Any Weatherby Vanguard .375 H&H owners?

revturbo9967

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i have a few weatherbys , some vanguards and some mark Vs . i like the vanguards more due to their value. great rifles for the price. i will be needing a DG rifle in the upcoming years for a buff hunt and looking around to a good value rifle.

i build most of my rifles from the action up but something for short distance shooting may be best for my wallet if i get an off the shelf rifle. i know the CZ is a great rifle too and is on my list of a possible gun to buy
 
I take it you're referring to the Vanguard Synthetic .375 H&H. The Safari and Dangerous Game models would be priced like the CZ.
I like Vanguards (I have one) but for dangerous game I'd drop a few extra $$$ for a controlled round feed rifle. The CZ 550 or maybe a Winchester M70. Or a Ruger Guide gun or African in .375 Ruger. Yes, they'll cost you an extra $300-$600 but I think that would be money well spent.
I'm sure the basic Vanguard Synthetic .375 is a decent rifle but I tend to think it is for the guy who just wants to shoot a "big" gun without investing a lot. If you're hunting buffalo, you're investing about $40K+ in your hunt. When you look up at that big bossed bull on your wall, you'll be glad you spent a few extra bucks.
Along the same lines.... DON'T cheap out on the scope or mount or bullets. You WILL regret it, as sooner or later they WILL fail.
 

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I don’t normally cheap out on any rifle. Usually the complete opposite. I just don’t have a use for a big bore here other then long range calibers . So I wanted to see opinions on that particular rifle . I do like the cz but every opinion I see is it needs work out of the box . Howa pretty much makes the vanguards so that should be a comparable build
 
I second the M77 in .375 Ruger.
You can pick one up for about 1k. I have an early Alaska model with a 20” barrel. Mine is topped with a leopuld VX-3i 1.5 x 5 scope.
Shooting 300 grain Barnes TTSX, it hit the only buffalo I shot with authority.
 
You really can't beat a Ruger M77 for value. They are tremendously well made (from an engineering standpoint, Their fit and finish could be better). But they work and they come in calibers suitable for everything under the sun. If you are set on the .375 H&H caliber, A Winchester M70 or a CZ 550 is the way to go. If you want a reliable well made push feed for $600-$700, try to find an older Winchester M70 from the 80's. I had one, sold it and bought the new CRF M70, then bought an additional push feed M70 because, for beating around the Adirondacks looking for bear, there really isn't a better rifle. They are pretty sweet rifles and there isn't a thing wrong with them. The bolts are slick as can be, they have a sako style extractor that produces a solid purchase on the rim of the cartridge and they are accurate to boot!

This brings me to CRF vs. PF. It is 99.9% hypothetical bull... Yes.... If I harshly cycle a well made PF while whirling madly in a circle, doing a headstand with "Brand New Key" by Melanie playing in the background... It may fail. If you don't load them to max (Which is really not necessary for 99% of all cartridges) there would never be an extraction issue with the huge tapered case of a .375. I dare say that my push feed Winchester would all but tear the rim off the case before the extractor failed. Sure, CRF is hypothetically more reliable. But in practicality, a well made push feed functions just fine. I mean, almost every semi auto and automatic rifle used by every major military has been push feed for the last 50 years and they seem to work just fine. The only caveat is that some of their handguns are CRF. Combat is a much harsher environment than even Professional hunters are dealing with and with far more risk to life and limb (not to offend any PHs on here, but as far as I see, those are the facts) and almost universally, soldiers are issued tremendously reliable push feed weapons that function in conditions where a $17,000 Rigby CRF would give up the ghost almost immediately. Just my honest opinion.
 
You really can't beat a Ruger M77 for value. They are tremendously well made (from an engineering standpoint, Their fit and finish could be better). But they work and they come in calibers suitable for everything under the sun. If you are set on the .375 H&H caliber, A Winchester M70 or a CZ 550 is the way to go. If you want a reliable well made push feed for $600-$700, try to find an older Winchester M70 from the 80's. I had one, sold it and bought the new CRF M70, then bought an additional push feed M70 because, for beating around the Adirondacks looking for bear, there really isn't a better rifle. They are pretty sweet rifles and there isn't a thing wrong with them. The bolts are slick as can be, they have a sako style extractor that produces a solid purchase on the rim of the cartridge and they are accurate to boot!

This brings me to CRF vs. PF. It is 99.9% hypothetical bull... Yes.... If I harshly cycle a well made PF while whirling madly in a circle, doing a headstand with "Brand New Key" by Melanie playing in the background... It may fail. If you don't load them to max (Which is really not necessary for 99% of all cartridges) there would never be an extraction issue with the huge tapered case of a .375. I dare say that my push feed Winchester would all but tear the rim off the case before the extractor failed. Sure, CRF is hypothetically more reliable. But in practicality, a well made push feed functions just fine. I mean, almost every semi auto and automatic rifle used by every major military has been push feed for the last 50 years and they seem to work just fine. The only caveat is that some of their handguns are CRF. Combat is a much harsher environment than even Professional hunters are dealing with and with far more risk to life and limb (not to offend any PHs on here, but as far as I see, those are the facts) and almost universally, soldiers are issued tremendously reliable push feed weapons that function in conditions where a $17,000 Rigby CRF would give up the ghost almost immediately. Just my honest opinion.
ill agree with you on the semi auto side with reliability and push feed. most AR or M16 platforms , well lubricated, will cycle the most horrific brass on the planet. very good post (y)
 
Originally, it kicked sharp but solidly with significant muzzle rise - nothing unmanageable even with the light stock. I installed one of my own brakes and that mitigated it down on an even keel to a wooden stocked 308. Vortex 6-18x... it only shoots 1.5 moa, but with Hornady Superformance ballistic tips, I'm holding it in 16" at a grand. I love the gun... it's really fun. the action is fairly smooth but the trigger is amazing. Theres nothing comparable at even twice the price.

I'm throwing the barrel away this fall and screwing a 30" 375 Weatherby on it. That combo should keep my 330g boreriders supersonic to 1500y for my next elk. I wish the H&H would do it, but it's legs give out at about 1200.
If you're looking for an heirloom Safari rig... keep looking. If you JUST need a Holland to take buffalo (and maybe enjoy a small-bigbore on moose or paper), then the Vanguard is your gun.
 
I don't own a Weatherby in 375 but I will agree on how good the triggers are on a Vanguard
 
I have a Weatherby Vanguard the series 2 375 H&H. I think it’s a really nice rifle, it doesn’t have the cheap stock like the cheaper vanguards. The stock is solid. Also it’s a good shooting rifle, mine will shoot three well under an inch. For the money I don’t think you can go wrong with it.
 
good pushfeeds are very reliable there is no question.
the primary, and possibly only, advantage of controlled round feed is when there is operator error under pressure.
if you push a round into the chamber with pushfeed, and fail to close the bolt, then open it again, it leaves a round in the chamber.
strip another one from the mag and it cannot enter the already charged chamber, and the gun cannot be fired either.
at this stage you want things to be going pretty well or the p.h. to be a good shot.
when you push the first round 1/2 way into the chamber with controlled feed and then withdraw the bolt, the cartridge is ejected, leaving the chamber free to take a new round.
don't ask me how I know this!
it sounds silly but is a well known occurrence.
bruce.
 
i forgot i made this post. sadly i wont be hunting Africa anytime soon and in turn wont be buying any new rifles. thanks for the feedback though .
 

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