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Looking at Bergara

Warlok813

Warlok813

FUBAR
Minuteman
May 29, 2019
66
12
Ive been wanting a good short action for a while now. I have a 300 wm but i want something a bit lighter and easier on the powder cans. Saw quite a bit of talk about the 6.5 cm shooting barrels out faster than the 308, there lies my first indecision. Is it really that bad? I have been very seriously considering a Bergara B14 HMR in 6.5cm with the 22" barrel. Im wondering if maybe the .308 would be the beter option. Just not sure what sort of round count difference were talking before the barrel is at the end of its life. I plan to shoot it quite a bit to build my skills and try for some longer ranges. I might add that i have never fired past 6 or 7 hundred yards
 
I'm new also, but have put together a few rifles and bought an RPR. Have not shot that particular Bergara but the one I shot was nice. The RPR is cheap but I actually had really good results. Easy to rebarrel. I customized a Savage, easy to rebarrel. I customized on a big horn Origin. Easy to rebarrel. I'm working right now with a 224 valk in the origin and 243 and 6mm creedmoor. The barrel life on the 224 should be about 5k from my research and 3k on the 6mm/243 the way I shoot and load. For 308 it would be like 8k rounds or more depending on what you load and shoot. The problem with 308 is recoil. The others I mentioned can be shot all day. It's easy to spot your shots with a brake and good barrels are as cheap or as expensive as you want ($350-1k).
 
The more powder you cram in and the smaller the hole it has to travel through the faster it will eat it up. 6.5 creed is just a hair less powder than 308 with both being in the low 40 grain range but all that fire is getting shot through an even tighter hole with a 6.5. Condense that heat and pressure in a smaller space and it will eat away the material at a faster rate.

I’d count on a 6.5 creed going 2-3500, I’d count on a 308 going 4-6500.
Sure a crap barrel may poop the bead earlier, a great barrel may last longer, those are just general expectations. Hammer on them too hard and get them too hot and they’ll accelerate their decline much faster.
Shove that same amount of powder down an even smaller barrel like 6 creed and I’d expect 1-2000.
Take that 6.5 creed 40 grains, remove 25% of the powder to low 30 grains to make it a 6.5 grendel and you’re back towards the 308 barrel life.

The more fire there is and the smaller the space it has to move through the quicker it will erode.

I think the 6.5 creed is a great compromise between long barrel life and performance. It will last you a couple years with reasonable range trips and if you’re still interested then you’ll probably be wanting to check out a new barrel anyways.
 
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Good information, thank you. I think ill definitely go with the 6.5 cm. 6.5 cm almost seems too good to be true. Performance and energy are very good for its class, it seems hard to beat
 
I've not checked on it personally, but I've seen on other threads that Bergara will re barrel one of of their rifles for 5 to 6 hundred. If you're looking at one of theirs and are worried about barrel life, call their customer service and ask. I have a 6.5CM B14 and have talked to their CS a couple of times. Very helpful folks.
I have a buddy with an HMR. Sub .5 groups.
 
I’ve got an hmr 6.5 with the 24” barrel. I’ve had it to 1315 and once I got saw a splash (2 shots on snow) I went 2 for 3 with the 3rd being a pure pulled shot.

Two minor issues:
Primer cratering. It craters like crazy, even with factory loads, so if you hand load, that will be your limiter before true pressure signs set in.

The feed ramp. I’m not sure if they’ve fixed it, but it didn’t allow for longer seated bullets. Pull the action out of the stock and mill (or dremel as most are doing) a smallnotch in the center of the feed ramp, and the problem disappears with no ill effects.

It’s a great rifle in that price point, I’d buy it again.
 
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So I guess it comes down to caliber. A d to be fair if I dont like to 6.5 cm ill wear it out and re barrel it with a .308. Easy enough I suppose
 
Have you thought about a Bergara Premier? Or possibly a mpa pmr rifle. These are really a step above the hmr and are a true value.
 
jaywhite97 said:
I would like to know this as well. is it positive or negative?
Click to expand...

Sorry for taking long to respond. So for a while I looked into buying a rifle in 6.5 for long precision. One of the rifles that interested me was the Bergara Ridgeback due to Bergara's reputation. For a while I looked at videos and forums about their rifles. About 2 weeks ago I finally decided to buy it. The main reason I bought this rifle was the fact that they guarantee sub-MOA accuracy and they would shoot every single premier series rifle and give the customer the actual card they shot showing the grouping. To me that showed their commitment to quality and it was of great value. It was pretty cool seeing the youtube videos of people unboxing their rifle and them having that shot card.
Long story short I received the rifle and it did not have the shot card and worst the rifle had a different recoil pad. The recoil pad looks terrible and its made of cheap rubber that you can see the cutting of the rubber to shape it. Definitely not the one that they advertise on their website. I called customer service and they answered with:

"The recoil pad is a running change made my Grayboe who is the manufacture of that stock. All the stocks we will be receiving from now on will have the same recoil pad that you have. For 2019 we have stopped shooting every rifle and testing 20% of the rifles and that is why you do not have a test target with your rifle. This is due to the ever increasing demand for our rifles and that we have proven that our rifles shoot. Shooting the rifles was the biggest time consuming process in our production and we are able to produce more rifles by shooting them in a snail for function and not shooting them at the range. If you have accuracy issues with your rifle we can bring it into our warranty shop and have it tested."

I called them to see if they would do me the favor of sending me a recoil pad like the one on their catalog and they answered with "we reserve the right to make a running change in our rifles and we are workin on changing the picture on our website but we are really busy". That was just not cool with me and it showed the kind of company they are.

As far as the rifle, the action is super smooth and the trigger is nice and crisp. I haven't shot it yet so I will post the results later.

I just hate how a company that offered value is turning into a bean counting company.


Here are the pictures on their website compared to what I got.
IMG_0801.PNG
IMG_0799.jpg
IMG_0798.jpg
 
I hate to hear that. If you really want to know then send it back. We did that on a guys hmr 6.5 and it came back 2 weeks later (.308 win) .316" it shot. They are busy I had a rifle on order but they told me it would be 90months to 270 days so canceled wasn't planning to wait that long. They do have 8,500+ rifles on order I was told today. Next year if all goes well I was told they plan on offering barrelled premier actions in the future. That may be an interest for some.
 
spife7980 said:
The more powder you cram in and the smaller the hole it has to travel through the faster it will eat it up. 6.5 creed is just a hair less powder than 308 with both being in the low 40 grain range but all that fire is getting shot through an even tighter hole with a 6.5. Condense that heat and pressure in a smaller space and it will eat away the material at a faster rate.

I’d count on a 6.5 creed going 2-3500, I’d count on a 308 going 4-6500.
Sure a crap barrel may poop the bead earlier, a great barrel may last longer, those are just general expectations. Hammer on them too hard and get them too hot and they’ll accelerate their decline much faster.
Shove that same amount of powder down an even smaller barrel like 6 creed and I’d expect 1-2000.
Take that 6.5 creed 40 grains, remove 25% of the powder to low 30 grains to make it a 6.5 grendel and you’re back towards the 308 barrel life.

The more fire there is and the smaller the space it has to move through the quicker it will erode.

I think the 6.5 creed is a great compromise between long barrel life and performance. It will last you a couple years with reasonable range trips and if you’re still interested then you’ll probably be wanting to check out a new barrel anyways.
Click to expand...

1000 round barrel life out of 6 mm creed....that’s hilarious
 
Americancheese said:
1000 round barrel life out of 6 mm creed....that’s hilarious
Click to expand...
Not all barrels are equal, not all barrels are treated equally, not everyone holds the same benchmark for accuracy standards.

I have heard of more than one barrel being pulled at that point in time. But like I said, 1-2k with 1500 being pretty standard.
 
lopz said:
Here are the pictures on their website compared to what I got.
Click to expand...


Sounds like the issue lies with Graboe on the recoil pad, something Bergara can't do much about. They're stuck with either shipping rifles or fighting about it and any successful company will ship the rifles to keep orders filled.

On the shooting thing, reserve your review until you find out. I've never put any stock into those groups as I'll never be using the same ammo.

Go shoot it. Mine was sub-moa with 140 bthp American Gunner, and even better with relatively cheap 147 eld-x in cheap Hornady brass.
 
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chevy_man said:
Sounds like the issue lies with Graboe on the recoil pad, something Bergara can't do much about. They're stuck with either shipping rifles or fighting about it and any successful company will ship the rifles to keep orders filled.

On the shooting thing, reserve your review until you find out. I've never put any stock into those groups as I'll never be using the same ammo.

Go shoot it. Mine was sub-moa with 140 bthp American Gunner, and even better with relatively cheap 147 eld-x in cheap Hornady brass.
Click to expand...
It’s like when you read a 1 Star yelp review of a burger joint, and it’s because they used a portobello mushroom as the vegan burger patty instead of an impossible burger. ??‍♂️
 
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jaywhite97 said:
I hate to hear that. If you really want to know then send it back. We did that on a guys hmr 6.5 and it came back 2 weeks later (.308 win) .316" it shot. They are busy I had a rifle on order but they told me it would be 90months to 270 days so canceled wasn't planning to wait that long. They do have 8,500+ rifles on order I was told today. Next year if all goes well I was told they plan on offering barrelled premier actions in the future. That may be an interest for some.
Click to expand...
That is definitely an interest to me. What did you have on order from them?
 
I met a guy at the range yesterday that had a Bergara. I’ve never shot one, and I didn’t see him shoot his, but he was extremely happy with it. I was literally on the cusp of buying a Bergara in December of 17 and January 18. I actually had one in my hands several times, and almost plunked down the money for it. But then the announcement of the John Hancock at SHOT last year, and I decided to go that route.
 
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I bought the B14 HMR in .308 about a year and a half ago. For the money I absolutely love it. I wish it were a little heavier for matches, especially being a 308.

The only downside I have found to it is that it is extremely picky on ammo. The only ammo/bullet that groups .75 MOA or smaller is FGMM 175gr. I’ve tried Hornady ELD-X, ELD-M, factory stuff, reloads with different bullets, different powders, etc. FGMM 175 factory loads, or the duplicated reloads of them are the only things that work. That being said, this is only my rifle.
 
lopz said:
Sorry for taking long to respond. So for a while I looked into buying a rifle in 6.5 for long precision. One of the rifles that interested me was the Bergara Ridgeback due to Bergara's reputation. For a while I looked at videos and forums about their rifles. About 2 weeks ago I finally decided to buy it. The main reason I bought this rifle was the fact that they guarantee sub-MOA accuracy and they would shoot every single premier series rifle and give the customer the actual card they shot showing the grouping. To me that showed their commitment to quality and it was of great value. It was pretty cool seeing the youtube videos of people unboxing their rifle and them having that shot card.
Long story short I received the rifle and it did not have the shot card and worst the rifle had a different recoil pad. The recoil pad looks terrible and its made of cheap rubber that you can see the cutting of the rubber to shape it. Definitely not the one that they advertise on their website. I called customer service and they answered with:

"The recoil pad is a running change made my Grayboe who is the manufacture of that stock. All the stocks we will be receiving from now on will have the same recoil pad that you have. For 2019 we have stopped shooting every rifle and testing 20% of the rifles and that is why you do not have a test target with your rifle. This is due to the ever increasing demand for our rifles and that we have proven that our rifles shoot. Shooting the rifles was the biggest time consuming process in our production and we are able to produce more rifles by shooting them in a snail for function and not shooting them at the range. If you have accuracy issues with your rifle we can bring it into our warranty shop and have it tested."

I called them to see if they would do me the favor of sending me a recoil pad like the one on their catalog and they answered with "we reserve the right to make a running change in our rifles and we are workin on changing the picture on our website but we are really busy". That was just not cool with me and it showed the kind of company they are.

As far as the rifle, the action is super smooth and the trigger is nice and crisp. I haven't shot it yet so I will post the results later.

I just hate how a company that offered value is turning into a bean counting company.


Here are the pictures on their website compared to what I got.View attachment 7088609View attachment 7088610View attachment 7088612
Click to expand...


Man this is terrible. I literally just bought a Ridgeback and I love it. I didnt get a target either just a pledge of .4 or better. Luckily I got the shoulder pad. It's clearly different. I shot mine and it did absolutely great after about 50 rounds
 

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Direct Assault said:
Man this is terrible. I literally just bought a Ridgeback and I love it. I didnt get a target either just a pledge of .4 or better. Luckily I got the shoulder pad. It's clearly different. I shot mine and it did absolutely great after about 50 rounds
Click to expand...

Man.... that is one sexy recoil pad. Lol, I wish I had one. Congrats on the grouping, I will shoot mine soon and will report back.
 
Anyone know how much adjustment is available in the comb of the Ridgeback?
 
Direct Assault said:
Man this is terrible. I literally just bought a Ridgeback and I love it. I didnt get a target either just a pledge of .4 or better. Luckily I got the shoulder pad. It's clearly different. I shot mine and it did absolutely great after about 50 rounds
Click to expand...
Very nice!

JFR
 
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Srgt. Hulka said:
I met a guy at the range yesterday that had a Bergara. I’ve never shot one, and I didn’t see him shoot his, but he was extremely happy with it. I was literally on the cusp of buying a Bergara in December of 17 and January 18. I actually had one in my hands several times, and almost plunked down the money for it. But then the announcement of the John Hancock at SHOT last year, and I decided to go that route.
Click to expand...
I was tempted by the PVA, but the fence had to be redone so I went with the HMR and gear, and it's a keeper.
 
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7102886

First time taking it out past 100 yds. The Bergara's are keepers for sure. (Target is for size reference for ballistic x app)
 
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Going to follow up with a thumbs up for a HMR Pro. I have one, and ran it at the most recent Comprehensive KM course, and Sig's PSR 101 and PSR 102 with great results. No doubt in my mind any "fliers" are more so because of myself.

But for the HMR Pro, it shoots dimes. My original group sent from Bergara was 0.233, and my best groups were around 0.24. If I can dig up the pictures, I'll post it up.
 
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I’ve got a 6.5 HMR Pro and love it as well, it at first i was pretty pissed off...... same thing as mentioned above. I liked that Bergara tested all of their rifles and included the test targets..... well when I ordered my Pro in February it didn’t have a target, I was like WTF! Almost didn’t take possession of the rifle, had the dealer call Bergara and ask them about the target. Same response as above, we don’t test them all, just guarantee them.

I took possession but I felt so disappointed in Bergara, for pulling a bait and switch. Everything you read, watch etc says they provide targets, so that is what I and everyone on the freaking planet expects. If Bergara was to change, why can’t they simply put a news article on their website to let people know. I mean really it isn’t that hard?

BUt in the end, after working up a load, this thing shoots lights out... definitely would purchase another one.
 
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