well i bought a vanguard in .300 wby magnum. there's nothing wrong with it and it shoots 1 1/2" at 200yrds. however it had its barrel cut and re-crowned at 20".
Are there any ballistic/knockdown deficiencies that come from this? right now all i notice is a large muzzle flash and heightened recoil to the point i can only use my 6-18x bushnell at the lowest (that could be me though too). its zeroed at 200 and drops about 8" at 300

I'd say that it needs a little (8" at least)  more barrel to milk the ballistic prowess from the .300 weatherby. Cutting the barrel so short is blasphemy on a rig chambering a weatherby cartridge. Though long as you can shoot well with it, I see no problem.

Killing power should be right, but with anything you have to place your shots correctly. Many times have I heard novice hunter's blame something about thier rifle when it was the shooter who was at fault. You put a 750 grainer from a .50 bmg in the wrong spot, and it will let you down.

It escapes me why anyone would ever cut down a .30 magnum to such a short length. Well, make sure you wear some good ear muffs and a nice pair of tinted shooting glasses, as I can imagine that the blast n flash would be quite severe.

Even with a 20" barrel it still has plenty of power for deer and elk although as you've found out the muzzle blast can be a bit annoying. Here's a link to a thread where we covered how barrel length effect velocity.
 
http://www.thehunterslife.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3050

yup, as Hunterbug said, the cartridge will provide plenty of powr, but would have much better ballistics and even more power with a 24-26'' barrel, just fits the weatherby cartridges primary reason for being better.  The link he posted is helpful!
also like Ausmarksan said, if you can hit where you want, should be fine.
God is Love!
Justin

well it only cost $140 and from what they said the rifle suffered some damage that required the cutting down, and that it had been left in the rain, so the barrel has some outside rust damage i think so perhaps the last 4" were too badly damaged to save.
 
and yes the blast-n-flash are quite impressive, i saw a good sized flash come off it when i watched my dad shoot it.
 
like i said it shoots great, after a little bit the groups widen but that may be cause i'm not used to such a large caliber and possibly fouling and heat
 
i read the Ultimate Sniper manual/book and according to it the general rule is for every inch the barrel is shorter than 24" take 20fps off the velocity, i did that and the ballistic software Point Blank came up with closely matched the live fire tests

What bullet ya using, LH?  Was doing some # tinkering with a 180 gr. bullet having a .483 BC (Partition) and a 200 yd. zero with an 8" drop at 300 yds. indicated you're running around 2750 fps.  Or just a touch over published .30-06 velocities with the same weight bullet.  Of course, this'll vary depending on the bullet you are using.  Considering 3200's a reasonable fps average for the .300 WbyMag and a 26" barrel, yeah, you're loosing it in the performance end.
 
Honestly, for the $140 you say it cost ya, I'd use it up.  At any point down the line, you can get yourself a new barrel with appropriate length for the cartridge installed and still be cheaper then buying a NIB rifle.
 
Good luck with the gun.  >>  klallen

Losta; If it shoots 1.5 inch groups at 200 yards it's a keeper no matter how long the barrel is. I'd find some loads that approximate .308 or 30-06 ballistics and see how they shoot. Probably cut down on the muzzle blast some and the recoil. God bless and good shooting.
Mark

well i thought about getting a muzzle brake. I used Remington 180gr Core-lokt and Weatherby ammo i can't remember(im at Ft. Hood 4th Inf Div now, i haven't even seen my rifle since December)

Quote from: Lost Hunta;59362well i thought about getting a muzzle brake.

All that's going to do is make it louder.

Quote from: Lost Hunta;59362well i thought about getting a muzzle brake.

Would imagine you're dealing with a good deal of muzzle blast as it is with that short  a barrel.  I dare say a quality brake isn't going to stir thing up objectionably more then what they already are.  There's no doubt a brake will turn that light weight rifle into a pussy-cat to shoot, if that be your desire.  >>  klallen

Would a flash hider help or perhaps Magnaporting?

all i desire with a brake is the recoil reduction, i wear ear plugs anyway, and i don't find a loud muzzle blast a bad thing.

You be one of Brithunter's mates then........ :P :D

oh is he a fan of loud muzzles? I also like the blast a Mosin-Nagant M44/38 makes

Quote from: Lost Hunta;59536oh is he a fan of loud muzzles?

Ummm, not really......  
Rather the opposite!