Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters New Rifle Choice: Weatherby Vanguard S2 Range Certified vs Browning Xbolt Medallion

Hehehehe...

No. That's not what I asked. I asked which would you choose? Instead, some, but not all decided to bash Brownings. Some admitted to never owning a Browning, but tore it apart. You can make a choice without all the theatrics.

Theatrics???

Bashing Brownings, by definition would certainly be an indication of a choice, would it not?

Since when does ownership vest the right to negative feelings toward Brownings? And BTW I guess I must have the right to negative feelings toward A-Borts as I have had a few and still own one.

And that would be the nature of what one might easily expect to encounter in many parts of our fair state. I can just about guarantee you that your stainless rifle will acquire permanent gray stains if you lean it against an aluminum rail or gunwale in an open skiff for an hour or two while underway. You can call it by whatever name you want, but the fact is that the surface of the stainless will be chemically altered. I would certainly think the problem might be worse if less noble metals were involved as could be the case in many trigger parts.

That goes against any common sense logic that one could think of. Not trying to bash but if that were true, why would they even make screws longer than 2 threads? Nothing would be gained and you could save cost and weight on just about anything. It simply doesn't add up.

Back on topic a bit. I admittedly don't own a Browning X-Bolt so I will only share my Howa (Vanguard) experience. I currently own 4 of them and for the money find them to be one of the best bargains out there. I think their receivers are well made, their bolts have features that many send in their 700s to have done like a Sako style extractor and a vented bolt. Their actions remind me of the slickness of the older 700s. The "old" triggers are easily adjusted to a safe and reliable ~2lbs and they use Remington 700 bases which are available just about anywhere.

In conclusion, there is not much not to like about the Howa/Vanguard line. Other than maybe limited stock options, which seems to be improving, I actually prefer them over just about any other bolt gun.

Yes, indeed. As I said earlier, the stainless typically used, 416 or something like it, isn't very resistant to salt spray, and so will tend to rust if not protected in some way. Nothing to do with galvanic corrosion about it, and as you say, it will happen to any stainless rifle exposed to such conditions, whose surfaces are not protected in some way.

Just in passing, nothing to do with your aluminium gunwale either. If there was a galvanic cell created between the two it'd be the aluminium which is corroding, not the steel. The aluminium would form a sacrificial anode, protecting the steel from corrosion



Not impossible, but there again if you are getting staining or rust on the stainless parts of the rifle that would be mute evidence against that theory. More than likely though it is more a case of these parts being out of mind and out of sight, so if water gets in it has more of a chance to simply attack any unprotected surfaces before you notice it.

FWIW I've seen some major pitting under the wood on rifles made entirely of carbon steel, like Mauser 98s, where quite clearly there's no difference in galvanic potential. Just maintenance inadequate to the service conditions.

Okay, let me try again. I did not say rust, I'm not talking about rust. I'm taking about what happens when stainless steel barrels touch the aluminum hull of the boat in the presence of salt laden moisture, be it the air itself in close proximity to the sea, or the saltwater spray itself. While the barrel might get rust specks in places if left in the boat for a day or two, it is the the permanent 'greying' of contact points with the boat I am talking about, and they can happen in a very short time. No amount of rubbing with steel wool and bore cleaner- at least nothing that doesn't also scratch the barrel's surface- will remove it. If it were streaks from the softer aluminum I think it would be removed by the steel wool. It isn't. It also doesn't appear to be or feel like pitting. Perhaps it is a thin aluminum oxide transfer? (But that would involve some kind of a chemical change.)

This happens regularly. And these kinds of metal interactions are definitely something I am not unfamiliar with. Hardly a metal is unaffected in our coastal conditions. Dissimilar metals most definitely interact in the presence of saltwater. A boat with the electrical systems associated with an engine added to the mix most certainly create more opportunity for (negative) metallic interaction.

7X7X7X7

X-bolt vs. Vanguard

I think if you would have started this with a poll, you would have seen that 90+% would be voting for the Vanguard. If you still want the Browning, buy one and find out why the "bashing". If you don't want the Vangaurd, why not consider the 77, 70, 700, Tikka etc.

Good post and put me in the Abort-bashing crowd. Owned two. On one, the trigger guard shattered after a relatively light tap on the back of a truck as I was getting aboard, and the other, the ejector kept hanging up and when I took the bolt apart, I was so frustrated, I almost climbed a water tower. Horrible, Rube-Goldberg design.

Very interesting since the Vangard ejector is the same design as the Browning ejector.

Let's not forget that 'design' and 'execution' are two separate things. The Remington M700 bolt handle doesn't fail because of bad design. It fails because of poor execution.

Good used push feed M-70's can be a bargain. The ones I've had shot very well. Older M-700's are good, solid guns, as are Rugers. One can often get a bargain with patient persistence.

DF

Do you have to eat horse tranquilizers, or smoke bath salts to come up with this kinda' stupid chit ?

....or is it some sorta' gift ?

GTC

Abolt I believe he was talking about. That ejector is much more different then what is on the Xbolt

Yeah I thought that was rich myself

This whole thread chit smells like Pinedale, Wy.

Does your use of the word "interesting" have any other connotation other than it's basic meaning?

Basically all PF use a plunger type ejector and my issue was not the failure of the ejector but the insanely complicated bolt design. Basically, it's a POS.

This is my last comment on this post that I started.......This post NEVER had anything to do with Browning Abolts. Never. It was about Browning Xbolts and the Weatherby Vanguard S2 "Range Certified" rifle in 30.06.

Let me repeat.....the post had NOTHING to do with Browning Abolts.....yet, many who responded to my post went on and on about how bad Abolts are. Yet....the post had nothing to do with Abolts.

That's a reoccurring issue with many 24 hourcampfire posts. People get off track so easily and quickly forget the intent of the original post. Then these posts take on a life of their own and people get upset about things and issues that have nothing to do with the original post.

Look, I'm okay that some don't like Browning's and have had poor experiences with them. On the other hand, I personally like Brownings (BBR's, Abolts and Xbolts)and have never had a single issue with any of these models. I also like Weatherby's...it is okay to like more than one manufacturer.

Just a suggestion to a few folks who responded to my original post........stay focused on the post and don't get off on a tangent because you end up dragging others into a battle that has nothing to do with the original post. If you want to bash Brownings or other manufacturers, please do so....but on your own dime. Thanks

So I'm focused. Don't by a POS Abort..

All right, since this thread keeps limping along, I can't stand it anymore so will comment.

I've had experience with two X-Bolts, shooting both considerably and hunting with one. Neither gave any trouble in function in any way, but then the hunting and shooting was done in Montana and Wyoming, not bouncing around in a boat in Alaskan saltwater. Both were also very accurate with a variety of loads.

(For anybody who believes this thread is about A-Bolts, I'll comment that my wife Eileen hunted with an A-Bolt in .270 Winchester--which is OK since she's a girl--for a number of years after they were introduced in 1986. Hers was a first-year rifle sent to me for testing, and was about as light as factory rifles got for the period, and since it shot well we bought it. At one point she had 10 one-shot kills in a row with it, including pronghorn, whitetails, mule deer, elk and moose, and never had any problems with the rifle in any way. One of the scopes she used is another subject....)

I've shot and hunted with at least three Weatherby Vanguards, a couple for a number of years, and will say exactly the same things about them--except that the triggers on earlier models really sucked. But that problem has been fixed.