Weatherby's New Vanguard Chassis Rifle

[riftol]

Last week I received the 2017 Weatherby catalog.

Page 15 shows a rifle I haven't seen before.

It called the Vanguard Modular Chassis.

The chassis is made from 6061 aluminum.

The new rifle features a 20", #3 contour, free-floated, threaded barrel.

It has a 10-round polymer magazine that's detachable.

The rifle is chambered for the .223 Remington, 6.5 Creedmoor, and .308 Winchester.

MSRP is $1519.

[baih777]

this one ?

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=1304936

[Flouncer]

From the point of thermal expansion and contraction, dimensional stability, aluminum is about dead last after wood, fiberglass and other composites. If the stock changes, the bedding and torque and surface contacts change. Even plastic, nylon is superior. There is no worse material.

[Whiterabbit]

Sounds like an excellent chalkboard exercise for a Berkeley mechanical engineering student. I bet with enough decimal places that statement is easily proven to be 100% factual.

Any real world data to back up the idea that accuracy is actually affected by the dimensional changes of aluminum vs traditional materials between room temp and an aluminum stock as hot as it will get when bolted to a hot barrel?

Doesn't have to be some guy at the range (though that is OK), can be lab tests with strain gauges or any other quantitative analysis for thermal stress or thermal effects on the action from a stock under thermal effect from a hot barrel.

[ucb]

Sounds like an excellent chalkboard exercise for a Berkeley mechanical engineering student. I bet with enough decimal places that statement is easily proven to be 100% factual.

.

I'm opening up ansys right now

[Whiterabbit]

Not trying to be derisive specifically, but my point was that often times, the chalkboard, particularly the model, and the real world do not match up. Which is exactly why we collect real world data to validate the model.

So we design workarounds to deal with, say, thermal expansion of aluminum, and then later realize the mechanical design was robust enough to handle any variability induced by the thermal expansion to begin with. As an example.

Or not. as is claimed by the idea that "aluminum is the least optimal material for a rifle stock"

Which may be true, but simulation software only demonstrates that claim has merit, not whether it is true or not.

That's what I was getting at.

[ucb]

I was just playing, I am in agreement with you that every theory/model is only as good as the real world data to validate it.

With that being said, I absolutely cannot agree that plastics (especially nylon) is superior to aluminum in terms of dimensional stability and thermal expansion. Making precision plastic parts that work well over a decent range of temps that don't cost a fortune is a real PITA.

This rifle however is nothing more than a howa built action in a MDT chassis. You can replicate one on your own easily, I personally would go for the bergara BMP in this price range/niche or get a tikka and throw it in a chassis

[ar15barrels]

The chassis is made from 6061 aluminum.

The new rifle features a 20", #3 contour, free-floated, threaded barrel.

From the point of thermal expansion and contraction, dimensional stability, aluminum is about dead last after wood, fiberglass and other composites. If the stock changes, the bedding and torque and surface contacts change. Even plastic, nylon is superior. There is no worse material.

If someone were to want to use such a rifle as a target rifle, the #3 barrel contour is a much bigger problem than the material selection for the stock.

[Jimmy's]

If you want it, get it.
One thing for sure is you wont be spending tons of cash changing every aspect of it like another brand just trying to make it shoot well.

[BillyGoatCrawler]

One thing for sure is you wont be spending tons of cash changing every aspect of it like another brand just trying to make it shoot well.

Why so mysterious? Just say the brand you're referencing.

[Whiterabbit]

That's a puzzle. I'll bet there are examples of every brand he could be referencing that shoot well with nothing more than a nice scope attached and good ammunition developed.

[BillyGoatCrawler]

Certain personalities and text based answers are hard to interpret. It might have been generalized and I was over thinking it. That's a very likely case.

Either way, I think it is good more companies are stepping out of the standard zone of rifles we have been in for the last 25 years. These more modular and chassis based rifles that are coming out are good to push the market.

[Vigilante]

If someone were to want to use such a rifle as a target rifle, the #3 barrel contour is a much bigger problem than the material selection for the stock.

Think it's too thin? I'm no competitive shooter, so I'm just asking. The comment seems strange to me, because the Weatherby #3 is probably .750 at the muzzle, which I don't consider to be light.

[Whiterabbit]

if .75" is too small, alot of target shooters are hosed.

[ElvenSoul]

Howa has a similar

http://www.legacysports.com/catalog/howa/howa-hcr-chassis-rifle/

Mossberg MVP

http://www.mossberg.com/category/series/mvp-series/mvp-lc-light-chassis/

Tikka

http://www.recoilweb.com/tikka-tsr-beretta-usa-delivers-a-custom-factory-rifle-tailor-made-for-prs-competition-109290.html

It's the new flavor of the month in rifles.