6mm06
Well-known member
Well, today my Vanguard returned from its second trip to Weatherby. The gunsmith said the chamber is within specs. First trip back home the problem remained. The gunsmith did a deep clean and polished the chamber, and cautioned me to always clean off the lube when reloading. I sent a note in the box stating that it was brand new brass, plus factory ammo. So, I returned the rifle to Weatherby once again. Today I received the rifle back after its second trip. No mechanical work was performed at Weatherby on the second trip. The gunsmith fired a total of 9 rounds of three different factory loads and said all cycled and functioned to specs. He said the chamber is within specs.
At the gun shop today when I picked the gun up, my friend who works there helped check it. He also does some minor gunsmithing. With Hornady American Whitetail loads the rifle still chambers a little hard. Internet searching shows that people are having similar problems with that ammo in a variety of calibers. Still, that doesn't account for a stiff bolt on two brands of brand new brass. On top of that, I picked up a box of Remington Core Loks. Chambering them today was still slightly stiff, though not as bad as the Hornady loads. So, my friend lightly honed the bolt lugs and it functioned noticeably better, but still has a little grit when closing.
I took the rifle home and tried chambering the new brass again. Most functioned OK but a piece or two was a little stiff. I think the rifle has a tight chamber, plus the lugs were a little stiff and rough, enough to notice when closing the bolt on an empty chamber. We may use a lapping compound later and see if that helps, but for the meantime am waiting to see if firing it and working the bolt some will smooth it out more. It's apparent that Weatherby is not going to fix it.
After checking for chambering brass, I then loaded a couple of rounds of 70 gr. Blitz Kings and shot at 75 yards, starting with a middle charge of powder according to the manual.. I know that's not the traditional 100 yards, but it will do for 99% of my hunting. My coyote bait sites are 60 and 82 yards, plus the hog hunting I do over feeders is generally those distances or thereabouts. Two shot groups with the first load went .27" and the second group of .4 more powder went .50". The latter load may not be fair since it was getting darker in the woods at my shooting range and I was struggling a little to see. I am still load developing and will see how far I can go before reaching max. I am hoping for at least 3500 fps. Time will tell. At least it seems the rifle is going to be accurate.
Once I find the final load, then I will mount my new Infiray Bolt TL35 v2 on it. Hopefully the coyotes will cooperate after that.
Here is the original post about the chambering problem. The rifle has made two trips to Weatherby since I began this post.
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At the gun shop today when I picked the gun up, my friend who works there helped check it. He also does some minor gunsmithing. With Hornady American Whitetail loads the rifle still chambers a little hard. Internet searching shows that people are having similar problems with that ammo in a variety of calibers. Still, that doesn't account for a stiff bolt on two brands of brand new brass. On top of that, I picked up a box of Remington Core Loks. Chambering them today was still slightly stiff, though not as bad as the Hornady loads. So, my friend lightly honed the bolt lugs and it functioned noticeably better, but still has a little grit when closing.
I took the rifle home and tried chambering the new brass again. Most functioned OK but a piece or two was a little stiff. I think the rifle has a tight chamber, plus the lugs were a little stiff and rough, enough to notice when closing the bolt on an empty chamber. We may use a lapping compound later and see if that helps, but for the meantime am waiting to see if firing it and working the bolt some will smooth it out more. It's apparent that Weatherby is not going to fix it.
After checking for chambering brass, I then loaded a couple of rounds of 70 gr. Blitz Kings and shot at 75 yards, starting with a middle charge of powder according to the manual.. I know that's not the traditional 100 yards, but it will do for 99% of my hunting. My coyote bait sites are 60 and 82 yards, plus the hog hunting I do over feeders is generally those distances or thereabouts. Two shot groups with the first load went .27" and the second group of .4 more powder went .50". The latter load may not be fair since it was getting darker in the woods at my shooting range and I was struggling a little to see. I am still load developing and will see how far I can go before reaching max. I am hoping for at least 3500 fps. Time will tell. At least it seems the rifle is going to be accurate.
Once I find the final load, then I will mount my new Infiray Bolt TL35 v2 on it. Hopefully the coyotes will cooperate after that.
Here is the original post about the chambering problem. The rifle has made two trips to Weatherby since I began this post.
Cartridge Chambering Problem
I have been reloading ammo for 50 years now and for multiple rifles and calibers. Today I experienced something new that I have never seen before. I purchased a brand new Weatherby Vanguard 25-06 and today was its maiden voyage. I opened a sealed pack of new Remington brass and instantly...
www.predatormasters.com
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