Weatherby Nation

for the Vanguard series.  With it being such a popular entry level rifle and the price to match I know it would be hard to do without raising the price but even if it was a few more dollars, most people I think would agree it needs to be improved upon.  Vanguards shoot extremely well and alot of people love them, but agree the triggers are garbage, "CREEP CITY"  but aside from that they are immensely accurate.  Thanks for listening.

Jas

I have seen others post on this topic before and I have to say I disagree.  I was out shooting my Vanguard Deluxe 300 Weatherby Magnum last weekend and I felt everything about the rifle was perfect, including the trigger.  While I understand every gun is different, my son also has a Vanguard synthetic package and I have also shot this with the same results, trigger being perfect.  With my gun, I shot 3 different 2-shot groups that could be covered by a quarter, so I guess I don't understand what the complaining is about.  That leaves me wondering if maybe it's the finger and not the trigger.  Ed and Company... Keep up the great work... The Vanguard simply outclasses everything else even close to it's class.  Just my two cents...

Man, every review of the Vanguard says the same thing... basically an all around great rifle, but a weird trigger.  Most of the ladies and gentlemen that post here have impressive firearm knowledge and experience, as do the review writers.  Other than a .22, my Vanguard is my first rifle.  I LOVE my rifle... it's beautiful, accurate, .. a work of art.  If I didn't read postings and reviews I probably would not questions the trigger, but darn it, the other day I sat on the range fingering the trigger trying to squeeze off a round... on more than one occasion I had to stop and regroup because the pull was just... weird.  In no way do I feel that Weatherby owes me anything..... great gun... great price.... and a working trigger the I can cope with... but maybe everyone is on to something.  I hope someone is doing the "tell us what you want" today.

Check with your local gunsmith ... most can be adjusted to be acceptable.  My older Howa has a fabulous trigger ... easily adjusted to 2.5# like a glass rod ... can't ask for a lot outta of a $400 rifle.

I am NOT bashing Weatherby by any means.  I am being up front with the issue.  I have had 2 Vanguards which both had the creepiest triggers I have ever felt, you can actually see the trigger move and hold it's postion without going off.  It makes it very unpredictable to shootm which makes it harder to be consistant.  I sold my Vanguard because the trigger no matter how it was adjusted could not be worked to perform any better.  My VGX deluxe 06 has the same issue as my 22-250 Vanguard and it's ABSOLUTELY not in my finger.  My mark V triggers are totally consistant and reliable.  I have also read many reviews raving about the Vanguards excellent performance, minus the ultra creepy triggers, speaking from experience.

My Vanguard trigger was full of creep from the factory. I finally adjusted the sear myself and now it has a very good trigger. I ran into the issues with safety not working but I was able to get the creep out by adjusting the sear with the safety on. I took about 20 minutes of trial and error but I know have a very good trigger. I recently bought a MarkV in 300 WBY (same cal as my Vanguard) and it is a great rifle but I love the Vanguard. Weatherby number 3 will be a Vanguard Sporter in 257 Roy.

Thanks for this posting Jas, it is one of the things I think needed to be said.  Sure you can go to your gunsmith and get it fixed, or tweak it at the cost of safety, but as the biggest point of negative feedback on the Vanguard (in reviews, magazines, and blogs)  I hope it is on Eds list (no doubt that it is).
There's not a lot of gunsmiths in CT and I prefer not to buy a new rifle and have it overhauled.

My first post.  I must agree with the comments concerning the "creepy" triggers.  I bought a Vanguard last year after hunting season.  I had passed on the biggest rack I had ever seen in person on a live deer because I felt under gunned with a .243  at 400 yards.  The Vanguard trigger had the most creep of any of my 5 rifles, 2 shotguns, and 3 handguns.

I sent my Vanguard to an authorized Weatherby facility for a muzzle brake and trigger adjustment.  The muzzle brake work was excellent.  The trigger was still very sloppy.  I gave up and purchased a Timney trigger.  Wow, what a superb trigger.

Now, with a good rest on my stand, I hope Mr. Big makes another appearence this hunting season.

My brother has a Mark V.  He has an excellent trigger.

I bought my Vanguard this past spring and the trigger is crisp and clean. I haven't had it measured,but, my guesstimation is between 2-3lbs. No creep what so ever. I can get the very tip on it, roll my finger in and squeeze. Beautiful!  

I know this sounds the same, but I just got my 300 weatherby vanguard about 7 months ago and the trigger had lots of creep.  You would squeeze the trigger and it would catch, squeeze a little more and it would catch and then boom.  Lucky for me I have a buddy that is basically a gunsmith, or could be one if he wanted to.  He took my rifle and adjusted the trigger and also found a spot on the stock (synthetic) that was rubbing.  He did come across the safety issues as well.  Anyhow, It now shoots 1" high at 100 yds, and I'm very confinedant with this rifle

Well as I stated my rifle seems perfect, but evidently I am one of the few in this case and maybe it is something Ed and Company are looking into. Anyway, good luck to all this hunting season on whatever your game and wherever you are.

I agree with what people are saying about the safety issue, if you try and adjust the creep out of it it somehow affects the safety, I tried to adjust mine and it had made it hard to apply the safety to the on position so I had backed it off, to be able to use it properly, right now my gun is at a gunsmith who is going to try and adjust it.  On another note, my step father had developed a handload gor my VGX 30-06 and it's shooting one hole groups now, so the gun to me is a keeper and if it boils down to it I will get a Timney for it.   Sometimes my trigger will snap  cleanly and fire most times it will creep, go figure....

Jas

You bring up an interesting point, jsethmor.  I wonder if he Vanguard trigger is like my Remington triggers and has a little place on the side of the trigger housing where you can view the sear engagement?  If so, place a tiny drop of some ultra-low viscosity lubricant on there (I use Birchwood-Casey Barricade, but Kroil and others will also work).  I use a toothpicand just literally apply a tiny drop right at the point where the two parts of the trigger mechanism meet.  It helps the consistency immensely on my Remmy's, and is recommended as a maintenance item in my owner's manual.  Maybe the Vanguard has this as well?  I don't own a Vanguard, and don't have one handy to look at the housing.  Sometimes this is all it takes to make things more consistently smooth with my stuff.

Regarding the Vanguard trigger.  There are a certain amount of Vanguards in the field where the triggers are not adjusted properly.  For those that have one of those guns I offer my apology.  We have been working hard to remedy this problem.  Please feel free to contact our service department to have your gun returned and the trigger adjusted  properly at no charge.  All Vanguards now receive this hand tuning before leaving the factory.

Once properly adjusted I am sure you will be happy with the pull and creep of the trigger.

Thanks.

Ed Weatherby

I was at SW Saturday and looked at a new sub MOA in 257 Roy. The trigger on that rifle was excellent. If they are all adjusted to those specs I doubt there will be many complaints.