Best Rifle Out Of The Box Part two

[gohring3006]

I had a heck of a time with a Vanguard 300 Weatherby mag. It wasn't until I changed out the factory stock for a Boyds, and added a brake, then it settled down. It was a 4 MOA rifle with everything I put thru it. I wondered about the target Weatherby sends with its rifles, it wasn't from that rifle!!!! I believe that the barrel was to thin and whipped to bad for the big 300 Weatherby cartridge. But after adding a brake and bedding and freefloating the Boyds it settled into a good 1/2 to 3/4 MOA rifle. Not sure which one fixed the problem or if both did, but I think the brake tamed the harmonics down in the barrel... 1/2 to 3/4 MOA doesn't sound like a match winning rifle, but if you would have seen how this thing was shooting before it's a **** big improvement... It was a 100 yard 300 Weatherby Mag deer rifle before, totally worthless....

 

[KillerBee]

I had a heck of a time with a Vanguard 300 Weatherby mag. It wasn't until I changed out the factory stock for a Boyds, and added a brake, then it settled down. It was a 4 MOA rifle with everything I put thru it. I wondered about the target Weatherby sends with its rifles, it wasn't from that rifle!!!! I believe that the barrel was to thin and whipped to bad for the big 300 Weatherby cartridge. But after adding a brake and bedding and freefloating the Boyds it settled into a good 1/2 to 3/4 MOA rifle. Not sure which one fixed the problem or if both did, but I think the brake tamed the harmonics down in the barrel... 1/2 to 3/4 MOA doesn't sound like a match winning rifle, but if you would have seen how this thing was shooting before it's a **** big improvement... It was a 100 yard 300 Weatherby Mag deer rifle before, totally worthless....

My exact same sentiment gohring3006, in my case I would not have even taken it deer hunting before I did the modifications. Now I will shoot at moose or elk with it up to 1000 yards. In the end I am happy I went through the process, now that I have a custom rifle that fits me like a glove and shots 1/2" MOA groups )

Will I ever buy another Weatherby again? Never!

 

[ctw]

Will I ever buy another weatherby again? you can bet I will; all mine shoot lights out from day one. From my vanguard sub moa in .270 wsm, accumark in 30-378, accumark in 338-378; in fact my next one that I'm waiting to come in is a .270win in the vanguard accuguard. No apologies here for being a weatherby fan. ctw

 

[MudRunner2005]

I bought my first and only Weatherby (Accumark .257 Wby) in 2008...Got rid of it in 2014 after many years of headaches. I used to think it shot pretty good (around 1"-1.5" with factory ammo when it was new), but that was before I started reloading (around 2011/2012) and learned that rifles SHOULD be shooting sub-MOA. But back then all I was shooting was factory ammo. I also never put many rounds down the barrel (maybe 20-30 rounds total), because it was strictly a hunting rifle. Sighted it in, stuck it in the safe, and other than a couple deer a year, it only got used for a 3-shot group pre-season to check my zero. But when I started reloading, I started shooting it more, and got it down to 1" with handloads, but never could seem to get it below that mark. However, because of shooting it a lot more when working on load development, when I got to around 75 rounds, the barrel started to cave in. I didn't realize what was wrong at the time, but I did notice accuracy fall-off significantly. With handloads and lots of load tuning, I managed to get it back down to around 1.5" groups with the bad barrel (before I knew there was a serious problem), compared to 2"-2.5" groups with factory ammo (whereas it shot close to 1"-1.5" with factory ammo before the accuracy drop). Since that experience, I will not buy a Weatherby until they start using cut-rifled Krieger barrels again for their entire MKV lineup. Mine was one of the Criterion barreled models, which were not worth their weight in cow manure...

 

[WildRose]

My exact same sentiment gohring3006, in my case I would not have even taken it deer hunting before I did the modifications. Now I will shoot at moose or elk with it up to 1000 yards. In the end I am happy I went through the process, now that I have a custom rifle that fits me like a glove and shots 1/2" MOA groups )

Will I ever buy another Weatherby again? Never!

Every manufacturer produces duds occasionally.

Knowing that doesn't make you feel any better when you're the unlucky guy who buys it but it's inevitable that if you buy enough of them sooner or later you'll be stuck with one.

 

[KillerBee]

Every manufacturer produces duds occasionally.

Knowing that doesn't make you feel any better when you're the unlucky guy who buys it but it's inevitable that if you buy enough of them sooner or later you'll be stuck with one.

Lucky Me! lol

As mentioned I replaced the their CRAP Barrel with a 3 contour Wilson barrel, anyone one have an experience with the Wilson Barrels, are they a good barrel???

Thanks,

 

[MudRunner2005]

Every manufacturer produces duds occasionally.

Knowing that doesn't make you feel any better when you're the unlucky guy who buys it but it's inevitable that if you buy enough of them sooner or later you'll be stuck with one.

You are 100% correct, but it is a hard pill to swallow when your rifle has a $2,000+ MSRP and it turns out to be a pile of crap. It really makes you reevaluate ALL factory rifles from then-on. That being said, I'll keep taking my chances on cheap used Rem 700's that I can buy for less than $500. Between the action, Bartlein blank, and smith work, I can be into a custom for about 1/2 of what a new Accumark retails for. And I KNOW it will shoot.

That's the reason why I'm so hard on Weatherby because their prices keep going up, and their quality keeps going down. And that's completely backwards. Remington might do the same thing, but their prices are nearly 1/2 that of a comparable model Weatherby... I'd rather take that $1000+ that I just saved and keep it in the fund incase the Remington I buy needs some work done, and I'm still money ahead...Even if it needs a complete overhaul and barrel swap.

I'm not saying buy a Remington over a Weatherby...It's a free country, go buy what you want...I'm just using it as an example.

 

[gohring3006]

Even though the Vanguard gave me a fit.... I will not hesatate to buy another one. I learned a lot from that rifle and about harmonics and how they are one of the main, if not the main key in rifle accuracy. Now I know what to try if a rifle is not shooting the way I like it. If it still doesn't shoot, then I'll rebarrel it.

 

[WildRose]

Lucky Me! lol

As mentioned I replaced the their CRAP Barrel with a 3 contour Wilson barrel, anyone one have an experience with the Wilson Barrels, are they a good barrel???

Thanks,

I have no personal experience with them but they seem to have a good reputation.

Hopefully this one gives you good service for a long time to come.

 

[KillerBee]

Hopefully until I drop dead, helping other critters to drop dead in their tracks! lol

Plan on using this gun in Africa and New Zealand, looking forward to developing a close relationship with Suzie Q. gun)

 

[MudRunner2005]

Problematic weapons can teach you a lot, if you listen to them... Nothing short of a barrel swap would have fixed my Accumark's issues. And I learned that after having the bore scoped. I wish I had found my new gunsmith a few years sooner than I did, it would have saved me a lot of Advil, a lot of head-scratching, a lot of money and components, and also a lot of time wasted. But, we all live and learn.

 

[WildRose]

You are 100% correct, but it is a hard pill to swallow when your rifle has a $2,000+ MSRP and it turns out to be a pile of crap. It really makes you reevaluate ALL factory rifles from then-on. That being said, I'll keep taking my chances on cheap used Rem 700's that I can buy for less than $500. Between the action, Bartlein blank, and smith work, I can be into a custom for about 1/2 of what a new Accumark retails for. And I KNOW it will shoot.

That's the reason why I'm so hard on Weatherby because their prices keep going up, and their quality keeps going down. And that's completely backwards. Remington might do the same thing, but their prices are nearly 1/2 that of a comparable model Weatherby... I'd rather take that $1000+ that I just saved and keep it in the fund incase the Remington I buy needs some work done, and I'm still money ahead...Even if it needs a complete overhaul and barrel swap.

I'm not saying buy a Remington over a Weatherby...It's a free country, go buy what you want...I'm just using it as an example.

I will probably just keep collecting Mod 70's and eventually sell or give away my Rem 700's. I've got three or four of the remingtons that are excellent shooters but it's sure taken a lot to get them there.

The best thing about the 700's is that there's so much aftermarket support for them, but it exists because there is so much that needs improving. I've had more failures with Remingtons than all other platforms combined and the older I get the less interested I am in tweaking and tuning to get them right.

I could have bought several very nice custom rifles for what I've invested in Remingtons that just never quite got there.

 

[MudRunner2005]

I will probably just keep collecting Mod 70's and eventually sell or give away my Rem 700's. I've got three or four of the remingtons that are excellent shooters but it's sure taken a lot to get them there.

The best thing about the 700's is that there's so much aftermarket support for them, but it exists because there is so much that needs improving. I've had more failures with Remingtons than all other platforms combined and the older I get the less interested I am in tweaking and tuning to get them right.

I could have bought several very nice custom rifles for what I've invested in Remingtons that just never quite got there.

Well, if you're giving away 700's, look no further for a good home...

I know how you feel... Hell, I probably spent enough money on that Weatherby to buy a Proof Research tube for it... But didn't find out the extent of the problem until it was too late and the money and components were gone.

 

[KillerBee]

Now that I have done all of the modifications, if Suzie Q were a woman, this is what she would look like! hehe