Bergara bmp

[ChickNorris]

Anyone have any experience with this one or similar Bergara rifle?

Im looking at maybe buying one & would appreciate your thoughts.

Because I think y'all will ask -- I'm not planning to hunt, just need to touch a target at 1200yds. Was thinking 6.5 cm but there is already a different thread for that discussion.

Thanks.

[C Ward]

The answer to both is yes . The Begara's are typically solid out of the box and if you do not plan on hand loading the 6.5 Creed is a good choice also .

Before committing to the chassis that model comes with try one out if at all possible. Everyone's different and a stock that works for some is crap for others .

Look at the sticky at the start of the section and there is still some very relevant info in there for a new to precision rifle shooter .

[ChickNorris]

Agreed. I'd like to try before I buy (if possible) but I don't want anyone to feel obligated if they just want to answer questions & that's why I didn't ask in the initial query. Took me a couple of stocks before I found my preference with an ar & right now I don't have much context for choosing here either.

Also yes, thank you for pointing out the sticky. I've been going through this section of the forum in an effort to glean the right way to go about learning this. A little bit of a chicken or the egg scenario.

[Great-Kazoo]

They're very nice, out of the box, accurate rifles. Be a nice addition for you or anyone else looking to get something other than a remington.

Those who own them are very happy, those who shot them wonder why they spent so much on something else, for a 1st time bolt action.

[C Ward]

Best thing to do is go to the local precision rifle matches and look at stuff , pretty much everybody will let you look at their stuff and more than likely shoot some .

I know of 2 Begara's in stocks that are at the CRC match but they're shut down till next year .

The precision rifle addiction is expensive and the learning curve can be steep , there is a lot more info and knowledge out there now to make things easier.

[ChickNorris]

Ive gone to a few prs events in as many months & scheduled to attend a few more here coming up. Indeed Ive looked & even tried a few very nice rifles. Using their dope & hardware, I had no issue hitting 1180 -- yup, very addictive.

So, I'm all in to learn but I need to temper my initial purchases with the anticipated costs associated with continued education/practice.

The Bergara seems like a good middle & not something I will outgrow before the investment has paid off. Least that's the hope.

[Gman]

How do they compare to something like a Ruger Precision Rifle?

[MrPrena]

Kinda look like rpr.

[C Ward]

The Ruger is not even close , the RPR is built on their " Walmart " price point action that has longevity issue's . Have seen 2 now personally that have had the lugs on the bolt set back in less than 2k rounds . Ruger has always had accuracy issues with their barrels being a coin toss as whether they are MOA or MO barn door .

The RPR is also limited to the OEM chassis option , there are no other stock options available when purchasing the rifle and the aftermarket options only replace the stock pieces and not the entire chassis if it doesn't fit or work for the shooter .

The Begara is a solid long term option .

[Gman]

Good to know, thanks.

Not to hijack Chick's thread, I saw that Bergara also has a Premier LRP and Premier LRP Elite. Why would one go for the B14 BMP vs. one of the Premier options? Is it a Chevy vs. Cadillac thing?

[C Ward]

The B14 is a CM barrel and black oxide finish , their more " production " rifle and the premier is a SS barrel and Cerakote finish, their more " custom shop " rifle and costs more money . The actions are the same it is just a little bit better components and more hand work . Both have the same accuracy guarantee. Either one is perfectly serviceable .

To me the stainless barrel and better finish are worth the extra change but everyone has different tastes / needs .

There is a renaissance at the moment in the precision rifle market going on now and there are a bunch of really good options in the market that used to be considered custom / semi custom at a price more in line with what used to be considered entry level / builder stuff .

[Great-Kazoo]

How do they compare to something like a Ruger Precision Rifle?

IMO the ruger is (for me) not an ergonomic rifle to shoot, just uncomfortable.

[ChickNorris]

Thanks.

Hopefully I'm asking the right questions. Appreciate the advice too.

Anything else?

[C Ward]

There is a sort of rambling post of mine at the back end of the sticky with a bunch of stuff in it .

Biggest thing is get something that suits you and you enjoy because at the end it's your blaster .

If you are looking for formal schooling look up Brian at Colorado Precision Rifle, https://www.cprifle.com/ . He does have loaner equipment for class and teaches basic basic to advanced topics .

[ChickNorris]

Yes. I had wanted to go to the class this past November. Couldn't swing it unfortunately.

Glad to hear I might be on the right track.

[ChickNorris]

So... anyone have a Bergara I could try on?

Any venue will do -- dry fire, Blucore or out of doors, please.

[ChickNorris]

The B14 is a CM barrel and black oxide finish , their more " production " rifle and the premier is a SS barrel and Cerakote finish, their more " custom shop " rifle and costs more money . The actions are the same it is just a little bit better components and more hand work . Both have the same accuracy guarantee. Either one is perfectly serviceable .

To me the stainless barrel and better finish are worth the extra change but everyone has different tastes / needs .

There is a renaissance at the moment in the precision rifle market going on now and there are a bunch of really good options in the market that used to be considered custom / semi custom at a price more in line with what used to be considered entry level / builder stuff .

See how you are.

I bought the bpr17-65c instead.

[Not_A_Llama]

Owned both Bergara B14 and the RPR. Bergara is a far more refined piece of equipment. Both shoot well.

Ended up with an LR308 in 6.5 Creedmoor for most of my distance work. Ain’t no replacing the hundreds of thousands of AR trigger pulls I’ve accumulated.

[Gman]

Wouldn't that be an LR-65?

[C Ward]

See how you are.

I bought the bpr17-65c instead.

The new rifle will do everything you layed out in you OP , now you get to jump into the pool of precision rifle glass .

[ChickNorris]

Yeah, about that...

[C Ward]

What is the budget?

[ChickNorris]

Razors seem to be popular. I think I like the gen 2 hd 4.5-27x56 ebr7 mrad. In part because its also at the very edge of the budget & I'm trying to heed the advice of cry/buy once. There's also a few used options that I'm aware of that are good opportunities if I want a different reticle.

[C Ward]

I have both a 3 - 18 and 4 - 27 gen 2's and they are a lot of scope for the money . Also Vortex dropped the msrp 2ish or so month's ago . The Burris XTR2 and 3 is also a good choice for less money .

Rings and bases are fairly simple since the action will take Rem 700 pattern bases . Get a good 1 piece picatinny base and rings that are the right height . The Vortex branded rings are made by Seekins and are GTG . EGW also has some economy priced stuff that is good quality exceeding the price .

Get a base with at least 20 MOA built in to it 30 would probably work also but 40 will be most likely too much to keep a 100 yard zero .

Another option is buying used glass from manufacturers with good warranties because they typically transfer with the scope .

[ChickNorris]

Already ordered the appropriate top rail for my rifle with 20moa.

Have my new Atlas adm bipod, extra magazines & case so I'm just about gtg as far as the essentials. Still have to decide on my rings which should be easier once I know which optic I'm going with.

I think there's a thread about including a level (not leveling) & might need to revisit it.

Any thoughts?

[C Ward]

Yes a level is recommended especially past 6 -700 yards . Inside of that the eye and brain are really good at making everything square and level .

People get to wrapped up with the reticle and rifle being perfectly inline with each other and that is not as critical as most make it seem .

The scope needs to be reasonably level to the gun but the gun needs to be set up to the shooter and not necessarily perpendicular to the ground . The important part is the reticule needs to be level with the world . That's why I always recommend the level be one that mounts to the scope tube and not the rifle or rings and bases .

Tubb used to have some good video explaining all this stuff , not sure if they are online any more or not .

[ChickNorris]

Not sure Ive seen a direct tube mount anywhere before, seems when I have it was often attached to the rings (Hawkins i think?) or occasionally the rail. Now I'm curious. Mind expanding on that?

For lack of a better description Ive been very centric to an ar15 bubble & I know absolutely nothing about bolt guns or precision shooting. Not that I will claim to know much about any of it but this is completely new & I'm interested in theory just as much as anything else.

Sometimes I over-think & I know it, but I'd rather ask now than burn range time & yup, this thread is d/evolving more than I meant.

[C Ward]

Something along these lines , https://www.accuracy1st.com/store/itemDetail.cfm?prodID=531

There are other manufacturers that offer similar stuff but I think this is the best one out there now .

Questions now save money and head aches in the long run .

https://youtu.be/Su1Vq-hc7MY

https://youtu.be/eCoHG23TQcY

The videos explain better than I can type .

[ChickNorris]

Ok. Thanks for the links.

So... now is where my research is thin & I still need to fill in some blanks on the timeline but one of my upcoming chores will be finding use of a magnetospeed (or labradar?) & sorting through various match ammo to see which groups best & has the desired minimum ES & then recording all the data (still trying to sort if there's a standard for this or just comes to personal preference, respectively).

Anyone want to help me out & add to this or ?

If there's already a thread to this subject with more info lmk because I must have missed it. Thanks.

[ChickNorris]

Also, I understand it could take a little bit for the groups to tighten up.

[C Ward]

Chronograph is not an absolute necessity you can accomplish the same thing by shooting at distance and back feeding the data in to a ballistic calculator. A chrono is nice though.

The groups may change after the barrel gets some rounds through it but usually not much for a load that is shooting well to start with .

I've got an old school Ohler and depending on schedule can meet out at CRC on the weekends.

[ChickNorris]

That would be great. Thank you.

Pm sent.

[C Ward]

Sorry I missed all your earlier messages, I'm working on answers for you .

[Irving]

Delayed responses are standard in any long distance relationship.

[ChickNorris]

Hehehe

[ChickNorris]

There is quite the selection of rings... Spuhr, Hawkins, Badger, Warne et al. Going to revisit this entire section for a thread... I'm favoring the Hawkins & they seem popular.

[ChickNorris]

Might go to MHSA, make introduction & try\buy stuff.

There is much periphery I haven't even considered yet. Be nice to have more context.

[C Ward]

Hawkins rings are gtg

[Hoser]

Hawkins rings are gtg

For sure go with Andys rings.

[ChickNorris]

Thought I'd update this thread for anyone who might be looking at getting into precision rifle or @ the bergara line: I've enjoyed precision rifle so much I ended up shooting out the bergara barrel last year & had the action rebarrelled with a medium palma Bartlein @ Black Canyon Customs. Had it chambered for factory ammo once again in lieu of reloading (maybe next time). Made a few factory chassis modifications which included adding a RRS dovetail & ditched the picrail. Love my Burris XTRIII but I'm upgrading to the new XTRPro now that I had a chance to look through it last week. Also using the Tbac ultra 7 & their bipod. When my new XLR chassis arrives I'll move the centerfire over to that & run this one as a dedicated chassis for my Bergara .22 barreled action.

Even before all the upgrades, the Bergara factory rifle (along with training from Brian Whalen @ Colorado Precision Rifle) got me in the top ten more than once in various regional matches competing with some of the best shooters around & I've been very happy with it overall. Next year I suspect I'll be building something specific for ELR but until then this will do for all the precision games I like to play.

Wish I could tell Chuck (C Ward) one more time how much I appreciate his friendship (which started because of this thread), all of the advice he gave me personally & thank him again for the wealth of information he left here in the forum for everyone. Hes been gone almost a year now & I miss that dude a lot.

[banks74]

I miss shooting with Chuck as well. One of the true OG's of the Colorado Practical Rifle scene.