i have a Rem700 Varmit in 22-250. it shoots great I have a good amount of money in it with the Nikon scope. I also have a Weatherby Van in a 270 cal. I bought at Walmart on clearance for $250 I put a cheap BSA scope on it and it shoots as good as the 700.....I really think it's the shooter and not the gun's price

I certainly agree that more expensive does not mean more accurate,but some rifles are much more accurate than others reguardless of the shooter.I can easily shoot sub 1/2" groups with some rifles,yet I can't better 2" groups or even worse with other rifles.Even a world class target shooter is not going to shoot 1" groups with a 2" gun and loads.Yet even a muchlesser skilled shooter will produce 1" or better groups with a 1/2" gun.

"Browning A-Bolts are also made in Japan "

down here in australia, the vanguards go head to head with thesynthetic Tikka T3's. if they are price compatible with the vanguards in the states, i would opt for the tikka. in fact, i would (and did!) pay extra for the tikka. both are excellent value, but the outright performance of my T3 is sensational. you are basically getting a Sako designed and manufactured barrelled-action in a tough as nails no-frills stock. the machining quality is 1st class, and the action is silky smooth. the barrel is free floated ( a definite advantage over the vanguard). the narrow ejection port and single column magazine result in an ultra stiff action, which aids accuracy no end. the trigger is like glass breaking.

the new Rem SPS looks like good value too. but from what i have seen, the machining is not as impressive- particularly where the receiver is broached to accomodate the locking lugs. it would be interesting to see whether both lugs are equally load bearing. rems have a reputation for being excellent once accurized (bench rest guys love them), but should you have to go to this trouble?

the stevens is just appearing down here, and seems to be dirt cheap, with good fundamentals - but i couldn't give an informed opinion on them.

bottom line- buy a Tikka

I am looking at weatherby's comparison chart and I was just wondering if you guys could tell me what exactly some of these features are and how important they are in a rifle.

rifling-hammer forged/button forged
crown
free floated
Bolt lift
Locking lugs-2/3
1 peice forged bolt
bolt knob-kurled/smooth/checkered
enclosed bolt sleeve
fluted bolt
1 peice forged reciever
3 rings of steel
detachable magazine
special bedding-no/glassdual pillar

also whats the differences between these stocks synthetic/polymer/graphite,fiberglass/injection-molded/compsite

Thanks

here's my take on a few

rifling - button rifling is done by forcing a high-tensile plug through the barrel blank. the plug has raised ridges on it's surface which cut the rifling grooves as it passes. hammer forging involves placing the barrel blank on a grooved mandrel and hammering the living daylights out of the blank until it takes on the form of the mandrel (the blank starts off around 12 inches long and finishes up stretched to 24-inch plus). hammer forging is much quicker than button. the big manufacturers (sako, remington etc) use hammer forging. specialist barrel makers (krieger, for example) use button. which is better is debatable. you can get good and bad ones with both methods. hammer forging requires more critical stress relieving of the steel.

crown - the muzzle end of the barrel. the muzzle is usually crowned ( recessed ) into the barrel end to protect it from knocks/damage. target riflecrowns are often hand finished

free-floated - the barrel makes no contact with the stock forward of the receiver-ring. in general this is highly desirable. as the barrel heats up, it can expand. contact with the stock results in pressure changes on the barrel, and can shift point of impact. however, on lighter, thinner barrels, a fore-end pressure point can sometimes seemtighten up the wippy vibrations that run through a light barrel. if you can get a free-floated factory model, do so. if not, getting it free floated probably will, but may not necessarily, producebetter results.

Bolt lift - the amount of travel required to lock the lugs into the receiver. some actions require 90 degrees of rotation, some are down to 60 degrees. the less rotation, the faster you can cycle a new round in. it is basicallya function of the strength of the locking lugs.

locking lugs - the more lugs, the more evenly the backthrust is spread. weatherby mark v actions have up to nine smaller lugs. the vanguards, tikka's etc have two opposed large lugs. in theory, more is probably better, but they all have to be loaded equally to maintain balance.

1 piece bolt- smoother cycling, less tendency to bind up.

bolt knob- knurling simply provides a grippier surface for fingers. never had a problem with smooth, myself

fluted bolt- has channels in the bolt to allow high pressure gases to escape away from the shooters face in the event of a ruptured case or primer. most (all?) modern actions have some way of deflecting the gas away for safety.

three rings of steel - the case head is surrounded by a) the barrel, b) the receiver and c) the bolt face. provides good safety for the user, and probably minimises case head expansion.

detachable mags - i like them. easy to unload the rifle when climbing, driving etc. carry a spare in your pocket for fast reload. hinged floor plates are ok. i don't like blind mags, because you have to keep cycling the bolt to unload.

bedding - a can of worms. some rifles have aluminium pillars cast into the stock that the action beds onto. others are "glass bedded". some simply bed onto the stock material. pillar bedding seems to be the current preferred method.

there you go. these are just my opinions/ understanding of some items. there will be many more knowledgable folks out there who will disagree or clarify things for you.

cheers, jason

how would you rank these components as far as which is most important and which is least?

not sure about answering this one - everyone has different priorities! when choosing what to buy ( finally opting for a T3 varmint), i looked for things that would give me accuracy. so free floated barrels are a requirement. a stiff action is usually conducive to accuracy, so i liked the single column magazine and narrow ejection slot of the tikka. the bolt cycle is as smooth as silk due to the one piece design ( try a CZ mauser type action for comparison! they are gritty and prone to binding).i was viewing things from a small calibre, varmint rig viewpoint. if i was hunting big game, i'd want the bigmauser extractor.i was not fussed about hammer versus button rifling. you can get dud ones either way. most benchrest custom barrels are button, though........
knurled bolt handles are completely irrelevent for me, but for cold area hunting may be advantageous. bedding is critical - especially for timber stocks. look for some form of pillar bedding. you will probably find that getting all your requirements is either not possible, or will cost heaps. compromise on whatever you consider to be non-critical issues for your hunting type, but stick to your guns on what you want. and bare in mind that there's no point being unhappy with a purchase for the sake of saving a hundred bucks- you'll just be looking for something else a few months later.

Actually kreiger uses cut rifling.Criterion which is owned by kreiger uses button rifling.Criterion barrels are used on some weatherbies but the cut rifled kreiger barrels do not come on factory weatherby rifles.