I have a number of them.
Since I don't buy crappy guns, that should tell you what I think about them.
The Weatherby Vanguard barreled action is manufactured by Howa, just as the Howa 1500 barreled actions are... The importers (Legacy Sports International (1500) and Weatherby add the US manufactured synthetic or wood stocks.
These rifles are the best value out there (and Wal-Mart just unloaded a bunch of the Vanguards at throwaway prices because of overstocking)...
The early Howas had a recall for replacing part of the striker/bolt mechanism because a moron could reassemble them in such a way that the striker could exit the back of the bolt. If assembled correctly, even these early rifles were perfectly safe. Check LSI for a list of affected rifles (they were manufactured around ten or more years ago. The newer ones have an improved (moron-safe) bolt mechanism).
Buy them with confidence. You will love them. They even offer a 6.5x55mm one (and I'm trying to convince them to offer one in 8x57mm Mauser to take advantage of all that cheap ammo currently available).