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Weatherby Vanguard "True Weatherby?"

hunting_va
I understand the Vanguard is made in Japan and assembled in CA. Does this jeopardize the quality at all? I was interested in there new SUB_MOA model.
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Comments

11 comments

Date Votes
  • NOTPOSTAL
    The Vanguard is not a "true" Weatherby, it is made by Howa for Weatherby. The Vanguard line was introduced to provide Weatherby with a low cost product to compete with rifles like the Savage 110 and Remington adl. Up until last year the Vanguards were only chambered for standard rounds, (30-06, .270) but I have seen them chambered for .257 and .300 Weatherby. Thats alot of performance for not a lot of money. Our local Wal-Mart sells both the Howa and Vanguard side by side, the only difference is the Vanguard now has a Weatherby syle stock and the Howa is cheaper. They are both great guns.
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  • jlogan
    wbys have been made by many contractors over the years as the name is a trademark rather than a brand . i would venture to guess a vanguard is every bit as much a "weatherby" an a mark v is.
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  • heavyiron
    Weatherby is an importer and manufacturer of long arms. Earlier production was from Germany, Italy, and German manufacture is usually what is collectible. Early Weatherby rifles used a Mathieu Arms action in the 1950s because it was available as a "lefty" action. Right handed actions were normally manufactured from the FN Mauser type.

    Current rifle production (this just started in 1995) is from the US (using Howa rifle barrels), while O/U shotguns are made in Japan, and semi-autos are manufacturered in Italy. Workmanship in all instances is excellent.

    Weatherby is located in Atascadero, CA since 1995 and was previously located in South Gate, CA from 1945 tio 1995.

    Regards,

    Heavyiron

    bullitt_county_4199_small.jpg
    "If I don't see you nomore on this world, I'll meet you on the next one, and don't be late!" - Jimi Hendrix
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  • JIM STARK
    jlogan,,,
    IT AIN"T!!!!
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  • calamitywood
    Jim Stark you forgot to say why "it ain't". and i'm interested. [:D]
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  • ern98
    Howa is the brand to be discussed here, Weatherby just slaps on their stock and name. The excellent custom riflemaker Harry McGowen keeps and offers these actions, amongst others, as a lower cost platform to build custom hunting rifles on. The Howa receiver is more akin to a Remington then a Mark V. It is a push feed type system that is available in both blue and stainless. If you are looking to compete at the Palma matches with an out of the box rifle, this isn't it. If you are looking for good fun at the range and on deer size game, it is an excellent choise for the money.
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  • GreenLantern
    quote:The Howa receiver is more akin to a Remington then a Mark V.


    In fact it uses Remington 700 bases. The Howa 1500 is an excellent rifle so I would assume that the Vanguard is no different. My Howa in 300WSM is very accurate and as stated it is to compete with the Savage 110 series, however it seems to be that the Savage's are more popular. Especially given the Accu-Trigger. I went with the Howa over the Savage ultimately because of magazine capacity but I have heard that Savage is offering the 110 line without the blind magazine for 2005. Personally, I think my Howa can do anything an out-of-the-box Browning or Winchester can do, but for less money!

    GL
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  • westlund_125
    It's a HYBRID[:D][:D]

    "A good scope can end a bad situation"
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  • nralifers
    Have one in .270---killed a lot of game with it. Although not a Weatherby in true sense of word--that word is percision. If you are looking for a less than 1 MOA gun - this is not the gun. It is fine for hunting, but not driving tacks. I reloaded at least 30 different loads for this gun, none got any better than 2-2/12 in at 100 yds.
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  • emagpink
    Don't be concerned with the quality of either the vanguard or the howa. I have owned both in factory configuration, and in custom barrel dimmension, and have had no issues.
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  • bperdue21
    i have a smith & wesson 270 which i understand was made by Howa. it was made in the mid to late 70s. it has killed a pile of game, probably somewhere near 500 or so deer. there is nothing the matter with the Howa and will last forever. the gun has been shot so much it needs to be re-rifled. it has put up with a lot of abuse.

    When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.
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