Guess I should have been wearing my glasses...thought the thread was a year old....
Anyway, okay here's my .02. As I said before, I wanted a Vanguard but given the deal you described I'd jump at the A bolt give both are in the same good condition. Remember, the A-bolt was a much more expensive rifle, and it's price point was not set using the same market parameters and so the workmanship they could justify was higher. (Aside from the fancy Medallion treatment.)
I understand that the A-bolts are floated like the X-bolts and are as accurate. I have an X-bolt that is probably my favorite feeling/shooting rifle and it shot .25 MOA out of the box with Federal blue box. My goal in reloading was to match the factory rounds! (which I did) When I have doubts at the range with other guns, I fall back on it to see if it's me that day or what. The trigger is at least as good if not better than the Vanguard, the latter of which I have shot only a few times but dry fired several. And finally the Medalion surely has a better fit and finish than the Vanguard. In fact the Medalion Xbolts are so nice I'm not sure I'd want to take it hunting for fear of scratching it up!
Antecdote regarding the Vanguard S2:
A range friend just the other day relayed the story of his Vanguard S2 being accurate at first, then loosing it. He eventually had to send it to W, to figure out what was wrong. It was a nightmare customer service story that cost him several hundred dollars in the end, and he still had to take it to a gunsmith afterwards who mounted it in a Boyd stock and free floated it. He was in the process of checking loads when we last spoke. He found out that W doesn't actually fire the guns to qualify the sub MOA claim. They mount the gun and mount sensors that measure barrel vibration, and extrapolate what the impact point would be. Uh, okay. He said if he had it to do all over again, he'd buy a Howa barreled action and a stock and build it himself.
Then he contrasted that with an experience with Savage, where he had a problem with his 110, called them, they sent a part and a magazine at no cost to cover 2 different scenarios within a week, the problem turned out to be the part, and he didn't have to return the extra mag. A+ customer service. I continue to be amazed at what accurate guns Savage produces at the price point they offer.
I have a Savage with Accutrigger, and although it has a crisp break, it's just not as precise feeling to me as the X-bolt. But it is but very accurate with the right loads. .25 MOA out of the box with handloads.
