Which rifle to buy, can't decide

[COhunter]

I am looking to get a 7mm mag to be a dedicated lr rifle, now i need a little help deciding which rifle to buy. I am going back and forth between the remington sendero and the weatherby vanguard range certified. I know alot of people on this sight have shot a sendero, but has anyone had any dealings with the weatherby rc. Thank's in advance for any input

 

[Cort]

I am very biased toward the Remington 700 platform or its clones. There are lots of smiths with lots of experience with the Remington and lots of after market accessories that fit the Remington. If you are looking for a hunting class rifle, with no plans to "play" with the rifle, then both are great rifles. The individual rifle is a bigger deal than the brand. Some factory rifles shoot and some don't (actually, some custom rifles shoot and some don't; the difference is that a custom rifle usually will be made to shoot while the factory rifle is what it is unless it has a very obvious problem).

Cort

 

[SS427]

I have a Remington VSSF II (a short action Sendero) and a Wby Vanguard Sub MOA (old name for the RC), both in .223 Rem. Off a bench the Remington is slightly more accurate, but in the field hunting sage rats I've never been able to notice any accuracy difference. Both of them are heavy for a hunting rifle. Both handle very well for the weight. The Sendero is stainless so for nasty weather that might be a factor for you.

If you don't plan to modify the rifle in any way other than maybe a trigger job it would be a toss up. Both are great actions, good barrels and both have a really good stock with an aluminum bedding plate. However, if you plan to modify, I would buy the Remington, because lots of gunsmiths are familiar with them and lots of after market parts are available.