The aftermarket isn't as strong as a Rem 700 or Savage, but they are very good rifles.
I bought the original Vanguard for 400 bucks in .223 and it would shoot 3/4" groups at 100 yards with cheap Remington value pack ammo. Except for the stock my gun was all metal including the trigger guard floor plate and nearly everything else in that price range has a lot of plastic so I feel the Vanguard is a GREAT value.
They are nice rifles, but IMHO a Tikka T3 beats them hands down. NIB around $600
The Mark 2 addressed the failings in the original. The trigger and the stock which is just an afterthought on par with factory Glock sights. They are guaranteed to be 1MOA rifles and the Howa action isn't terrible. I'd really like to compare them with my original, it seems like it would be a solid choice if the trigger and stock are all they're cracked up to be. I've never been able to shoot my original as good as I could my plain jane Ruger M77 which I mainly attribute to the creep in the trigger. A drop in Timney would probably make a big difference. Add in a nice and properly fitted stock and I suspect it would be easily sub MOA.
