I am looking to do an inexspensive accurate hunting rifle build in 308 Win. Looking at the Ruger Hawkeye 77 which has a 22 inch barrel with a one in ten twist. The Weatherby Vanguard has a 24 inch barrel and a one in twelve twist. Either rifle would end up in a McMillian standard fill stock, proper barrel breakin would be followed and trigger reworked by my local smith if need be. If I remember dont Vanguards take a regular Rem 700 rings and base? If it were you which rifle would you choose?
Rifle build up Ruger or Vanguard?
- Thread starter GlennGTR1
- Start date
I've got a Ruger 77 my grandad gave me. It was a youth model and a featherweight so I rebarreled it with a douglas 5a and put a b and c synthetic stock wich i built up a bit, I also dropped in a Timney trigger which was a lot of work and a pain but worth it. I suspect that it would be MUCH easier on the new 3 position safety models. It shoots under half MOA all day long. My dad owns Rugers almost exclusively as well as my uncle. Their good rifles as far as hunting rigs go. I suggest going with the Ruger and putting a new trigger in it. It's well worth the extra cash. My other suggestion would be to check out Howa barreled actions if you are going to drop a new stock on it anyways. Same as a Vangaurd action, less money and I've heard VERY good thigs about them. Again, throw a timney trigger on it 
JMO
JMOhttp://www.legacysports.com/products/howa/specs/specs_baractions.html
At first I was concerned about the 1:12 twist of the Wby, but after reading a little it looks like the 12 twist would handle bullets up to 180 grains.
I consider them about equal. I own a Ruger and Wby Vanguard .270, and they both have pros and very few cons. I like the longer barrel of the Wby for velocity but at the same time like the shorter barrel of the Ruger while hunting. (With a .308 the longer barrel wouldn't make that much velocity difference.) Both triggers have been slightly worked and both are pretty decent factory triggers as they are now. Actions are different designs but equal in quality. The safety on the Ruger goes CLUNK if you release it without a measure of control, which isn't good while hunting. The Wby safety is quite a bit quieter.
From an accuracy stand point, they are about equal. With handloads I rarely get groups over an inch at 100 yards and often get a three shot group around 1/2 inch. More than accurate for hunting. I would never bother to swap out the stocks...just don't think there is enough to gain by doing it.
I consider them about equal. I own a Ruger and Wby Vanguard .270, and they both have pros and very few cons. I like the longer barrel of the Wby for velocity but at the same time like the shorter barrel of the Ruger while hunting. (With a .308 the longer barrel wouldn't make that much velocity difference.) Both triggers have been slightly worked and both are pretty decent factory triggers as they are now. Actions are different designs but equal in quality. The safety on the Ruger goes CLUNK if you release it without a measure of control, which isn't good while hunting. The Wby safety is quite a bit quieter.
From an accuracy stand point, they are about equal. With handloads I rarely get groups over an inch at 100 yards and often get a three shot group around 1/2 inch. More than accurate for hunting. I would never bother to swap out the stocks...just don't think there is enough to gain by doing it.
If you get a Ruger the MKII VT model seems to be their most accurate, it has the 26" heavy barrel and fully adjustable dual-stage trigger. I've had two of them now and the best scope mounting setup I've found was the Burris ruger to Weaver adapters (about $20) that mount on Ruger's goofy mount system and then Burris Sig. Zee rings.
Here's what the ring setup looks like:
The Howa and Ruger both have hammer forged barrels that seem to shoot. A friend has the Howa varmint model in .243 and I think it shoots around 3/4", both the Ruger VTs I've had have shot under 1/2" easily.
I'm not sure if the VT Ruger or Howa varmint model would be in the weight range you're looking for - if you're going for a walking rifle or more of a sit and wait type of setup. If you get a standard MKII there are adjustable triggers out there for those and the Howa's trigger is adjustable for weight and creep but not overtravel out of the box. The Mauser action in a hunting rifle is never a bad thing in my opinion but some don't care for them. If anything they're reliable.
Wayne
Here's what the ring setup looks like:
The Howa and Ruger both have hammer forged barrels that seem to shoot. A friend has the Howa varmint model in .243 and I think it shoots around 3/4", both the Ruger VTs I've had have shot under 1/2" easily.
I'm not sure if the VT Ruger or Howa varmint model would be in the weight range you're looking for - if you're going for a walking rifle or more of a sit and wait type of setup. If you get a standard MKII there are adjustable triggers out there for those and the Howa's trigger is adjustable for weight and creep but not overtravel out of the box. The Mauser action in a hunting rifle is never a bad thing in my opinion but some don't care for them. If anything they're reliable.
Wayne
jonbearman
I live in new york state,how unfortunate !
I would go with a howa barreled action and work up from there.Howa makes the vanguards anyways and you get a slightly faster twist rate with the howa.
I own neither, but I do not hear good things about Ruger accuracy. The Vanguard is a Howa and it has a much better reputation. Made in Japan I believe. Not a fan of hammer forged barrels for accuracy though. If accuracy is the objective, I would go with a Savage that has the Target Action. Barrel is button rifled, and mine stopped showing any trace of copper after about 15 rounds, but I guess you always take your chances with a factory barrel. Some very good, and some not so good.
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