Bergara B14R First Impressions

[Bigdaddycsi]

This is my first post to Snipershide. So please be gentle! I haven't been posting that much recently to gun forums, but this B14R has me really excited.

I recently picked up a BA (steel) Begara B14R, installed it in an MPA Hybrid chassis, and topped it with Burris XTR Signature rings and a Vortex Viper PST Gen II.

It has a Sparrow suppressor. the trigger is the stock trigger. I just ordered a Timney Hit for it. The stock trigger is heavy somewhere north of 2 pounds. I haven't measured it because of the damn firing pin reports about the Bergara, but I know it's heavy. Speaking of heavy, this entire package currently weighs 15 pounds. I bought the hybrid chassis because it is one of the lightest, and am I glad I did! The rifle is butt heavy because of the shorter barrel length. I can add weight to the fore end of the hybrid, but I don't want to.

I purchased a couple extra mags. I have three. Out of the three, two seem to function flawlessly. The other one will not feed. I have the dreaded droop in the front of the mag. This has been reported on other threads regarding the MPA chassis and the B14R. I don't know how to address this issue long term.

I cleaned the barrel out of the box to make sure there wasn't any debris remaining. Then I started shooting center-x. Right out of the gate, the thing shot lights out! These are the very first 20 rounds out of the barrel after shooting two test shots to get on paper and roughly zeroed. Note these groups are at 60 yards. The first group actually had 6 or 7 rounds. Once I realized how well it was shooting, I started shooting 5 shot groups. All well within 1 moa.

Today is a nice quiet day for wind, so I thought I would shoot some more groups:

I had some odd lots of center-x sitting around. So I tried two of them. Immediately upon switching to the second lot, it was shooting high and I actually heard the crack. After inspecting the lot closer, I see it was cronoed higher. I can see the B14R does not like that second lot as well as the first.

 

[Cacciatore]

Sweet looking setup....looks like she's a shooter for sure. I just picked one up a few weeks ago but just have the BA laying around. I'm excited to get it together!

 

[STex]

Good looking rifle Big- and she shoots also! How do you like that scope?

 

[Bigdaddycsi]

Good looking rifle Big- and she shoots also! How do you like that scope?

The scope is great depending upon what you are doing. I have an egw 30moa rail and 0/0 moa offset in the burris rings. With that config, I get 26 mrad up. That’s actually very good considering the scope is rated for 20mrad vertical. Most posts I’ve read say the scope provides almost 30mrads. closest I can get is 26. 26 is not enough for some of the shoots I do. We will shoot north of 500 yards which requires 30 mrads. So I adjust for 25 and hold over 5 or six mrads.

the sub-tensions are also pretty course, .5mRad. this hasn’t been as much of a big deal since with the target sizes we shoot, you can approximate pretty well.

I have a vortex razor gen one on my centerfire prs rifle. That’s an awesome scope that eliminates all of the shortcomings of the pst. Depends upon what you are wanting to do with your rifle and how much you want to spend.

bottom line, however, I love the scope, and it works very well for what I paid, plus lifetime warranty!

 

[STex]

Thanks for the response and your assessment. You certainly can't beat Vortex' warranty.

 

[grapo]

Thanks for the report, currently in the process of getting mine set up in an mpa comp chassis.

 

[King_beardsly]

This is my first post to Snipershide. So please be gentle! I haven't been posting that much recently to gun forums, but this B14R has me really excited.

I recently picked up a BA (steel) Begara B14R, installed it in an MPA Hybrid chassis, and topped it with Burris XTR Signature rings and a Vortex Viper PST Gen II.
View attachment 7484097
It has a Sparrow suppressor. the trigger is the stock trigger. I just ordered a Timney Hit for it. The stock trigger is heavy somewhere north of 2 pounds. I haven't measured it because of the damn firing pin reports about the Bergara, but I know it's heavy. Speaking of heavy, this entire package currently weighs 15 pounds. I bought the hybrid chassis because it is one of the lightest, and am I glad I did! The rifle is butt heavy because of the shorter barrel length. I can add weight to the fore end of the hybrid, but I don't want to.

I purchased a couple extra mags. I have three. Out of the three, two seem to function flawlessly. The other one will not feed. I have the dreaded droop in the front of the mag. This has been reported on other threads regarding the MPA chassis and the B14R. I don't know how to address this issue long term.

I cleaned the barrel out of the box to make sure there wasn't any debris remaining. Then I started shooting center-x. Right out of the gate, the thing shot lights out! These are the very first 20 rounds out of the barrel after shooting two test shots to get on paper and roughly zeroed. Note these groups are at 60 yards. The first group actually had 6 or 7 rounds. Once I realized how well it was shooting, I started shooting 5 shot groups. All well within 1 moa.
View attachment 7484103

Today is a nice quiet day for wind, so I thought I would shoot some more groups:

View attachment 7484104

I had some odd lots of center-x sitting around. So I tried two of them. Immediately upon switching to the second lot, it was shooting high and I actually heard the crack. After inspecting the lot closer, I see it was cronoed higher. I can see the B14R does not like that second lot as well as the first.

What issues are there with the firing pin? I’m going to assume dry firing isn’t a wise choose.

 

[Bigdaddycsi]

What issues are there with the firing pin? I’m going to assume dry firing isn’t a wise choose.

You are correct. As most are probably aware, dry firing a 22 rimfire can be risky if the weapon is not designed for it. Now, mind you, I am only parroting what I've read in other threads, but word is the b14r firing pin can break if dry firing with no snap cap. I also understand this was early in production, but it's not clear if they have resolved the issue. I've also read that the spring exerts substantial force on the pin. And also that the pin is brittle. I don't think it is necessarily contacting the chamber rim. So better safe than sorry, and snap caps are just a pain. I will go to that length when the Timney is installed and I need to adjust that.

 

[Bigdaddycsi]

Thanks for the report, currently in the process of getting mine set up in an mpa comp chassis.

Good luck. I hope the mag issue doesn’t bite you like it did me. The mpa chassis is fabulous, but i think the tolerances of large centerfire vs tiny rimfire cartridges comes into play. I have read the bergara stock does not exhibit the issue. So their bottom metal is either canted or they might have tighter tolerances. I’m just glad two out of my three mags work. That would have been a showstopper. It is obviously mag tolerances. I will be doing some measuring, and perhaps modifying the mag that does not work to see if I can determine the issue.

One of my primary reasons for going with the b14r was the magazine design. I thought it would be more tolerant. My other 22 lr competition rifles have “conventional” mags and when on a barricade, you have to be careful you don’t tweak the mag, or you will experience feeding issues. Good way to ruin a stage.

 

[Bigdaddycsi]

Mine has been pretty good to me. My only problems so far is the bolt handle comes loose and I have to tighten it every once in a while.

And then the fact putting my can on throws rounds everywhere. Other than that....it shoots well and feeds well. So I don't run a can.

i would throw some mild locktite on the bolt handle and call it a day.

Re the can: I assume you ran a bunch of different brands/lots thru it with the can. What kind of suppressor? One thing I’ve noticed with mine is it always takes a couple shots for mine to settle down, especially the cold bore shot. This has me somewhat concerned in terms of competition.

 

[MarkCZ]

Threadlocker work great, it is made for the screws to be removed, and can used on screws as small as eye glass screws. https://www.amazon.com/Vibra-TITE-2...id=1462209655&sr=8-1&keywords=vibra-tite+vc-3
Mark

 

[King_beardsly]

You are correct. As most are probably aware, dry firing a 22 rimfire can be risky if the weapon is not designed for it. Now, mind you, I am only parroting what I've read in other threads, but word is the b14r firing pin can break if dry firing with no snap cap. I also understand this was early in production, but it's not clear if they have resolved the issue. I've also read that the spring exerts substantial force on the pin. And also that the pin is brittle. I don't think it is necessarily contacting the chamber rim. So better safe than sorry, and snap caps are just a pain. I will go to that length when the Timney is installed and I need to adjust that.

That’s sorta a bummer, but better to be safe then sorry and I’ve heard parts availability isn’t the best at this moment.

 

[Doctorwho1138]

I have a Bergara B14R with a carbon barrel on order along w an MPA comp chassis. After reading around this forum, there seems to be a compatibility issue. Hoping mine works.

 

[Kisssofdeath]

That B-14R looks good in the MPA chassis. I went with the MDT XRS because I wanted something different. Sometimes I wish I had went with another MPA Hybrid.

 

[Longshot231]

Does anyone know how the 14R will fit in the KRG Whiskey-3 chassis?

 

[King_beardsly]

Does anyone know how the 14R will fit in the KRG Whiskey-3 chassis?

Should fit up solid, since the bravo and it share the same backbone

 

[Bigdaddycsi]

I installed the Timney Hit trigger today. I did not touch any adjustment before dropping it right in. Super easy to install. Out of the box, it is pulling at 12 oz. I did not adjust since this is a tactical competition rifle. I also figured I'd shoot it a couple hundred times and see where it ends up. It does have some creep, but releases crisply. The creep is smooth, almost like a two stage. The more I shot it, the less I noticed it. We will see where it ends up.

Oh, some interesting news, perhaps deserving a pin somewhere or a thread of its own.... My CZ455 bore guide works very well in the b14R.

I tried some SK Rifle Match. My plan was to shoot some groups. I cleaned the barrel (gently). The first 5 or 10 shots were pretty good, then it went to hell. It was shooting 1 or 2" groups at 50 yards. And it didn't get any better with more rounds. There were crazy fliers (3"). I put 40 rounds or so thru it, and thought the wind was swirling or I broke something on the B14R. So I grabbed some other ammo, and immediately it came back in focus. I have tried to like the SK Rifle Match, but it has not liked any of my rifles. Xmas gift for my granddaughter I guess.

 

[Kisssofdeath]

I use a Timney in one of my T1x. Works great. I did adjust it to remove the 1st stage as I'd rather have the single stage trigger.

Average for 5 pulls.

 

[grapo]

I installed the Timney Hit trigger today. I did not touch any adjustment before dropping it right in. Super easy to install. Out of the box, it is pulling at 12 oz. I did not adjust since this is a tactical competition rifle. I also figured I'd shoot it a couple hundred times and see where it ends up. It does have some creep, but releases crisply. The creep is smooth, almost like a two stage. The more I shot it, the less I noticed it. We will see where it ends up.
View attachment 7488342

Oh, some interesting news, perhaps deserving a pin somewhere or a thread of its own.... My CZ455 bore guide works very well in the b14R.
View attachment 7488333

I tried some SK Rifle Match. My plan was to shoot some groups. I cleaned the barrel (gently). The first 5 or 10 shots were pretty good, then it went to hell. It was shooting 1 or 2" groups at 50 yards. And it didn't get any better with more rounds. There were crazy fliers (3"). I put 40 rounds or so thru it, and thought the wind was swirling or I broke something on the B14R. So I grabbed some other ammo, and immediately it came back in focus. I have tried to like the SK Rifle Match, but it has not liked any of my rifles. Xmas gift for my granddaughter I guess.

Mine shoots the sk standard pretty well, at least for me. Might have just been bad lot.

 

[King_beardsly]

I use a Timney in one of my T1x. Works great. I did adjust it to remove the 1st stage as I'd rather have the single stage trigger.View attachment 7490162

Average for 5 pulls.
View attachment 7490163

That’s a pretty consistent pull, a little light for me but then again I’ve never played below 1.5lbs

 

[Aussiedan]

This is my first post to Snipershide. So please be gentle! I haven't been posting that much recently to gun forums, but this B14R has me really excited.

I recently picked up a BA (steel) Begara B14R, installed it in an MPA Hybrid chassis, and topped it with Burris XTR Signature rings and a Vortex Viper PST Gen II.
View attachment 7484097

I have a MPA hybrid on the way and am contemplating a bergara.
Is that the standard 18in barrel?

I wanna make sure that what I buy works together the way it should.

Cheers

 

[King_beardsly]

I have a MPA hybrid on the way and am contemplating a bergara.
Is that the standard 18in barrel?

I wanna make sure that what I buy works together the way it should.

Cheers

The factory barrel is 18” and will work perfect with the hybrid chassis. I had mine in my comp chassis before it’s new home in a manners and it’s didn't have any issues.

 

[grapo]

For those of you running an mpa chassis did you have to play with the magazine catch screw a lot? I can’t seem to get my mags to lock in.

 

[Bigdaddycsi]

For those of you running an mpa chassis did you have to play with the magazine catch screw a lot? I can’t seem to get my mags to lock in.

I did not have to adjust mine. My thought is that you want the magazine as far into the mag well as possible with the retainer able to click onto it in a repeatable fashion. My mags had no slop so I did not change it. That being said, as I mentioned earlier, I do have one mag with droop in the front of it, and it does not function well at all. I am going to look at shimming either the front top, or the rear bottom, or both to get it to pivot in the mag well and put the front of the mag higher to address the bore angle correctly. This issue supposedly haunts mpa chassis with the b14R. Two out of the 3 mags I have run perfectly, the 3rd one not at all. I've seen mixed reports where some have zero issues, and others complain about this problem.

Oh, if I hold the front of the mag up in the well, the 3rd magazine works fine.

 

[Kisssofdeath]

Because I have things available, I went out and checked my B-14R mags in my MPA BA chassis I use on my T3x CTR. Out of 5 mags tested, all 5 would fully seat, 4 required a small amount of force and one seated normally. Only one could drop free the other 4 had to be pulled out. Hope this give useful input.

 

[grapo]

Because I have things available, I went out and checked my B-14R mags in my MPA BA chassis I use on my T3x CTR. Out of 5 mags tested, all 5 would fully seat, 4 required a small amount of force and one seated normally. Only one could drop free the other 4 had to be pulled out. Hope this give useful input.

I did not have to adjust mine. My thought is that you want the magazine as far into the mag well as possible with the retainer able to click onto it in a repeatable fashion. My mags had no slop so I did not change it. That being said, as I mentioned earlier, I do have one mag with droop in the front of it, and it does not function well at all. I am going to look at shimming either the front top, or the rear bottom, or both to get it to pivot in the mag well and put the front of the mag higher to address the bore angle correctly. This issue supposedly haunts mpa chassis with the b14R. Two out of the 3 mags I have run perfectly, the 3rd one not at all. I've seen mixed reports where some have zero issues, and others complain about this problem.

Oh, if I hold the front of the mag up in the well, the 3rd magazine works fine.

Thanks i appreciate the input, ill have to keep working on it.

 

[1clicktrick]

I did not have to adjust mine. My thought is that you want the magazine as far into the mag well as possible with the retainer able to click onto it in a repeatable fashion. My mags had no slop so I did not change it. That being said, as I mentioned earlier, I do have one mag with droop in the front of it, and it does not function well at all. I am going to look at shimming either the front top, or the rear bottom, or both to get it to pivot in the mag well and put the front of the mag higher to address the bore angle correctly. This issue supposedly haunts mpa chassis with the b14R. Two out of the 3 mags I have run perfectly, the 3rd one not at all. I've seen mixed reports where some have zero issues, and others complain about this problem.

Oh, if I hold the front of the mag up in the well, the 3rd magazine works fine.

I have to hold the front of my mag up as well in a woox stock and hawkins M5 bottom metal. Im getting a longer mag catch. I likevthe idea of shimming the mag. I think Im gonna use feeler gauges that way I can increase by the 0.001" to get it right. When final assemby is ready I will use 2 part epoxy.

 

[Bigdaddycsi]

I have to hold the front of my mag up as well in a woox stock and hawkins M5 bottom metal. Im getting a longer mag catch. I likevthe idea of shimming the mag. I think Im gonna use feeler gauges that way I can increase by the 0.001" to get it right. When final assemby is ready I will use 2 part epoxy.

I did try some shimming....

Let's define two terms. They might not be correct, but at least I can identity the two areas of interest. Let's call the mag catch the little notch on the magazine. Let's call the mag retainer or lever on the chassis that catches the mag.

Unfortunately, I have tried shimming the mag that does not work to no avail. I measured the dimensions of the mag that does not work. Interestingly, I expected it to be smaller that then other mags, but it is slightly larger in most dimensions. The thing that is different is the mag catch allows the mag to be more loose in the rear. I considered adjusting my mag lever on the MPA chassis, but since the other two mags work, and they are relatively tight, I don't want to risk screwing up those.

So the dimension that seems different, which might be causing the issue, is the mag catch is higher on the non-working mag. In addition to the mag not being positioned as far into the mag well due to the catch being slightly looser, I think the mag lever itself on the chassis applies some pressure to the lower rear, helping to rotate the mag.

Two possibilities in my mind for why the mag rotates (or doesn't in the case of a non-working mag). 1. The mag gets pushed up in the front due to the rear hitting the receiver and then rotating. 2. The mag catch itself actually applies some force to the lower rear of the mag, which rotates the working mags. The mag catch area seems like it might be where modification could help pressure in the lower rear to keep the front up. Perhaps somehow shimming the mag catch area, which seems challenging, could yield positive results.. I gave up for the time being once I discovered this.

 

[A&8's]

They are definitely shooters.

MPA BA comp
Athlon Ares ETR
20moa Leupold base
40moa Burris Signature XTR rings

A few 5 shot groups at 50y, testing my tuner. Fine tuning would be a better term than testing, I guess.

 

[1clicktrick]

I did try some shimming....

Let's define two terms. They might not be correct, but at least I can identity the two areas of interest. Let's call the mag catch the little notch on the magazine. Let's call the mag retainer or lever on the chassis that catches the mag.

Unfortunately, I have tried shimming the mag that does not work to no avail. I measured the dimensions of the mag that does not work. Interestingly, I expected it to be smaller that then other mags, but it is slightly larger in most dimensions. The thing that is different is the mag catch allows the mag to be more loose in the rear. I considered adjusting my mag lever on the MPA chassis, but since the other two mags work, and they are relatively tight, I don't want to risk screwing up those.

So the dimension that seems different, which might be causing the issue, is the mag catch is higher on the non-working mag. In addition to the mag not being positioned as far into the mag well due to the catch being slightly looser, I think the mag lever itself on the chassis applies some pressure to the lower rear, helping to rotate the mag.

Two possibilities in my mind for why the mag rotates (or doesn't in the case of a non-working mag). 1. The mag gets pushed up in the front due to the rear hitting the receiver and then rotating. 2. The mag catch itself actually applies some force to the lower rear of the mag, which rotates the working mags. The mag catch area seems like it might be where modification could help pressure in the lower rear to keep the front up. Perhaps somehow shimming the mag catch area, which seems challenging, could yield positive results.. I gave up for the time being once I discovered this.

I may put some shims in the mag well on the back lower area to apply an upward force by pivoting the mag in the upward position. I am getting a longer mag retainer, or lever. I can file to size.

 

[Shadowss]

@Bigdaddycsi thanks for starting up this thread. Good information for those looking at the bergara, so I figured I'd share my experiences as well. I got the CF barreled action and dropped it into a mcmillan A4 stock with hawkins bottom metal. My first trip to the range was plagued by feeding issues, particularly the magazine sitting too low in the bottom metal causing the round to jam into the 6 o'clock of the chamber. I did note that the mcmilan stock I used came with pillars already installed and the textured paint on the stock was done throughout, including the action inlet and the bottom metal inlet. The coating actually covered the pillars, which I think caused some tolerance issues with the seating depth of the mag. I remove the paint from the inletted surface and now I'm getting reliable feeding, but still some slight front dip which causes some minor bullet deformation if I don't catch it. I will say the rifle is accurate though, ammo dependent. I fired about 80 rds of gemtech subs through it, which averaged about 2" groups at 100yds. Norma match was slightly better at around 1.5" at 100. The SK red box was the winner though. I fired groups at 50 and 100yds. I didn't measure the groups at 50, but all shots were touching. It didn't shoot outside of 1" at 100 yds, with the best 5 rd group measuring .42". I think if I can knock out the minute forward tilt of the mag it'll be a really good shooter.

*edited to redact information that was on the postal packaging in the background

 

[FO876]

They are definitely shooters.

MPA BA comp
Athlon Ares ETR
20moa Leupold base
40moa Burris Signature XTR rings
View attachment 7508884

A few 5 shot groups at 50y, testing my tuner. Fine tuning would be a better term than testing, I guess.
View attachment 7508895
View attachment 7508896
View attachment 7508897

Would have been great groups if not for the occasional flier....that's a problem with me too. What ammo were you using?

Also, thoughts on that scope, seriously considering that one next.

 

[A&8's]

Would have been great groups if not for the occasional flier....that's a problem with me too. What ammo were you using?

Also, thoughts on that scope, seriously considering that one next.

Yeah. I'm not the guy who claims it a true "flyer." I am confident those were 100% me.

Wolf Match Target Extra

I like the scope a lot. I have used it for a couple years, now. I had it on, of course, other rifles. I am an Athlon dealer, so I have several models on various personal rifles and shop loaner rifles. I like the short parallax and the amount of available elevation. Athlon claims 31Mils, however, mine has 34mils. With 60moa of, combined, rings and base, I have a true 31Mils of UP. While I have only shot out to 440y with this rifle (24.1Mils), StrelokPro claims 34Mils will get me to about 640-ish.

 

[Bigdaddycsi]

Re: Mag Issues

I put two pieces of electrical tape one on top the other (double thick) on the mag, and it fixes the mag that does not work. Makes it really tight into the well with no droop at the front at all. The issue is that it does not release freely. I think this is because the tape is slightly too thick, and has too much friction. So the correct shim glued to the lower rear of the magazine should work at least in some cases. I put the tape about a quarter inch below the mag catch. That way the mag retainer lever still has plenty of bite on the mag catch.

 

[Bigdaddycsi]

Re: More Groups
I have to say, this is one excellent shooting rifle. I shot some groups with Eley Match at 50 and 100 yards. Yesterday I shot 50 yrds. Today I shot 50 and 100. I cleaned the barrel prior to shooting the Eley, and only shot 9 rounds prior to starting the grouping tests. Others have reported needing 50 rounds thru a rifle when switching to Eley, but I'm not seeing that trend in the groups below.

This was off the bench with bipod and rear bag. My first groups posted in this thread had some vertical stringing. Evidently, that was from the bipod on a hard wooden surface. I've starting using a towel folded over once, and that problem has disappeared.

Twice today, I had 4 rounds into the same hole at 50, and then one slightly off making 1/4" groups. That very well could have been me. I had trouble keeping my heart beats under 1/4". Unfortunately by the time I got to 100 yards, the wind was picking up. Best group was 1/2" at 100 and two at 1". Typical 22rf behavior. I would have shot more groups, but I feared the wind was starting to skew (pun intended) my results.

Oh, I've been shooting unsuppressed for now. I wanted to benchmark some different ammo unsuppressed before trying the can again.

 

[Druid54636]

I just recently got mine and after a quick sight in at 50 I dialed it up 6 minutes and sent ten at 100. It looks like I needed 7. 32 degrees sk standard. Not too bad for a 22 I guess.

 

[Bigdaddycsi]

That looks pretty good to me for a 22. I think any 22 that shoots 1 moa at 100 is good

 

[1clicktrick]

That looks pretty good to me for a 22. I think any 22 that shoots 1 moa at 100 is good

Especially on break in.