Weatherby Vanguard 2, Tikka T3x or Ruger American- .308's

Tikka. That vanguard is nice too and I like that it has the 2 stage trigger but the Tikka is nicer imo. The new CVA bolt gun is super impressive too. We got one in at Bowie and I thought it would be super mediocre but it's phenomenal for the price. They even have a 14 day satisfaction guarantee.

I'll preface this by saying all 3 will shoot great and if all you care about is a reliable rifle that shoots good, all 3 will easily accomplish that and you should get whichever one tickles your fancy.

The vanguard is my new favorite rifle. It is basically a drastically improved remington 700 and addresses all of the 700's shortfalls. 3 position safety, M16 extractor, great 2 stage trigger, flat bottom action with integrated recoil lug, 1 piece bolt.

IMO the vanguard is a superior rifle to the other two. The tikka would be 2nd place, I've owned several and shot a whole bunch of them and they all shot great. I do not like the plastic removable clipazine. The ruger American is probably the best value out there right now. Nothing fancy, it will shoot good and they are light. They feel cheap to me (they are cheap) but get the job done. If the bullet lands where you want it to go, it doesn't matter what rifle it came out of.

Big fan of Weatherby/Howa. I have 4 of them.

Weatherby vanguard series 2 is one of best value hunting rifles out there.

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might as well look at the HOWA rifles too

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Correct, the vanguard is mostly a rebranded howa 1500.

Brownells sells howa 1500 barreled actions that often go on sale for a steal. I got a cerekoted .30-06 for $400 a few months ago. Slapped a $100 weatherby plastic stock on it and its my best shooting rifle.

Eta: i own both a howa 1500 and a vanguard and I prefer the howa. It has a standard bolt shroud, unfluted normal bolt body, and the bolt vents point down into the magazine when closed. The vanguard has a weatherby style enclosed shroud (technically safer in a case failure but large and ugly), fluted bolt, and the bolt body vents point to the side when closed (again technically safer, but easier for shite to get in the firing pin spring). I find the howa to be a slightly better looking rifle as well where the weatherby makes some attempts to look like a Mark V when it is not.

Don’t know about the vanguard, I have a tikka and ruger American. I typically lean more towards tikka bc it’s lighter and stock is nicer. Ruger has a nice bolt and barrel but I don’t like trigger as much as tikka so I dropped a timney trigger in it and it was an improvement.

Cant go wrong with a Remington 700 .308. There is so many after market parts out there that its too easy for you dress it up after a couple of years and have an almost like new rifle again. Hell now a days just the actions are worth $400.00

I have my eye on that new Springfield 2020 Waypoint Rifle.

I’ve been going through the same process and narrowed it down to the Vanguard and Tikka as well. Biggest difference I’ve seen is the Vanguard stock is a bit heavier which I love the solid feel of, but if you’re planning to do hunting out west or anything like that, it could get heavy.
Keep us posted on what you decide and how it shoots.

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There is so many after market parts out there

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There are good reasons for that.

Have you looked at the Savage Axis? I used to sight rifles for a bunch of folks for hunting season. EVERY Axis I shot was a true tack driver. Really strange for such a cheap rifle.

Tikka hunter edition.