weatherby vanguard 30-06 whats it worth ?

[EVERETT]

hey guys i got a weatherby vanguard 30-06 from an older hunter that was moveing away , its a bolt action 5+1 internal mag rifle he said he ran maybe 40 to 50 rounds thru it in the time he's had it , it has a black synthetic stock an id say its in 90% if not more , it truly is a beautiful rifle , its marked vl2455 , an it has a nikkon scope on it that i would assume is original , ive only started wondering about its value is cause i probly wont really go hunting but maybe 1 in the next 3 to 4 years if that lol , but i am really wanting to know the value cause im kinda wannting to trade it for a handgun or 2 , an sorry i dont got any pics yet or i woulda posted them

[BETH]

welcome to the forum, get some pictures when u can, someone will be along to help u

[jack404]

G'day everett , i can say your rifle is a 1972 made in japan model

the vanguard was a clone of the mark 5 action to bring costs down , they where a very good weapon but lack of marketing and US dollar values against the world values sort of shattered it a bit , it a far better shooter than values indicate

here in Australia the 30-06 with the sub MOA barrel would be $700-800 as they are sought after i know in the USA there are many many more and do not bring such a high price sadly ( 600-700 maybe but check , i'm way off at times on US values )

they sold in .308 for $ 399 USD when new (1971) and i think the 30-06 with scope package was $499 ( please correct me if wrong its now 30+ years past)

they are a nice shooting rifle and will last ages .. sadly folks think the copy of the mark 5 should be less value , i dunno why

[EVERETT]

thanks for the welcome beth , an i will get sum pics soon been really busy with work an what not lately

[EVERETT]

wow it was made in 1972 ? then its in pretty nice shape for beeing that old , an thanks for the info jack , i think ill take it to a few gun shops around me an see what they say its worth , im hopeing to be able to trade it for a decent 45acp pistol or so

[Bindernut]

Actually, the Vanguard action is a completely different breed of cat than the Mark V and Mini Mark V actions.

It is still a Weatherby-approved design but was drawn up and has always been built by Howa in Japan for Weatherby. It was not Weatherby's "economy" rifle as many think...rather it was the model that non-Weatherby calibers were offered in.
Still being a Weatherby, the final fit-n-finish of the early Vanguards are just as beautifully done as the Mark Vs so they're worth a bit of a premium over your average run of the mill bolt action rifle.


In the mid-90s, the Vanguard DID become an "economy" rifle though...and sold exclusively through Walmart to boot!
The fancy wood and high-polish finishes were dropped and a rather ugly (my opinion) Vanguard replaced it. Satin finishes and cheap synthetic stocks were the norm. There was still one cut-checkering Walnut stocked Deluxe model available but it still had the plain looking satin finish on the steel.
Starting in 2003 or 2004, the Vanguard was made a regular catalog model again. But, no more of that beautiful Weatherby luster...still satin.


I suspect jack is pretty close on the value if it is actually an early model.
I'm thinking it might be a newer version (I don't have a Weatherby serial # list with me at the moment). Is it VL24** or is it V124**? The serial number should be 5 digits after the letter prefix that designates the trim level (if it's low numbered, it'll have 0s...VX00357 for example).
A nice early Vanguard usually prices out around the $700-900 range up here in ND & SD when I see them. It'll bring less minus the original stock though.
A current Vanguard can be bought brand new for around $450-800 depending on the options.
Hard to tell without seeing pics though. Can you post a few?

[EVERETT]

ill try to get sum pics up soon guys ,

[EVERETT]

ok guys i cant find the dang cable for my cam right now , but i took it to a local dealer he said its was worth 500 to trade in to him , but that it would probly go for more if i privately sold it , so i dunno what im gonna do off hand i guess first thing is to find my cable lol , but i am reall considering tradeing it , cause i proble wont go hunting for a very long time so it would just collect dust i suppose , but i could use another handgun or 2 , but the rifle is just beautiful but i like pistols so hears my debate lol

[EVERETT]

heres a few pics not the best

[Bindernut]

$500 in trade isn't that bad. It's an aftermarket stock (RamLine Syntech) that's worth $90 new...that gives you with $410 for the barreled action.
It's a good shooting rifle even with the cheap stock, but if you don't have a use for it then it's good trading material too.

Sorry, I can't be of more precise help with the serial number...I can't find my list at all. I think Jack is probably pretty close with it being a '72 model if the serial is VL24**.
If it's a V124** serial number, then it should be from around 1980.

[EVERETT]

hey thanks , an yeah 500 aint to bad i guess lol , i wont be able to put it to use for a good an long time now , so yeah ill trade it for sumthing i can use , an thats the only serial numbers i can find on it or atleast anything close to a serial number , an im pretty sure its the original stock on it , im really hopen to trade it for a 45 or sumthin close , but hey thanks u guys have been most helpfull ,i think ill maybe list it for trade an see what happens from there i dont need it but im not in a hurry to get rid of it lol

[EVERETT]

well guys i listed it in the for sale section so if anybody's interested in it just shoot me a pm im open to offers