Having had a Vangard in .243Win. I would definitely vote against buying one!
Weatherby claims 1.5" at 100 yards out of the box.
While it did that for the first 3 rounds, any more rounds out of it opened up grouping exponentially!! (aka 4-6 were 5", 7-9 were 12") This is after letting the barrel cool for about 5 minutes between groups.
Was the only gun I was ever happy to see go!!!
Having shot the Axis, American, and some others, I think I would personally save a bit more and get a Tikka T3 Lite.
If I had to stay below $500, I would probably get the Mossberg 4X4.
Of course I don't buy new guns, I prefer the older Savage/Stevens that I can get for under $300.
