I bought a B14R heavy barreled action with the intention of shooting rimfire PRS matches. For now, I have it in an XLR element 3.0 chassis that I am using for my centerfire match rifle.
The first few range trips I was having a lot of failures to eject. The failure rate was probably 80% or more. I called Bergara and they sent me an updated extractor and spring kit. I changed the springs and other parts and that improved the failure rate to roughly 20%, which is better but certainly not good enough for a match gun. I have read many others who have had success by staking the ejector in the action. I called Bergara again to confirm this is an authorized solution that would not void the warranty. Bergara gave me the go-ahead so I went ahead and staked the ejector.
Tonight in the basement, I tested everything dry with dummy rounds. Unfortunately I only did so after staking the ejector. With the ejector staked using the dummy rounds, I was having close to a 90% failure rate, and the ones that did eject did so very weakly; only dribbling out and not going very far at all. Next I tried single feeding the dummy rounds and sure enough I had 100% success and each one ejected confidently and strongly. I wish I had tested with the dummy rounds prior to staking the ejector.
So now I suspect the issue lies somewhere with interference from the magazine, or more specifically the next round on the top of the carrier. The chassis I am using does not have an adjustable magazine latch. I wonder if a different chassis with an adjustable latch would be the solution. I will try asking a friend to try another chassis, but I want to know if anyone can confirm that these malfunctions could be induced by the magazine and if a chassis with an adjustable DBM would be beneficial.
The gun shoots pretty well for what it is and what it isn't. With Eley Match ammo I'm averaging .56" at 50 yards over the last eight 10-round groups. I know a more expensive gun would probably shoot better, but for the price if I can get this action running correctly I'd be happy.
Some pictures of the failure in question and also how things are sitting with the magazine:
The first few range trips I was having a lot of failures to eject. The failure rate was probably 80% or more. I called Bergara and they sent me an updated extractor and spring kit. I changed the springs and other parts and that improved the failure rate to roughly 20%, which is better but certainly not good enough for a match gun. I have read many others who have had success by staking the ejector in the action. I called Bergara again to confirm this is an authorized solution that would not void the warranty. Bergara gave me the go-ahead so I went ahead and staked the ejector.
Tonight in the basement, I tested everything dry with dummy rounds. Unfortunately I only did so after staking the ejector. With the ejector staked using the dummy rounds, I was having close to a 90% failure rate, and the ones that did eject did so very weakly; only dribbling out and not going very far at all. Next I tried single feeding the dummy rounds and sure enough I had 100% success and each one ejected confidently and strongly. I wish I had tested with the dummy rounds prior to staking the ejector.
So now I suspect the issue lies somewhere with interference from the magazine, or more specifically the next round on the top of the carrier. The chassis I am using does not have an adjustable magazine latch. I wonder if a different chassis with an adjustable latch would be the solution. I will try asking a friend to try another chassis, but I want to know if anyone can confirm that these malfunctions could be induced by the magazine and if a chassis with an adjustable DBM would be beneficial.
The gun shoots pretty well for what it is and what it isn't. With Eley Match ammo I'm averaging .56" at 50 yards over the last eight 10-round groups. I know a more expensive gun would probably shoot better, but for the price if I can get this action running correctly I'd be happy.
Some pictures of the failure in question and also how things are sitting with the magazine:
