 3 and 4000 dollar rigs that can barely outshoot this cheap old 243. Maybe I got a good one. Who knows, but I'd spring for another in a heartbeat.

Have had 4, all shot really well . Presently have one in 300 WBY, 3 hots in 3/4 inch at 100 yds no problem.

Here's a few pics of my recently purchased Weatherby Vanguard S2 in .308. To improve its appearance the crappy plastic stock was replaced with a Bell & Carlson stock. For a cheap rifle, it's seems accurate enough for what I want.

I currently have 5 V2s in 223, 243, and 6.5 CM. They all shoot good groups and are a little on the heavy side, due at least in part because of the contour of the 24" barrels. You'll never mistake the heft of a basic V2 for a light mountain rifle, like a Kimber Hunter, but they are good for what they were designed to be.

I like the current production Griptonite stocks a lot better than most injection molded stocks that other manufacturers are installing on their comparable rifles. I have bought a couple of Griptonite take-off stock to install on Howa 1500s. I put a McM Hunter on my first V2 and a couple of B&C "Weatherby Style" #6505 on a Howa 1500, but could have gotten along fine with the OEM Griptonite stocks.

If you'd prefer a walnut stock, the last time that I looked, GPC still had 2 different grades of short action Howa 1500 stocks left over from when S&W was the importer.

I've owned a couple v2s, one in 6.5 creed that I gave to a SIL and another in 30-06 that I'll give to another SIL probably later this year. Excellent rifles IMO. accurate, function great, and look good as well. A v2 in 30-06 is a superb "do it all" rifle.. get one.

Had one in 6.5 Crudmoor, but granddaughter took it away from me. It is lights out accurate, handles well, would buy another!

I have 3 all good rifles. If I bought a new rifle I would consider a.Vanguard first.

My first rifle was an early Vanguard in 300 Win Mag. It is a beauty in French Walnut and it is accurate. I would suit it up and prepare to take it hunting every fall and then shift back to a synthetic stocked rifle that I felt I wouldn't be able to scratch up. I believe you probably could sell that safe queen for an easy 1500.oo without much for hardship today. It is extremely accurate and when it was produced it came with a target that had all three shots in one hole.

It has been said that custom gun maker Bill Wiseman developed the elements of the Vanguard action and he worried about its accuracy. The Vanguard was originally a workman's version of the Mark V. I think that I paid 385.00 for it in 1981. Or I should say that my first PFD it did. My uncle had purchased a Weatherby Vanguard in 300 Win Mag and put a 3.5-10 Leupold scope on it. It had an almost magical gleam and when my brother and I were to choose our first big game rifles that is what we ordered. My brother's rifle was a dark figured sister to my rifle. He instantly took it out and put a 400.00 Zeiss 4X scope on it while I spent 118 dollars on a Tasco world class 3-9 scope. He used the heck out of his rifle and shot a black bear and two moose with it. Sadly, while I was in school he took a hunting trip up into the Tonsina River Country to Tonsina Lake. It was set in the top of a nodwell track rig and somehow ended up getting ran over by the rig. The Zeiss was toast. He sent it in and put a new one on it. He hasn't taken it hunting since.

I also have a 22-250 Vanguard in a Varmint Special which has a fully bedded HS Precision synthetic stock. I put a 10X Bushnell fixed power on it.. It is not a super accurate rifle but it will put three rounds in a neat triangle no matter what ammo I use. I often take it with my primary hunting rifle as a companion rifle when I go to the range. I have always wanted to take it hunting for marmots on the Denali Highway. I hope that with the closure on the Nelchina herd something like this might happen this fall.

I also had a Vanguard in 257 weatherby mag that I was going to setup and then I ran into a cowboy from Western Nebraska who wanted to trade me straight up for a SW Xframe in 500 with six boxes of ammo. I think I paid 450 for the rifle so it was an amazing once in a lifetime deal. The cowboy needed the rifle for antelope so I hope that it is still out there knocking down speed goats.

Vanguard rifles were somewhat improved with a s2 trigger. I do not like the meateater rifles. They force me to throw up in my mouth a little bit. I think that there is an recraft of the Vanguard in the Nosler 48 rifles which are built off of another version of Bill Wiseman's initial action. I have used my Nosler 48 in 26 Nosler with a Vortex Viper HD 6-24 scope to pop a mountain goat at 350 yards. The Nosler is a very accurate rifle with the 129 grain ttX bullet but less accurate with the 142 grain ttx.

I also have a Nosler Patriot 48 in 338 Winchester Mag. The Nosler rifles are a bit clubby but they absorb recoil extremely well and the pacnor barrels are top shelf. The 338 shoots Nosler 250 grain accubonds extremely well. I took it for a bison hunt but was messed up by super early spring that prevented me from crossing the Copper. I have no doubt that the rifle which is topped with a Leupold VX5 3-18 would have done the job.

I have looked for those old vanguards and would like to get a 270 Win in walnut and a 223 in Varmint Special in one that was called the Red Mist Special. I missed on one and it hurts to this day.

Bought mine in 1983. When the only flavor was flashy wood and mirror blue.
(Variety came soon)


Honestly, I don't like it.
Would make an interesting test to see what rusts faster an 870 Express or it.
Heavy as heck for a 243.
Long action, no block. The rounds slide in the mag with a click everytime you
raise, or lower, the muzzle.

It is attractive, it shoots well, it has always functioned perfectly, it's comfortable
to handle in every way except being heavy.

Hasn't been outside since we moved here 23 years ago. Can't sell it, was my first
new gun and bought with lawn mowing and lunch money when I was 13.


Would buy a lighter new one in a heartbeat, or even a heavy one if that was desired for some silly reason.


Dad bought a 7mag at the same time.
It's hunted from Idaho to NefFoundland, to Georgia. He is 79 and still totes it.
Says it is heavy to carry, but that's why he shoots it so well.

Probably should listen to Pap, love the Tikka. But it's a wand, and I struggle
shooting it. You don't carry a gun to enjoy carrying, you carry it to shoot.

Epiphany!

I have hunted with five friends over the last 10-12 years that have vanguards of various chambering and models. Everyone of them likes their rifles. All claim excellent accuracy. Most of these guys are experienced hunters with money buy whatever they want to shoot. All of them have had different rifles prior to the vanguards. Only one has bought another rifle since buying their vanguards. Never had one myself but these guys must like theirs.

Has an M-16 style extractor which is vastly superior to the Sako.

I did not know until recently that the receiver is investment cast but the bolt is forged.



Sako Extractor or RIfle?

I have a recent vanguard in 30-06, shoots 3/4" groups fairly easy and handles well. I like the two stage trigger and one piece bolt. IMO great rifles for the money.

Am I the only guy left who likes some heft in a rifle. One pound in a rifle does not make it unpackable but it sure helps from getting the snot knocked out of you every time you pull the trigger. A 30-06 in a light rifle will catch most people’s attention quick. A heavier wood stocked one seems to help quite a bit. Edk

I'm certainly not afraid of an SS Vanguard as a general-purpose hunting rifle, especially with the HACT 2-stage trigger. I put a new trigger spring in an SS 257Wby a couple years ago and it makes for a solid rifle with good ergonomics. Shoots well with 115gr Partitions and is my main "loaner" rifle for friends and family.

Does Weatherby offer the V2 in SS now? I haven't seen one in SS in any of the local gun shops, but have seen a couple of the Weatherguards with the gray Cerakote finish.

Not JPro but no they do not.

Sadly, I think SS is no longer offered. Just fancy spray paint.

The receivers are forged according to Brownells.

The new wyoming models are way better rifles. Check one out. They blow the original and the v2 California crap away.

They are not forged anymore just the bolt. You showed Howa specs and that might be dated.


They might be assembled in Wyoming. What is the serial number prefix ?

The ONLY reason I don't have a Vanguard/Howa (or two) is that they refuse to make them lefty. I pretty much like everything else about them.

In what specific ways are the Wyoming Vanguards better than those made when Weatherby's HQ was in California?

Options, stocks, bolt shroud don't have the huge red and white painted dots for fire and safe, better trigger to name a few. The new stuff in Sheridan is the best stuff they've ever put out. But remember, it's an opinion. I've bought enough stuff from weatherby to tell the difference. At least from my perspective.

All my vanguards were the older S1 models........

Damgud values then.......accurate buggers too.

I have the newer 2 stage trigger on a Howa. That was a good idea.

I had one of the early, really pretty, Vanguards, a VGX(?) if I remember correctly. It was in 30-06 and was as accurate as it was pretty. Years of hunting with it took some of the pretty off of it, but that thing remained really accurate! Had others as well over the years and the fact I don't have one at the moment, is no reflection on the rifle at all.

VGX
Mine is before that, but the same.

As you have correctly stated, the new Sheridan Vanguard Griptonite stock design is light years ahead of any synthetic stock design offered during the Atascadero/Paso Robles era!

Weatherby has been putting the Griptonite stocks on the V2 since at least 2014 and AFAIK they didn't move to Wyoming until 2019.

I'd agree that the pre-Griptonite synthetic stocks weren't nearly as good a design as the Griptonies.

Catalog 74 2022-2023

https://www.brownells.com/order-a-catalog/

The newest catalog I have, 2022, says the receiver is machined, which can mean several things of course. That said, I see no signs of casting on the Carbon Mini I bought not long ago, so perhaps it's machined from a billet of some sort, type of billet unknown.

Tests of the receivers of Ruger 77s showed they were stronger than others machined from bar stock, but any of the common production methods can produce good actions. Wayne York of oregunsmithingllc says that Howas are very precisely made, and works with them a good bit for his customs. They are not, IME, the smoothest actions out of the box, but they’ve been otherwise trouble-free for me, and I appreciate the combination of traditional configuration and modest price, whether Howa-branded or Vanguard. Like many others, I wish the SS versions they sell in OZ were available here, but that’s likely the decision taken by Legacy, the importer.

I have a Vanguard Sub MOA in 270 WSM. I did glass bed the Bell and Carlson stock and dropped a 2.5 lb Timney trigger in it.

It is the most consistently accurate rifle that I own.

Dan

There are a couple of threads out there on the internet which claim they are cast. I went straight to Weatherby today 307-675-7840 to get the truth. The V2 has some differences in the bolt release and trigger mechanically. They are made out of forged steel(Receivers and Bolt).

Pretty impressive. They've certainly stepped up their game on the vanguard line.

I have a Howa 1500 short action in .223. It has to be one of my smoothest running actions next to my Tikka. You have to look to make sure it picks up the round from the follower it is so smooth. The HACT trigger is a tad heavy but useable. Accuracy is good but not Tikka good. It was well worth the money.

Hows your knees? How old are you? I refuse to hunt with any rifle that is uncomfortable to carry all day. My knees appreciate carrying a sub 7lb fully done up rifle all over these mountains here. Heavy rifles just dont fit with how I hunt these days

I have 2 Vanguard 2 rifles, .30-06 and .223. Both have 3X10 scopes, one a Burris LRS, one a Zeiss, they both ride with me constantly and both are sub MOA. The .30-06 definitely does not like anything close to max loads. I keep it loaded with 180 SST and 58.5 of H4831, the .223 shoots best with 62 grain Hornady or Barnes and a max load of Varget. Both are synthetic and the '06 is stainless. Many, many hogs have been taken with those rifles and several deer. The 180 SST was chosen because it is cheap, very accurate, and some of the hogs are 300 to 400 pounds or even occasionally bigger.

I bought the .223 for the girls. My 11 year old grand daughter doesn't go for .30-06 recoil.

This old VGL 7 mag has been carried 30+ years around the cliffs, has at least 100 deer, 8 Elk and probably 10 bears under its belt.

Got a new scope this year, could use a paint job. Still puts 150 NBTs and Sirrocos inside .75” with ease. I’d say 1200 rounds + is a conservative estimate. Pretty loud with the short barrel.

On paper not much to like about this one, but it will never be sold.

Don't repaint that rifle lol. That's bad ass! That's a hunting gun right there. Heck yea! My uncle had a gun like that. He'd say "don't scratch it" while he tossed it uncased in the back of the truck. Had an old bausch and lomb 3x9 on it. I think it was a model 70 ranger. Anyways it was like 30 plus years old and would drive tacks. That's cool.

Holston, That's what a good hunting rifle is supposed to look like after half a lifetime of use. Hope you enjoy it for another 30 years!

I only have one Vanguard in 6.5-300 Wby, burnt bronze Cerakote, camo stock. It shoots well but I have not used it on game yet. I have two buddies that have Vanguards in .300 Weatherby that are tack drivers. They are a bit heavy for smaller calibers but not a concern for the big magnums.

I have a first year Vangaurd that is a "sako" clone in 300 wm, only thing I do not like in the 20 years or so I have owned that gun is 2 position safety which is being replaced soon as the mail gets here. Lights out rifle, i took a 223 and had JES make a 350 legend for me cause I am not a fan of plastic clipped rifles and that is a excellent shooter too, put together for Iowa but now if I go back 35 calibers are legal and I have a Norma option that has a bit more range LOL The legend will probably make its way to the classified soon.