Bergara b 14 ridge range report

[30/06]

First trip to the range with the Bergara b 14 ridge in 243. Wasn’t the best day, was a little breezy but not bad. Between groups with the 243 was shooting the 17 hmr and wind didn’t seem to be effecting groups of it.

Overall I was pretty disappointed. Have heard very good things about the Bergara accuracy. Tried a number of factory ammo and followed the barrel break in procedure. Ammo tried was:

Norma 100 gr sp
Federal fusion 95 gr
Federal premium 100 gr w Sierra gamekings
Federal blue box 100 gr sp
Federal NT 100 gr sp
REM cor lock 80 gr

Nothing shot MOA, all seemed to group at 1.5 -2 inches, all had same POI just different group size/shape. After cleaning between each of the first 5 shots the patches were black, completely covered.

Will try some other loads as I can find them and checking to make sure everything is tight. Scope was mounted by gunsmith, will check action screws. If I can’t get groups to tighten up I’ll try having it rebedded, have read that can help with this particular gun and if that doesn’t do it then maybe a stiffer stock may help. The synthetic stock it came in looks good but seems a little flimsy.

Thoughts from all you experts out there? Almost kicking myself for not buying a Ruger American at 1/2 the price.

 

[kilerhamilton]

Take the action out of the stock? It’s bedded? Like the recoil lug area front of action?
the stock isn’t touching the barrel is it. Or anywhere close?
is it a pencil barrel?
hows the trigger?
how big of a spot does your cross hair take up?
can you shoot worth a ?
JK
.243s are moving fast and cause a lot of vibration coming down the pipe. It’s tough what it could be.
sometimes it takes a 200yd range to see if the bullet is a little unstable at 100yds. If it is still shooting 1.5-2” groups at 200yds then your good.
might want to scrub the barrel with a brass brush and tooth paste.
then a dry patch to get most off the lands. Then fire it and let the bullet drag the rest of the tooth paste out. Then some wet patches to clean up the mess.
do you have a bore scope to see if the inside is rough? If it isn’t skip all that blabbing I just did. Might try a heavier bullet. Then a real light one. Serria match kings usually tell you if the gun will shot or not.
cheers

 

[UncleFester]

What scope/mount do you have? Bergara's are accurate guns. I think there's more than likely another issue going on instead of an inaccurate rifle.

 

[HotSoup]

Have a guy I work with has the same problem except 308. Finally found some 175smk for it and they shoot well.

 

[30/06]

Mounts are DNZ and scope is a new Leupold vx 3.

 

[45/70 hunter]

Don't clean it anymore. I've seen lots of rifles that shoot better dirty.

 

[hog&deerhunter]

No way to analyze the rifle without having it in hand, but here are a few suggestions.

I never handled a Bergara but don't they have a bedding block under the receiver?

You can give the barrel a quick free float check with a double sheet of paper. Look along the sides of the barrel channel and make sure the barrel is not touching on either side. Squeeze the fore end and barrel together with your hand. Barrel clearing the fore end??

On a properly bedded action, playing with the receiver screws will not gain anything. No need for a torque wrench either. Snug them up. When the screws start to get tight, another quarter turn should be all that they can take - on a properly bedded action!

The idea of breaking in a barrel leaves a lot up for debate. Yes, that includes custom barrels too.

NO need for bore brushes with today's modern solvents 95% of the time. Do use a bore guide for a couple of reasons.

Do you shoot MOA and under with your other center fire rifles? How are your bench rest techniques? Do you make sure the sling studs are not touching the front and rear rests? Have a buddy that shoots long range and knows what he is doing? Have him shoot.

Don't hand load? Find someone who is willing to work up a proven load.

Last but not least, maybe the rifle is not as accurate as you hoped. A 1 MOA rifle at 100 yards is still a 4" shooter at 400. Plenty accurate for steel or deer or larger varmints. A reasonable goal to try for.

 

[slugoo]

I don't know anything about .22 cal rifles but I do know that my savage .308 shoots 1-2 MOA with 145, 150, 165gr loads but then shoots sub moa groups with 180 grain loads. Maybe try heavier bullets? Don't know what's heavy for .243.

 

[Buxndiverdux]

First trip to the range with the Bergara b 14 ridge in 243. Wasn’t the best day, was a little breezy but not bad. Between groups with the 243 was shooting the 17 hmr and wind didn’t seem to be effecting groups of it.

Overall I was pretty disappointed. Have heard very good things about the Bergara accuracy. Tried a number of factory ammo and followed the barrel break in procedure. Ammo tried was:

Norma 100 gr sp
Federal fusion 95 gr
Federal premium 100 gr w Sierra gamekings
Federal blue box 100 gr sp
Federal NT 100 gr sp
REM cor lock 80 gr

Nothing shot MOA, all seemed to group at 1.5 -2 inches, all had same POI just different group size/shape. After cleaning between each of the first 5 shots the patches were black, completely covered.

Will try some other loads as I can find them and checking to make sure everything is tight. Scope was mounted by gunsmith, will check action screws. If I can’t get groups to tighten up I’ll try having it rebedded, have read that can help with this particular gun and if that doesn’t do it then maybe a stiffer stock may help. The synthetic stock it came in looks good but seems a little flimsy.

Thoughts from all you experts out there? Almost kicking myself for not buying a Ruger American at 1/2 the price.

The strangest part of this post is 6 boxes of ammo across 20 grains of different bullet weights had the exact same POI?

The odds of that happening are incredible.
I’m not sure what to tell you.

 

[MJ74]

A guy I hunt with has a Bergara in 7-08. He told me he almost sold it because he couldnt get it to group after shooting several different loads.
He finally fell into a load that he said was very accurate, so maybe the Bergara's are just a lil finicky?

Do you reload?
If so I suggest play with different powders and bullet length until you find something it likes.

 

[30/06]

Don’t reload, will keep trying factory ammo as it comes available.

 

[45/70 hunter]

I had a 7mm Browning pump rifle that shot 1.5"-2.0" with every 140-150 gr factory or handload I tried. One day I tried a box of 175 gr Remington and shot a 1/2" group. Some guns just like heavy or light for caliber bullets....

 

[pcbuckhunter]

I had a 7mm Browning pump rifle that shot 1.5"-2.0" with every 140-150 gr factory or handload I tried. One day I tried a box of 175 gr Remington and shot a 1/2" group. Some guns just like heavy or light for caliber bullets....

That must be a Browning thing. Every Browning I’ve ever had, granted I’ve only had a handful of Brownings, liked heavy for caliber bullets best.

I had a Composite Stalker in .300 Win Mag that shot pretty good with 165 gr bullets, I hunted with it for a couple years with 165 gr Nosler Ballistic Tips, I could get about a 1” group with them. After a couple years, I decided to try some other stuff in it to see if it could do better. Tried several other bullet/powder combos and ended up going with the 180 gr Nosler Ballistic Tips. It shot 3/4” or so with them.

I sold it to a buddy of mine and he swapped to the 200 gr Nosler Accubonds last year and it will put them into a 1/2” group all day long.

 

[snakeskinner]

I don't recall ever having a gun that shot factory ammo good. I'm guessing the manufacturers of guns and ammo do the best they can with saami specs. I always figured the problem must have been bullet seating and thus there is nothing you can do about it outside of customizing the chamber or handloading the ammo.

 

[TravisLH]

My 6.5 shoots great is call bergara they have great cs

 

[JJWise]

Surprised to hear that. I have a Bergara Ridge in 7mag, and a Bergara Hunter in 6.5CM. I haven’t played with the loads for either gun much, but both shoot right at 1MOA and would likely do better with a little experimentation.

 

[Arapaho]

Handload, handload, handload is all I have to say. I had a friend who bought his daughter a 243 and said he tried about 5 types of ammo a couldn't get any better than a two and a half inch group at 100 yards. He shoots very well as I have shot with him on several occasions. I brought his daughters rifle home and measured the lands and scoped the barrel and it looked fine with only light tooling marks. I loaded up some 100 grain bullets with h4831sc and some with h4350 and a federal 210m primer over a spread of about two grains of powder. I took it to the range and with both powders over a two grain spread, never shout anything over an inch and a half at 100. I found a majic spot with both powders a bit slower than factory loads that went into tiny groups. I loaded 10 of each powder and sent it home with him and everything he shot went into tiny groups except for one flyer that he called when he pulled the trigger and said he pulled it. Factory loads are loaded for a variety of rifles and different barrel lengths with numerous variables. I won't get into the cleaning thing because I think a barrel needs to be fouled to be consistent (personal opinion from shooting thousands of rounds a year). I don't shoot factory ammo unless it's for plinking but not everyone reloads and I understand that. Good luck but it's probably not the rifle at all.

 

[30/06]

Update on this, after trying about 10 different loads out of this gun I bought a few boxes of 95 gr tipped Rem core lokts. First two shots were half inch from each other, next three were one ragged hole with the second shot. Could cover all 4 holes with my thumb finger nail.

Also had decent groups prior out with hornady superformances shooting SSTs. Maybe an inch or a little over.

So, the gun is finicky but shoots with the right load. Surprise it was a cor lokt it takes to, haven’t had any luck with them before.

 

[Deerjager]

I have a new B-14 Hunter in 6.5 Creed, it shot fantastic out of the box. I was truly impressed, but I was using my handloads. I trickle the charge to make sure each is a consistent weight and measure each cartridge to ensure length is identical. This was the load that shot the best out of my Savage Model 12 HB. I am using DNZ mount and the higher end Vortex scope.