Weatherby Vanguard 30.06

[BamaGator]

Any one have any experience with these rifles? I have been comparing prices and these seem like a good deal. I would like to hear some first hand opinions of them. Reliability, accuracy, etc.

[ZOOBEAR]

They are a pretty good gun. If I remember correctly they are or were built by Howia out of Japan.

[jim]

Never shot or owned one, but I read an add last month where they were guaranteeded to group 1.5" at 100 yds for a five shot group. I think it was TexasDoc that told me that he had seen one group into 1" at 100.

Weatherby has a good reputation.

jim

[VirginiaHunter]

There was an ad recently in North America Hunting Club (me thinks) that had several rifles listed for whitetail hunting one was the Weatherby Vanguard Sub_MOA they stated it will shoot under a MOA and the price was around 600 US

[jim]

If it will do sub-MOA for under 600.00 and no mods, that is one good deal.

jim

[DM]

From what i see, they are good rifles, and the folks i see on line that own them like them a lot!

I believe they are suposeto shoot under 1 MOA from a cold bbl for 3 shots. Nothing wrong with that for a hunting rifle, but many other bolt action rifles will do it too...

DM

[Crash]

Never shot or owned one, but I read an add last month where they were guaranteeded to group 1.5" at 100 yds for a five shot group. I think it was TexasDoc that told me that he had seen one group into 1" at 100.

Weatherby has a good reputation.

jim

Jim et al,

I believe they are guaranteed to do 1.5" or less if you use Weatherby ammunition. Don't quote me on that, but I believe that's the case....

Crash

[Matthew]

It's not just Weatherby ammunition. It's any premium ammo and Weatherby ammo. It is a good looking rifle and the 30.06 is an excellent caliber if you are going to choose one bolt gun. Here's the link:

http://www.weatherby.com/products/vanguard/advantage.asp

I especially like this one:

http://www.weatherby.com/products/guns.asp?prd=Rifles&prd_sub_type=3&prod_code=VGX30 0WR4O

[BamaGator]

I have decided on the base model synthetic in 30.06
Its priced right and it seems to be well recommended. I almost decided on a Marlin 30.30 lever action, but I figure a 30.06 bolt action will do everything a 30.30 will do, but a 30.30 might not do everything a 30.06 will do.

[Rick]

Here's a good article on .30-06 versatility: Ayoob has a good one too in BHM.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_11_50/ai_n6209996

[fredusa]

Mostly for BamaGator---but for anyone, actually.
You are absolutely right----the -06 will do whatever the .30-30 will do, but NOT viceversa! But, I can assume from your handle here that you are an Alabama resident. I can't think of anything in 'Bama that would require anything more than a .30-30, but, say you get a hunt in Montana, or Alaska, or some such, the .30-06 will be the caliber of choice, most likely!
Oh, and forget that old adage about "the woods rifle" where folks will tell you that the .30-30, the .35 Remington, and such are woods bustin' calibers and the "hotter" (pronounced higher velocity) rounds will deflect more due to their velocities. That's, frankly, just stuff and nonsense! A 150 grain bullet traveling @ 1900 fps will not be less deflected than one traveling @2900 fps! In fact, the slower one will probably be deflected more!
In other words, your choice of .30-06 over the .30-30 is a fine one---especially if you are not subject to "recoil sensitivity"!

[BamaGator]

I only have one concern about the 30.06. *All the bolt action rifles seem to be sold without open sights. So if I were to ever break the scope, I would just be out of luck, until I could replace it. If I were to break the scope on a lever action 30.30 I could take the scope off and hunt with the sights. I'm still going with the 30.06, but the lack of sights (other than the scope) has been a concern.

[Matthew]

You could buy a Garand from the Civilian Marksmanship Program. 30-06 and excellent peep sights. Plus with the right mount you can add a scope!

If you are making a sniper/long range hunting rifle, just stick with the bolt action and buy a tough scope. I guess you could always have some open sights added, but I wouldn't worry with it too much.

Give us a range report when you get a chance.

[Rick]

Hey Bama,

I have the same concern with having no back up iron sights (I'm a belt AND suspenders kinda guy).

I have a Savage 110 .30-06 with only a scope mounted. I have seen bolt guns with iron sights and scopes.

Ditto on the Garand. Beautiful sights, but a little picky on the ammo. If you get too far away from 150-170 grain bullets at 2790 fps muzzle velocity, you can hose up the op rod.

I'd really like to get an '03A3 Springfield.

[jim]

I've gotten great accuracy using IMR4350 in 06 reloads. Something to think about.

jim

[SPIKE]

IMO Rick has the right idea.
For a bolt action 30-06, still nobody beats a good old
springfield 1903.

SPIKE

[BamaGator]

I have been practicing with this rifle. It has taken a little longer and a few more rounds than I expected, to get lined up. Thats because I dont have a lot of experience with scopes. But I got it zeroed pretty close today and I'm ready to go. I am very happy with the gun. The scope is a Bushnell 3-9 x 50