To repair or not?

W

wet

New member
My father gave me his weatherby vanguard 270, (howa) in the 1990's. It got run over, barrel bent, stock broke and scope ruined. My son has been wanting me to get it fixed because it was his grandfathers. There is a recall on the bolt but it was a verry accurate rifle before this happened. Any advise or comments?
 
I think it would basically cost you what the rifle is worth to fix it. It would be the price of a barrel, which isn't too much, and a new stock plus gunsmith fees and a scope.

I'd fix it if it were me. Or just transfer it to your son when he is older and let him fix it.
 
wet said:
My father gave me his weatherby vanguard 270, (howa) in the 1990's. It got run over, barrel bent, stock broke and scope ruined. My son has been wanting me to get it fixed because it was his grandfathers. There is a recall on the bolt but it was a verry accurate rifle before this happened. Any advise or comments?
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I wouldn't consider a 90's law as a typical heirloom gun but if it gives your son something to remember his grandpa by, then that is enough to justify fixing it up, even if it does end up costing more than a new one (it likely will).
If you decide to part with the gun, I'd be interested in the action.
 
You can buy a brand new Howa Barreled action for under 400 bucks, and the complete rifle w/ a cheap scope for not much more than that. So unless just the action itself has sentimental value, you'd be money ahead to go with a new Howa.

On the other hand...
If you wanted to do a custom build off the Howa/Weatherby action you already have, you would spend more but would have a nicer end result. That would also open up a ton of options for caliber choice as anything based off a .30-06 would work by just rebarreling.
 
Make a deal with your son. You spring for a rebarreling job and a semi inletted stock unfinished stock if he will study up on the processes of bluing (or whatever finish he likes best) and stock finishing and then let him complete the rifle. This will take awhile so you can put off getting a scope till the rest is finished.
I'd stick with the .270 chambering, unless you already have a .270 in the family and want something of larger or smaller bore. Let the son decide on caliber, unless you run on a great deal on a take off barrel or something on sale.

The better the barrel you chose the better the finished rifle will be.

If your son is really interested in shooting you might want to look into getting and action wrench and making a barrel vice, then you can oversee his cranking on the barrel. Finish reaming may be necessary.
 
By the time you rebarrel, restock, and rescope, it won't really be the same rifle. If it were me in this spot, I'd just remove the ruined parts and put the action away until Son decides he wants some specific rifle and then let him have it rebuilt as he wants it.
I've gifted my Grandsons with new, unused Mauser actions so they can decide what type and caliber of rifle they want after they've reached an age to understand that the action is the "heart" of the rifle and so I have given them part of my own "heart".
 
Think of this as an opportunity to build a custom rifle. I'd have a gunsmth install a high quality aftermarket barrel, probably in a cool, unusual chambering such as 280, or 338-06. I'd then have it restocked in a McMillan Edge in the Sako Classic style.
 
Take it to your gunsmith and see what it'll cost before deciding of course but if your son wants it as an heirloom, how can you say no to that without justification!
 
Here are some prices for you to think about, $400-700 is the cost to rebarrel back to .270 Win or other .30-06 based cartridge. Replace the stock minimum $100 for a Boyd's. Scope of decent quality around $200 plus another $50 minimum for bases and rings. You are looking at a minimum of $750 to get the rifle up and running again.

You can probably buy a new Vanguard S2 and scope it for that or you can pick up a new Savage 11 THXP with Nikon Prostaff scope and pocket a $200 savings. You can possibly pocket even more money if you go with a Ruger American or Marlin XL/XS rifles.

I'd have a GS check it out and make sure the action isn't tweaked as well, before you make a decision on what to do with the action. Then pick your poison, you have a good action to build a decent custom rifle on. Sell the action you have about $250-300 down payment on a different rifle, or at least that amount to put in your pocket.
 
If I wanted to fix that rifle, I would call Weatherby and talk to them before going to a local gunsmith or trying a DIY fix.

Ultimately, it becomes a matter of balancing the repair cost against the sentimental value of the rifle. And that is not something I can advise you on.

Jim
 
As taylorce1 said, if the barrel is bent and the stock ruined, there is a chance that the action is bent as well. For the cost of fixing that rifle up (even using cheap components), you could go out and buy a new one. Or buy a used one "just like Grampa's" and have some cash left over.
Stock- $100-$300
Barrel- $100-$300
Thread/chamber/crown- $100
Blue- $100
Scope & bases- $200-$600

Total $600-$1,000++

Cost of a new Weatherby Vanguard combo- $500
 
I agree with sending it back to the factory, if they'll do the work. They might, if you tell them the story.

Otherwise, I'd just buy a similar rifle to celebrate the grandfather's use of that kind of rifle and have the grandfather's name engraved on it.
 
Why not? Even if it didn't have sentimental value, their actions are known to be pretty smooth, and accurate out of the box.

I don't take it as a "given" that because the barrel got run over, that the action got bent.. Depends on where the tire ran over the barrel, and how much if any stress was placed on the action.

Look, building a rifle off an action is done everyday...especially us DIY'ers that use Savage actions.

Only "issue", and it really isn't one...is the metric barrel threads, it's just a matter of finding a smith that doesn't mind metric. Get a nice blank, have it threaded and chambered. Depending on your son's interests, and how close to what "Grandpa" had it he wants it, it might be an opportunity for a caliber change if one would be beneficial.

Is it going to cost more than a new factory rifle? Sure... but you could take advantage of the opportunity to build a semi-custom with a trued action, match-grade barrel (could go with a varmint barrel if target is his game) and it would be something that could shoot better than him for a long time to come...and then hand down to his son.

Either way, unless you're sure the action is toast (and like I said, I really doubt that's the case unless it got run over directly) hold on to it, it may be a project he'd want to undertake himself when he's older.

Handing down firearms, is steeped in American tradition.
 
Stock- $100-$300
Barrel- $100-$300
Thread/chamber/crown- $100
Blue- $100
Scope & bases- $200-$600

Total $600-$1,000++

Cost of a new Weatherby Vanguard combo- $500
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I wouldn't do it with cheap components. You are right, it would be a lot cheaper to just buy a new rifle, but a true custom costs $1200-$1500, He already owns the action which would knock $300 off that price.

For around $1,000 he could have a full blown custom rifle with a match grade barrel and a custom stock built to his specs. It would be far better than any out of the box $500 Vanguard and a bargain considering he already owns the action. I say go big or not at all.

That assumes the action wasn't damaged. If it were, I'd take it to the nearest gun buy back program.
 
I agree with Picher.
Send it to Weatherby with a sad story of Grandpa's Gun Run Over and they might discount rebuilding it with whatever parts are salvageable.
If they won't, put the wreckage on a plaque and hang it on the wall.
 
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