New Rifle Help

[Weatherby Fan]

The Accumark I had was a piece of crap with MAJOR manufacturing defects. I could understand a rifle with hidden issues, as that does happen from time to time with every manufacturer. But, it was when I contacted Weatherby about the issues for warranty repairs, they pretty much told me to f-off, even though I had had the rifle inspected, bore-scoped, and looked at by a professional gunsmith so I KNEW exactly what was wrong with it before contacting them. So I traded it off for a huge loss, and bought another Remington 700 5R with zero problems. Won't ever buy another Weatherby.

The rifle the OP mentioned is a Weatherby Vanguard, not a Mark V,

I am very surprised at the response you got from Wby as normally they are pretty good about warranty work, I had bought a Mark V Outfitter RC 6.5-300 and it shot 4-6" groups with handholds or any of the factory ammo, they promptly refunded my money at my request once they tested it.
I contacted Adam Weatherby himself and he was great to deal with, on the other hand I'm not sure how a Range Certified Rifle left the plant shooting 4-6" groups ?

 

[MudRunner2005]

OOPs. I be quiet now.

Surprised me too... Now all they need is to make one for us AB & ABII guys... As many of them are out there, I think it would be a big hit.

 

[MudRunner2005]

The rifle the OP mentioned is a Weatherby Vanguard, not a Mark V,

I am very surprised at the response you got from Wby as normally they are pretty good about warranty work, I had bought a Mark V Outfitter RC 6.5-300 and it shot 4-6" groups with handholds or any of the factory ammo, they promptly refunded my money at my request once they tested it.
I contacted Adam Weatherby himself and he was great to deal with, on the other hand I'm not sure how a Range Certified Rifle left the plant shooting 4-6" groups ?

Well, it happened, that rifle is long gone now, and I've moved on. But the way they treated me will stick in my mind forever.

 

[therifleman556]

Last I checked, you can still get an adjustable Moyers trigger for the AB2. Looks like it runs $115.

I can deal with the factory trigger for what Jard wants for their unit.

 

[Weatherby Fan]

Well, it happened, that rifle is long gone now, and I've moved on. But the way they treated me will stick in my mind forever.

I'm not saying it didn't happen as I know your not the only one to say this, funny I was a devoted "WeatherbyFan" until my Mark V Outfitter RC issues, now I stick to custom built rifles !

 

[Canhunter35]

Are you thinking a 300wm or what for elk gun? What kind of magazine length does the xbolt have? A vanguard has about 3.56" mag length. For the money, vanguards shoot and with an easy trigger replacement are above their dollar class

 

[Pulpwood]

Winchester model 70 extreme!

 

[pchrisla]

I almost just picked up a hells canyon but the muzzle thread pitch killed it for me and the 5/8 threaded long range was a bit heavy. It you don't plan on running a suppressor on it, go with the HC speed. It's very well balanced and the 60 degree bolt lift is fantastic. I ended up pulling the trigger on a Christensen Ridgeline in 7mm rem mag.

 

[tomsd]

Dang - Weatherby claims the
Vanguard will shoot sub MOA - and has a hand polished trigger - made by Howa in Japan? Not so sure how they are doing at the moment - as they are moving from Paso Robles, CA to Sheridan, Wyo and seem very disorganized. Understandable at the moment I guess - but not confidence building - and then I read these comments.
Holy Moly.
Maybe I will look at a Tikka in .300 mag? - alto I really do like a Monte Carlo stock for shooting. Or maybe a Remington or a Browning - as have friends who swear by both. Savage too gets good marks for Accuracy these days.

 

[WyoHunter1]

The Brownings are shooters. Got another one for my son and replaced the trigger spring. It is now pretty good and the accuracy is there also.
On average I think the Brownings are some of the most accurate factory rifles out there for the money.

 

[Weatherby Fan]

Dang - Weatherby claims the
Vanguard will shoot sub MOA - and has a hand polished trigger - made by Howa in Japan? Not so sure how they are doing at the moment - as they are moving from Paso Robles, CA to Sheridan, Wyo and seem very disorganized. Understandable at the moment I guess - but not confidence building - and then I read these comments.
Holy Moly.
Maybe I will look at a Tikka in .300 mag? - alto I really do like a Monte Carlo stock for shooting. Or maybe a Remington or a Browning - as have friends who swear by both. Savage too gets good marks for Accuracy these days.

I would actually say Weatherby is very organized and focused on the future by moving to Wyoming as California is to restrictive for an Arms company to stay competitive in today's market.
When it comes down to it I'm not sure for the money there is a better rifle than the Vanguard, Bergara B14 comes to mind as another excellent rifle for the money.

 

[MAGA]

Go with the Browning.
I handled the Browning Hell's Canyon Speed and the Weatherby Mark V side-by-side and the Browning was better.
Bolt was smoother on the Browning.
Trigger was way better on the Browning.
Browning was lighter weight.

The Mark V was like $1699 or around there and I couldn't believe how underwhelming the trigger was for rifle of this "class". The Browning outclassed it in every way IMO.

 

[planetwaves]

Looking at getting a new rifle. In a toss up between the Weatherby Vangaurd Back Country and the Browning Hell's Canyon Speed. Any suggestions, comments or concerns?

A friend of mine has several browning A-bolts. He likes them mechanically, but the magazine length is SAAMI spec, so he has no margin for seating depth on his Hand loads. This was a problem when he tried to load Berger and other high BC bullets that are sensitive to seating depth. If you shoot factory ammo, or don't mind SAAMI spec OAL on your hand loads, then this wouldn't be an issue.

 

[werth338]

I have both a Vanguard and X Bolt. Both great guns and there are always a bad gun or two that gets out of the factory. I think the Hells Canyon line(speed, Long Range or McMillian Long Range) are really good rifles. I am trying to resist the urge to buy one at this time.