free floating weatherby vanguad barrel

yzchamp · Rookie Member Joined: Apr 27, 2006 Posts: 20

so i went to gun smith today talking to him about my 300 wsm weatherby vanguard and if we can do any thing to get tighter grouping he said thet with that rifle there is a pressure point in the stock and if we free float & glass bed barrel it will be better all though weatherby sais not to do it................. so what you guys think ? did any one did this mod on the vanguard did it help? i think i'm just being exited about hunting season and wanna give my rifle some attention its only 100$ to do it

george20042007

Well yzchamp, I have a Weaterby Vanguard in 300 Weatherby Mag, it's in a synthetic stock. Mine groups fine at 200 yrds (2 inches). That's tight enough for me. You didn't mention how tight yours was grouping or at what distance. And are you sure it's the gun? Have you tried different ammo to see what it likes? How new is the gun (I ask because there has been some discussion on barrel breakin & hot vs cold barrel accuracy).
Keep it coming...

popgun

On some action/barrel/stock combinations the pressure point is effective for best accuracy. I have on old Winchester M70 that prefers the pressure point but the other M70's don't shoot as well without the pressure point. A couple of M70's that I have Pillar bedded have shown great accuracy improvements without the pressure point and using the ScoreHi Bedding Pillars. I don't know if ScoreHi has pillars for the Weatherby though.
When I mentioned the Action/Barrel/Stock combination I needed to add that some softer wood stocks will slap the barrel upon firing that reduces accuracy. In that case bedding the barrel channel while bedding the action and maintaining barrel free floating will stiffen the stock to prevent the barrel slap and the need for the pressure point.
You have to weigh all of this experimentation with real results though. You are talking about a hunting rifle and not a varmint or bench rest rifle and 1" to 1.5" at 100 is good accuracy for a hunting rifle. Like George said, a simple ammo change might improve your accuracy in this rifle.

yzchamp · Rookie Member Joined: Apr 27, 2006 Posts: 20

grooping is around an inch at 100 i dont really think i need do this as much as i want to do something to it.lol... i'll try diffrent loads before i trough a 100 $ away thanx guys

Handloader

yzchamp: why not bed the action yourself? There are plenty of informational sources and materials available that allow you to do an excellent job for little money.

Adding or eliminating pressure points on the barrel is easy as well. Its fun to try doing both and finding out how your rifle responds.

lone wolf

As a starting point for any new rifle, the first thing I do is to purchase several brands of shells from the different manufacturers. Often you will find one that the gun shows a real preference for. If I was shooting 1" at 100 yds. consistently, I would consider that more than adequate for the average hunting rifle and be confident taking it in the field (after some range time at longer distances).

4rum · Member Joined: Jan 06, 2007 Posts: 211

If you like to tinker there are a few things you can try also that will not make irreversable changes to you rifle. If your stock is wood, remove the gun from the stock and seal all inside surfaces and mortices with a good wood sealer (tru-oil, tung oil, etc.) Especially look to the magazine well mortice and the area underneath the recoil pad. (Both will show end grain which does not always get sealed properly from the factory).

You can also index your action screws with a grease pencil and cafefully, with a proper fitting, hollow ground screw driver (so you don't marr the screw heads), change the torque on the action screws a little. Make sure the action is snug and firmly contacting in the reciever bottom to reciever mortice. If a stock is inletted poorly, it can 'rock' or shift inside the mortice. This effect accuracy. The indexing with a grease pencil will let you go back to the original position of the screws.

Trigger adustment for weitht of pull, and overtravel will help also. If you are not familiar with this procedure, let your gunsmith do it. A sear engagement which is to shallow presents a safety hazard.

Periodically check ALL mounting screws for your scope base and rings. These are just some general tips that you might attend to to 'fine' tune what sounds like a real shooter already.

george20042007

Welcome lone wolf, and I agree with you. One inch groups at a hundred yards for a hunting rifle is great. Often times, some point out what kind of groups they get at some distance, but, rarely give the specifics on how they rested the gun or any other info. that we can use to better answer the question they have regarding accuracy. Shocked

Keep it coming...