Stepping up to a .300 Win mag

JohnSWA · Jun 24, 2005

Hi Gents!

Just got a question for all of the mag folks since I'm stepping up a bit. I'm giving my son my dearly beloved .270 M77 Ruger and want to buy a Stainless steel .300 Win mag.

As far as prices go via the Walmart website I've got:

Weatherby Vanguard 1 1/2" group guarantee! at $398.77

Savage Weather Warrior 116FSS .300 Win mag at $469.24

Remington Model 7 in Remington SA Ultramag at $ 606.82

Winchester Model 70 Classic .300 Win mag at $649.14

Browning A bolt .300 Win mag at $ 799.92

It's hard to beat the 1 1/2 group guarantee for 1/2 the price of the others. Lets hear the pros and cons of my choices.

RELH · Jun 25, 2005

I would go with the Vanguard for several reasons. Price is very reasonable, and with good ammo selection you should get under one inch at 100 yards and beat the guarantee size. There is several other brands you mentioned that will also get you into under 1 inch, but as you mentioned for a higher price.
I am very familiar with the Howa action used in the Vanguard. It is very similar to the Remington 700 action with two improvements over the Remington. The vanguard has a Sako style extractor that is a improvement over the small extractor ring that Remington uses. The recoil lug on the Vanguard is part of the receiver similar to the Winchester M-70, Remington uses a thin seperate recoil lug that is sandwich between the receiver and barrel. It can cause flexing problems in some mag. calibers.
Most custom gunsmiths throw the Remington recoil lug away and use one that is thicker to prevent any possible flexing.
The Vanguard is a very fine rifle for the price you pay, and is better then some others that sell for a higher price. Don't take this as the other brands are not any good, they all have their good and bad points, but the Vanguard does give you more bang for the buck.

RELH

JohnSWA · Jun 25, 2005

Wow! That was a great reply with some awesome advice! Thanks RELH! I'm sold on the Vanguard!!!

redrabbit · Jun 25, 2005

I think the stainless Vanguard is $498 @ wally world.
Another option is the stainless Vanguard Sub MOA, where Weatherby selects Vanguards with test targets with less than 0.75" groups and comes with a pillar bedded stock, according to their website.

RR

noharleyyet · Jun 25, 2005

Had a sub moa vanguard ordered in 270 wsm and was told I would have an indefinite wait (as much as 6 months or more). Not only are the sub moa's in short supply (in any caliber) but the 270 wsm actions can't be provided by Howa fast enough to meet the demand. Settled on a standard vanguard in stainless in 7mm mag chambering. It shoots less than 1" anyway. Do like the fiberguard stocks on the sub moa's though but not enough to wait that long. For my money the new Vanguards are hard to beat.

Warren · Jun 28, 2005

If you are going with a new .300, the .300 Weatherby mag or the 300WSM would both be better. The short mag because it can come in a more compact action and rifle or the Weatherby mag because it has better ballistics. Also, there are several ammo manufactuers so the cost is not always high for the Weatherby mag. The 300 Weatherby Mag is the best all around Western big game round made.

DUVY · Jun 28, 2005

D13er · Jun 28, 2005

I'm with DUVY

JB

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