Ammo for Bergara hmr pro?
- Thread starter Lrdchaos
- Start date
For factory ammo the Federal GMM Berger 130s shoot the best, but believe it or not cheap Hornady "Black" or "American Gunner" with the 140 BTHP shoots almost as good for half the price. Once you shoot good hand loads in it though, it's hard to go back to factory ammo.
Mine is the 22” HMR (not really apples to apples I reckon’) but I’ve tried many factory loads, top 3 are .....
1. Hdy 140 eld-m
2. Hdy 140 Am Gunner
3. Fed AE 140 otm (can’t seem to find these lately)
1. Hdy 140 eld-m
2. Hdy 140 Am Gunner
3. Fed AE 140 otm (can’t seem to find these lately)
Will do, I’m still waiting on hmr pro heavy barrel. It should be here next week!
Where did you order the heavy barrel model? It's new for this year and usually it takes a while before they hit the market.
Very.
The only downfalls I could find is the m-lok on the bottom of the forend won't accept a standard Harris bipod (to wide and flat to hook onto a m-lok sling stud), and the magpul pmag would bind the bolt if you were pushing up on the mag.
It feels like quality, adjustable cheek riser is solid, geometry was comfortable and had good recoil control. I noticed it tried to recoil very straight, while my traditional stocked b14 tried to push up.
If I wasn't already in the remage camp I could see buying one. I would put it and the Tika as my only two personal options for off the shelf rifles in that price range.
Sweet deal! Post some pics once you unbox it, and let us know how it shoots once you got it broken in, zeroed in and you know what ammo it likes.
For you guys with the Premiers, what size is the firing pin? I have the B14 (cheaper model, still shoots sub .5MOA), but it craters primers and pierces SRP in lapua brass. Gre-Tan can bush it, but has a 12-14 week backlog. I can buy the Premier bolt from Bergara for about twice what bushing would cost, but I'm not without the rifle for the rest of the summer. If the Premier has the small pin, I'll go that route.
Are bergaras consistent enough that you can just swap bolts without having to fit it to the action first? I doubt it.
I'm talking with them now via email. That was the solution they offered, so I assume so. Waiting on their response now.
That would be interesting to find out if the only difference between the B14 action and the Premier action is really just the stainless steel and the fluted bolt, but I'm with spife7980 on that one I don't believe you'd get away without having to have it fitted first.
Bergara says it's a drop in direct replacement. I have the email from them that I will be keeping until I get the bolt and try it. If it doesn't fit, it can go back. We shall see.
The Premier bolt has a .060 pin, which should take care of my piercing problem.
Didn't mean to hijack the thread. I shot the 140 ELD-M and Federal 130 factory ammo before I got the bits to reload. Couldn't tell much difference between them.
The Premier bolt has a .060 pin, which should take care of my piercing problem.
Didn't mean to hijack the thread. I shot the 140 ELD-M and Federal 130 factory ammo before I got the bits to reload. Couldn't tell much difference between them.
Completly off topic for the OP, but I got the new bolt today, went right in. Closing down on new Laupa brass that I full length sized felt the same. Won't have a chance to shoot until next week.
Did you headspace it just in case? How much did it set you back? Please post some results for the range time.
Got out this morning. Ran flawlessly. No craters on Fed 205M with 40.6 gr H4350, 142 SMK, new Lapua brass.
These were running about 2710-2720 according to my Labradar. Slight flatening of the primer corners.
I take it no headspacing was performed? Would you mind disclosing how much the bolt cost you, or is it a secret?
No headspacing. Just slide out the old one and slide in the new. Pricing is no secret, anybody can call and get one. $300 shipped. I'm in Georgia, just like Bergara, so I contributed another $24 to the state. I have no idea if they charge tax out of state.
My original idea was to buy a stripped bolt and send it to be bushed. This was essentially the same cost. The customer service guy (Chad) was great to work with. When I asked what size pin the pro bolt had, he actually went and measured it. Finally got the order in late Wednesday afternoon, he said he would push to get shipped on Thursday. FedEx delivered Friday.
I've also got nothing but praise for Chad from Bergara and for $300 shipped I might just have to get one myself. I like the easier disassembly on the Premier bolt besides the pin issue you mentioned.
I don't care much for fluted anything because fluting introduces more stresses into the metal than functionally necessary but the ease of disassembly and the better firing pin and bolt shroud would be well worth it to me.
Jake,
Thanks for sharing your experience, talked to Chad and got hooked up with a Premier bolt as well and couldn't be happier. Also found out at a private match in Wyoming that the fluted bolt combined with the TriggerTech Special are a huge advantage in a dusty, desert type environment. I also like the added safety feature of the non-rotating bolt gas shield. Thanks again!
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Did they send your bolt assembled or did you have to install the ejector/extractor?
I wish they had sent me the black bolt handle... they sent me a the "raw" / gray colored handle and it actually developed some rust spots on it the other day which was kinda weird.
As you can verify from the pictures I posted the bolt handle is black, so is the bolt head and gas shield, and as I have verified it extracts, and ejects fine. If I were you, I'd have the bolt handle cerakoted black by a gunsmith to prevent further rusting.
I saw it was black .... thats why I said I wish they had sent me the black one haha. I was also asking if the extractor and ejector came already installed on yours. I'm sure they worked fine. They sent me mine with the ejector, extractor, springs etc in a bag. Didn't know if you had a better technique for installing that spring loaded ball bearing.
I may just hit them up for a black handle... probably will cost about the same as getting it cerakoted
Shouldn't be the case. Try to talk to Chad Gibbs at Bergara customer service, they've grown so much in the last few years that not all their people in the warehouse/shipping department are gun parts savvy but Bergara will stand behind their product and make it right. My guess would be they'll likely send you a return authorization for the current one and will send you a cerakoted complete bolt once they receive it, after all you paid for a complete, cerakoted bolt not for a project, some assembly required.
