Looking for a good hunting rifle in a 30-06 caliber. I have narrowed it between these two rifles. Like both of them and was just looking for a little input on both. Likes? dislikes? any problems with either? Thanks

Vanguards IMO are alot of value for the money

I own both. My Vanguards (.257 & .270) are consistant tack drivers and seem well made. The 270 is about 20 years old, maybe more - never a problem. I don't think you can beat a Vanguard for the money. Having said that, I don't care for the looks of the new synthetic stocks. My Remmy (.260) has taken it's share of game, but won't hang with the Wbys accuracy wise. And it's bolt locks up about 15% on one lug and 0.0% on the other. It just stays in the closet. The Wby is a safer bet, IMHO.

For a straight out of the box hunting rifle the S2 is a lot of rifle for the money. Hard to go wrong with one.

the Vanguard S2 is very good. Out of the box, it will have a better trigger than the 700. The S2 is also a fairly heavy rifle, although mine is still very comfortable to me. For whatever reason, though, I generally prefer the feel of a 700.

My Vanguard S2 stainless steel 270 Winchester is the most
accurate rifle I own.

Excellent trigger, very accurate right out of the box, and a little paint can cure the ugly stock.

Model 700 everytime...

Rem 700. 100 times out of 100. You guys can have the Weatherbys

I like the weatherbys a lot but I guess it depends on the 700 you are considering. If it is the discount synthetic stock vs the BDL. In actuality both are good guns and you should be lucky enough to wear either one out in you lifetime if you take care of it. Probably the same could be said of your kids.

I have owned both, and neither of them have ever failed me with accuracy or reliability. Pick the one that you like best.

For a medium weight rifle I'd just soon have the vanguard as a 700. I only have one rifle built off a vanguard but like it a lot.

At one time I'd have said the same but would have also said the 700 would save money not having to buy a trigger. The new 700's I've dealt with need a trigger swap too.

Should mention I don't have the new one but a vanguard from a few years ago

Is this you trying to sell or is this your new purchase?

Series 2 Vanguard is superior in design and fit and finish. The trigger is just that much better.

The fit and finish, well, Remington is a bit of a joke right now. That Japanese quality control is something else...

I've owned and used way more 700's than Vanguards but looking at them from a stand point of design and execution the Weatherby will always come out on top.

I've had many of them apart and have rebarreled maybe 40 or so 700's and 5 or 6 Vanguards.

The Vanguard has a one piece bolt...the 700,...three pieces all brazed together.

The Vanguard has an extractor very similar to the M16 extractor that is often retrofitted to a 700 bolt....the 700 extractor, while they do not often fail, is a piece of formed spring steel fit loosely into a groove. Later ones are not even riveted.

The Vanguard has a flat bottom receiver and an integral recoil lug.

The Vanguard has a firing pin assembly that's easily removed and reinstalled by hands only...a direct copy of the Sako L and A series rifles which the Vanguard copies a lot from. A long action Vanguard is almost a drop in fit into a Sako L61R/AIII stock.

The Vanguard is a LOT of rifle for the money.

Flame suit on and buttoned tightly......:-)

Neither. This is a Vanguard S2 in 257Wby I owned until recently when I made the mistake of letting a close friend borrow it. He decided he didn't want to give it back and gave me cash instead. I have a custom 257Wby on the way from another forum member. However, I have an itch to try a 240Wby and it is now offered in the S2, so I may have another one soon. They really are hard to beat for the $.

+1 the only cons vs a 700 is action weight and availability of aftermarket parts. It is so much better designed and executed that it is not even fuggin funny.

A friend? One who would take a friends gun and not give it back isn't a friend he's a user of people. This guy would have been chatting with local law enforcement and if that didn't work he would have been in a civil court. Personally I wouldn't trust this guy a with a gun or anything else I valued.

Guess maybe that post came across wrong. It was meant to be funny. He's still my friend. After using that rifle he told me I could sell it to him or help him order it's duplicate online. And he really pushed for keeping mine. I have plenty of other rifles so I came up with a price and moved up to a custom.

You realize of course, there's a reason for so many aftermarket M700 parts...

Recently while shopping for a new 257 Roy I looked hard at the SII and though money wise it was obviously the much wiser buy (grins) I ended up getting a CDL SF instead. I just could not like the Vanguard no matter how much I tried. The stock in my opinion is hideous, its much heavier and clunkier in the hands than the Rem and IME the two 257 Weatherbys I have owned made by Remington have been tack drivers. Yes the new Remington triggers aren't the best but for a little over $100 you can have a great trigger. If they still made the SPS Stainless in 257 Roy I would have chose that one over the SII also but that's just me. The last 5 or so Remingtons that I have owned shot unbelievably well, I have had zero issues with newer Remingtons and I was an anti Rem guy for many years.

The weight issue just got addressed with the recent announcement of the new Series II Back Country, which will come in at 6 3/4 lbs. with a fluted No. 2 contour 24 in. cerakoted barrel. Announced as pillar bedded, but will have a full length beddng block instead. I should have one in my hands for testing in a month.

Fisher - you beat me to it.

Also above on the 1-pc Machined bolt.

I had a 700 handle fall off, if I were down to 1 rifle, a Vanguard S2 would be at the top of the list for value. 700, not even close. Won't argue a good one will shoot, but when you have a handle fail, your shooting is over. Now a PT&G one piece bolt is an option, but back to what Fisher said....

Now if one wants to customize a 700, you can replace it's weak links.

I have owned dozens of 700s, and had about a 50/50 rate of good/bad for various reasons. Most were post 90 mfg. Earlier rifles had better QC IMO.

Many 700s get new stocks, triggers, barrels, even bolts/bolt mods. Don't see that w/Wby, but you can. Never seen an OEM 700 stock, that I would not replace in a heartbeat funds aside. Tupperware is what comes on most guns at this price level.

Weatherby makes a great budget rifle. I'd put it about 8-10 down the list of rifles I'd consider.

vanguard 2 would get the nod from me, unless one were considering a 700 cdl/bdl.

Yes and if Remington built a decent gun there wouldn't be. But Rems do make good donors.

Vanguard...all the way..

Remington used to make a good rifle...nowadays I'd probably lean towards the Vanguard unless you're willing to shop for a used 700

17Ackleybee - my point exactly. If I could gef Tatelaw to paint the stock for me, I'd prolly get another in. 257...

I have 2 Weatherby Vanguards (.243 & 30.06) that I really like. I put Timney triggers on both for the 3 postion safety. I don't like Wetherby's customer support though. The 30.06 leaves ejector marks with several different brands of factory ammo and reloads. It doesn't leave a mark every shot but does about 50% of the time. I called Weatherby about it and they refered me to one of their gunsmiths in Dallas. He told me he could fix it but I should send it to Weatherby since it was a new rifle. I sent it to Weatherby and got it back in a couple of weeks with 8 fired cases in the box. Five of the cases had ejector marks. These are not light marks either. The enclosed letter said they found everything to be normal. I told them that I'd take it to a local gunsmith for repair and send them the bill. I just put it in my safe for now.

Own two 700s and an older Vangard.

No contest, I'll take the Vangard every time.

victoro - ask John Barsness about your concern. There may or may not be anything wrong w/your rifle. I seriously doubt if there were anything that was a safety issue, that WBY would have sent it back w/o doing any work to it.

Welcome to the world of weatherby customer service. I'll never own another after getting the same results. However, mine was sent to one of their "authorized repair centers", not once buy 2 times to get an extraction problem fixed. After it came back the second time the smith had left his marks on it too !! If I would have lived closer, I would have went and had words with the SOB!!

So how much would you have into a rifle after replacing the bolt with a custom 1 piece (of course with a better extractor in it too), trigger, and stock?? It's a good thing they usually have pretty good barrels on them

65br,
I got ejector marks on light reloads even. I'm more concerned about ruining the Lapua brass I bought when I bought both Vanguards. The ejector marks are bad enough that the brass will be ruined after a few reloads or at least all the markings will be wiped off the head. The .243 brass never has a mark on the brass. It may not be a safety problem but there is something wrong and I'm disappointed Weatherby didn't at least try another bolt. The gunsmith in Dallas said the edges of the ejector hole were probably too sharp.

I had a six lug 270 act up once and sent it to their authorized service center in TN..it came back basically unfixed. I then sent it in to Weatherby and within a month got a new Mark V back. I purchased a brand new Remington 700 KS and taking it to the range I needed to pretty much bang on the bolt handle to remove a stuck case. I looked at the bolt saw nothing obvious and chambered and fired another round. Same problem. Took it to my "Remington" dealer and he told me he would not exchange the rifle, I told him I would not be dealing with him any longer sayonara MF. I sent it in to Remington and 3 months later I got it back fixed. I spent about 2x as much for the Remington as the Weatherby and the Rem was a custom shop rotflmfao.

Eenie-Meenie would work well in this decision making process.

I have both. Everything rembo said covers it.


Travis

I personally prefer the feel of 700's but nothing wrong with a vanguard. Buy whichever feels the most natural/fits best.

I own both along with Ruger and Winchester's and the Weatherby sub moa is my favorite of them all.

To each his own....I'm a Weatherby slut?....

Remington's suck as well as there owners(the company)

Jayco

I'd go 700 between those two choices. They are both good guns.

If it is, seems like that would be an easy fix, but I am no smith. That said, I do hope the problem is resolved to satisfaction w/o any expense.

If I had to buy one rifle to last a lifetime, and did not need stainless, I'd seriously look for a pre-garcia Sako. Never seen one that did not shoot, was not well finished, slick, and reliable. They just seemed to always impress in performance and finish, old world craftsmanship. Never heard of a bolt handle failure, trigger/accidental discharge, bad barrel, etc.

That said, the Vanguard is to my understanding a close copy in design of the older Sako actions. Granted not as smooth as a Sako, HVA, or Sauer, perhaps after well broken in.

Re: quality control. I'd hope and expect WBY to back their product.