Weatherby Vanguard 7mm Rem mag load confusion

rh455 · 01-24-2005, 09:56 PM

I've had my Vanguard for a few years now. I've been shooting Hornady 139gr since I've had the gun. Best group I've ever gotten was 3 in a 2.5" or 3" pattern. Not too good. I cleaned my gun and went to the range last week and put 25 rounds thru it and was all over the paper. No consistency at all. Scope's tight. Couldn't find anything to raise suspicion. I shot 3 rounds thru my 30.06 180gr while alternating with my Weatherby while waiting for the barrels to cool. The old 30.06 put 3 in about 3/4". They kick the same to me. I want to try a different load(in the 7mm) to see if that's the problem. The test sheet that I got with the gun has 3 rounds inside 1/2" @ 100yds. The sheet says "150gr soft point". No brand or anything. How do I figure out which 150gr to try?

gopher slayer · 01-24-2005, 10:30 PM

im just guessing here but scince its weatherby rifel they would be using weather y rounds. and according to there site they only have 2 150 gr bullets in ther 7mm selction.

http://www.weatherby.com/rifles/cal_7mm.shtml

bigbulls · 01-24-2005, 11:12 PM

The vangusrd is chambered for the 7mm Remington magnum. Not the Weatherby magnum. I would try Remington and Winchester soft points to start and probably Federal premium loads.

rh455 · 01-25-2005, 07:27 AM

I figured it had to be one of the three, but didn't know if factory uses a specific brand. I guess I'll get all three and try each one to start. The guy at the range said it might be my scope. It's a Cabela's Alaskan Guide 3x12 w/30mm tube. I'm not sure who makes it, but the clarity is good at low light and I gathered from the ad that it could take the abuse of magnum rounds. Hopefully, changing the round will clear my patterns up.

dvdegeorge · 01-25-2005, 08:01 AM

Try 154 gr. Hornady ammo,bet you close those groups right up

Karm · 01-25-2005, 09:26 AM

Try IMR 4350 with Nosler Ballistic Tips, shoots .500" at 300 yards in my Sako customized.

Californiadoctor · 01-25-2005, 09:29 AM

RH455, While your scope might not be the major problem it could be part of it. A 30mm
apperature sounds a little small for me for a caliber like 7 mm Remington Magnum. Clarity in low light might not be as good as you think. Light gathering power for objective lenses increases as the square of the aperature. If you went to a 40 mm apperature you would have (40/30)^2 = 1.78 times the light gathering capacity.

Californiadoctor

rob1 · 01-25-2005, 10:03 AM

Mine shoots great with Federal 150 grain Ballistic tips!

bigbulls · 01-25-2005, 10:42 AM

California he has a 30mm tube not an apature or lense. The 30mm tube is signifigantly larger than the Americanized 1 inch tubes cause they can hunt at night in many European countries.

RH455, you may want to mount a different scope on your rifle to see if it is the scope that has the problem. Just to get that out of your mind. If it is the scope you can go ahead and return it for a new one.

rh455 · 01-25-2005, 04:43 PM

You're right. The tube is 30mm, the objective lens is 52mm. It is pretty darn bright at dusk and dawn compared to some other scopes I have. I thought about 154 Hornady's but I shoot Remington Core Lock pointed soft point in my other guns with good success, so I'll go that route first. I'm going to bring the gun in next week for a grind to fit Limbsaver pad and a trigger job first. Then try again.