Discuss the Weatherby Vanguard® SUB-MOA Stainless

[kdog]

.300weatherby15, take the advice that dubyam is giving you to heart. You need to stick with "factory ammo". PLEASE do not try to shoot ammo that is hand loaded from someone else. I have been hunting and shooting for sometime. (You know what I do) SAFETY FIRST! Leave the hand loading to the pros. I don't reload for the simple fact that I still don't understand everything about it. I have read a lot and learned a lot from others. I even came real close to buying the gear and getting started but I am still on the cautious side so I passed. Please get factory ammo and get comfortable with your rifle. IMO hand loading can not only be dangerous but the 300 Weatherby is a very powerful round to start with. I would start off with a smaller caliber until I get VERY comfortable reloading. Hang in there and be patient. Most of all BE SAFE!

As for what the 300 weatherby is capable of taking, Trust me, I think it will take anything you want to hunt in North America. Shot placement is the key.

See ya.

[EdGeb51]

Recently shot my SUB-MOA .257.  Rifle shot great. 1/2" groups @ 100 yds. 80 Gr. Barnes TTSX, 74 gr. of RL22.  Only complaint is the trigger, I have never shot a rifle with the creep this one has in the trigger.  I attempted to adjust it for a better pull with no success.  After reading some reviews, I ordered a Timney trigger for it.  Hopefully it will cure the creep problem.  Update 9/3/2010. Installed the Timney trigger last fall. Works  Great, took care of the creep, gun shoots beautifully.   

[Eagle Rider]

I have one in 270 WSM.  Make the stock a bit more refined and offer stainless in all calibers and now were talking.  I sent my stock to bell and carlson for camo dipping, and back to weatherby for an accubreak.  All told, if I was able to get a 25-06 in stainless, I'd have rather gone that way in a sub moa.  As far as accuracy no issue there, even with the accubreak it holds under an 1" at 200 yds (1).  I think they're on to something with this rifle, just make it a little less spartan and they'll sell a boat load of them. 

[deusImperator]

Just got my Sub MOA Stainless for which I waited two years.  Talk about a little disappointed.  The Sub MOA stock is supposed to be a carbon fiber Kevlar stock with Aramid fiber spider webbing instead what I got on this was a plain dimpled black stock with bunch of  spider webbing painted on.  I think the quality of Weatherby products are slipping as they are trying to cut costs by a cheaper product and a little fakery.   

[Stacy]

I just bought my second one, this time chambered in 30-06.  Not sure what you mean about the stock.  It's a Bell & Carlson Medalist stock that is pillar bedded. Nothing wrong with it.  It's synthetic so it should be impervious to the elements.

This is what Weatherby's website says about the SUBMOA stock:    Pillar-bedded Fiberguard® composite stock with Monte Carlo, raised cheekpiece and non-slip black spiderwebbing

For the Mark V Accumark:  Hand-laminated, raised comb, Monte Carlo composite stock with matte gel coat finish and spiderweb accents

For the Mark V Fibermark: Pillar-bedded, hand-laminated raised comb Monte Carlo composite stock (a combination of Aramid, fiberglass and unidirectional fibers) with strategically placed bedding points assures consistent, repeatable accuracy

Give it a try before you rush to judgment...you might be surprised.  I'm happy with both mine.  Good shootin!     

[RockyMtnG20]

I have been shopping for my first big game hunting rifle for awhile.  I have it narrowed down to the Vanguard Sub MOA and the double the price Nosler Custom Model 48 TGR.  My first use for it will be to take a Rocky Mountain Elk.  I am trying to decide among 7mm Rem Mag, .300 Win Mag and .338 Win Mag.  The gist of the advice I have been given:  .338 Win Mag is great for Elk and I should not go smaller than that caliber,  I should not get a light weight rifle for .30 and above, it should be at least 12lbs above for .30 & > and finally, that a mountain gun should weigh no less than 7 lbs before scoping it.

Anyone with a Vanguard Sub MOA .338 Win Mag?  How does it shoot with and without the Accubrake?

[sseden]

RockyMTNG20 Check out the calibers used @ the Best of the West (7MM Rem Mag and 6.5X284). 338 is great for elk out to mid range but why shoot a 338 when the 7MM just kicks butt at long range and does just fine @ the shorter and mid range. Let me know if that elk lets you know he was not shot with a 338.

[MikeyD_243]

RockyMTNG20,

There is absolutely no reason to go any higher than .308 cal for elk. The last time I saw a Roosevelt Elk, and that was about a week ago, they had not been issued armor yet! These boys are a touch bigger than the Rocky Mtn Elk, and they haven't been issued any armor either, from what I have heard!

Where are you going to be hunting your elk? Are you familiar with the terrain? What about the tree situation where you will be hunting? Is it thick trees and brush or open fields? Will 300-400 yard shots be the norm, or will 25 to 200 yards be the norm? All Of these questions will give us more info to help you decide better on what caliber and type of rifle you should really be getting. Oh, are you recoil sensitive? Have you been shooting a long time or are you fairly new to the sport.

Those are some of the questions you need to answer before deciding on the caliber and style weapon you are going to use for your hunting. If you don't know, or just can't answer these questions, get a 30-06 and call it a day! Ammo is in every mom-n-pop store in the country and it will take any elk that gets in front of you out to 300 yds with good shot placement. I convinced myself that I needed a 300 Win Mag. I wish I would have gotten a 30-06 instead. Seriously!

I should not get a light weight rifle for .30 and above, it should be at least 12lbs above for .30 & > and finally, that a mountain gun should weigh no less than 7 lbs before scoping it.

How's that supposed to work. Oh yeah... a 30-06 or even a 308 would do just fine in a lighter platform. You do not want a magnum that weighs less than about 9 or 10lbs with a scope on it, but a 308 or 30-06 will do fine. Heck, even a .270 would take any non-dangerous game in North America!

Mike!

[340RollTide]

300wby15:
Relax, we have all been young once, and we are trying to give you some very good advice.  The question about your 300WM being enough gun for the BIG BEARS is a very relative one.  If that was the only gun I had and a serious situation started, I would use what I had, and your 300WM is better than having a switch in your hand.  The point I am trying to make is try to understand what is happening around you a avoid trouble.  As for the reloading, we are trying to keep you safe.  The definition of expierence is: "What you have 10 seconds after you needed it!"  Don't blow your self or others up, that is one expierence you don't need to have.  Hunt safe and enjoy you rifle for a long time don't force a bad thing and ruin them both forever.  

[SniperPSS]

Does Weatherby still make the sub moa in stainless anymore?  I  can find it on some websites, but  not on the Weatherby.com site.

[ballistic]

Weatherby doesnt make a stainless anymore except for the accumark, this is an old post started in 07. BUT they really need to " stainless with a composite stock " !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Would love to have a 257 like that ! Oh ya, in a Mark V

[Vacheriekid]

ballistic

At the Cabela's in Louisiana they still have the stainless steel Vangaurd with the composite stocks on the rack. They were on sale last week with Cabela's scope and mounts for $599.

Vacheriekid

[7of7]

"Weatherby doesnt make a stainless anymore except for the accumark"

Now I can say that they don't make these anymore.... I have a stainless sub-moa in 30.06... (with a silver Leupold VX-III 3.5-10/40, with a lens shade)

[Martin Moffitt]

I bought new and all within the last 2 1/2 years a .257 wbymag stainless sub moa, a 300 wbymag sub moa in matt blue and a 22-250 in sub moa varmint. I have absolutely no complaints. The 22-250 is a real tack driver from the bench and using sand bags for support. The 257 I can figure 8 lines with but a bit costly, ammo is not cheap. The 300 is a bit off from the other two but is still worthy of the sub moa tag. I have no problem being in the boiler room of anything within my comfort zone of range and I certainly am not scared of 400 yard shots. To date I have taken many northern cariboo and all 1 shot kills.

[NMARKANITE]

I saw a NIB 300 WSM SMOA Stainless at a major retailer for sale last week for 499.00 buck and was just thankful it was not in a Weatherby Mag Caliber or i would have walked out with it! i just bought a 300 Weatherby Mag SMOA blued barrel rifle for 780.00 bucks but i own a 300 WSM in a Semi-Auto BAR and like it a lot but not enough to have a duplicate 300 WSM in a Bolt? Just me? They are really hard to find NIB in stainless but this was a deal for the guy, he was waiting for me to put the rifle back in the box so he could pounce and he did rite in front of me and he made a great purchase! They were discontinued a while back but you can still find some if you are lucky  to be in the rite place at the rite time but for 499.00 bucks GOOD LUCK!