Bergara B-14R Range Report and Assessment

[300ATT]

With a factory rifle you "pays your money and takes your chances" and sometimes you get lucky. I think my friend got a good B-14R capable of winning any LR .22 match. What you get with a custom rifle is a guarantee and having it pimped out just the way you want.

That being said we also played with my brother in law's new $6,000 Vudoo in a manner's composite stock, proof barrel and a Khales 3-18 on top. The Vudoo had better precision which was more and more noticeable the farther out we shot. In spite of this, my friend's B14-R was "good enough" to consistently hit the 1.5 MOA targets at 200 yards with ammo it liked . A better shooter with his B-14R would beat a less experienced shooter with the Manners/Vudoo; however, I would choose the Vudoo because I am superstitious and need all the help I can get and it would gain you a couple of points at distance.

Don't know about dry firing the B14-R

 

[littlepod]

With a factory rifle you "pays your money and takes your chances" and sometimes you get lucky. I think my friend got a good B-14R capable of winning any LR .22 match. What you get with a custom rifle is a guarantee and having it pimped out just the way you want.

That being said we also played with my brother in law's new $6,000 Vudoo in a manner's composite stock, proof barrel and a Khales 3-18 on top. The Vudoo had better precision which was more and more noticeable the farther out we shot. In spite of this, my friend's B14-R was "good enough" to consistently hit the 1.5 MOA targets at 200 yards with ammo it liked . A better shooter with his B-14R would beat a less experienced shooter with the Manners/Vudoo; however, I would choose the Vudoo because I am superstitious and need all the help I can get and it would gain you a couple of points at distance.

Don't know about dry firing the B14-R

Agreed. I won two 22LR matches with my Tikka T1X in a MDT ACC chassis and then a 10/22 in an Oryx chassis. Practice, practice, practice really helps. The 10/22 though didn't quite hold up and I dropped some points that should've been giveme's - 1/2" @ 50, and a 1/4" at 35. The amount of dry fire practice this past 3 days during quarantine at home has been fantastic.

I have no doubt the B14R or any other rifle is super capable of winning. I just am out of time to tinker with anything and didn't want to have to deal with any quirks, so that's why I ended up with a Vudoo. I do think the R700 platform is a great place to be and a lot of re usability so B14R gets my vote there.

 

[Hellbender]

I'd really like to know what the lock time on these are compared to a normal striker fired bolt gun. Has to be at least double, maybe more.

Very little of the accuracy advantage of faster lock time will show up on a solid bench, but it will quickly show up in any unstable position.

 

[300ATT]

Lock time? Barrel dwell time? Who said .22's were forgiving ???

 

[Kisssofdeath]

I, for one and really happy with my B-14R. If for some reason I'm not, I would just rebarrel it. I don't believe it would ever sell it. But, I'll be honest, with just about any low to mid grade ammo it's a normal shooting rifle but with that particular lot of Wolf Match Target "normal to mid grade ammo" it is exceptional. Of course it will shoot $10-$12 box Lapua as shown below but I like to shoot....a lot.

Don't know if it's safe to dry fire; I can put a piece of paper on the bolt face and see if it makes an impression. I have never had an issue with misfires that could be traced to the rifle, the way I check is when I have a misfire, the round pulled and inspected. Look at the firing pin intention and compare it with the other empties laying around. It should look the same, if not you "could" have a problem. Never had a broke firing pin.

As for lock time? IDK, whatever it is, is what it is I guess.

 

[Rem7]

I emailed Bergara yesterday and got a response this morning. They recommend NOT to dry fire as it may damage the firing pin.

 

[nakoa01]

I, for one and really happy with my B-14R. If for some reason I'm not, I would just rebarrel it. I don't believe it would ever sell it. But, I'll be honest, with just about any low to mid grade ammo it's a normal shooting rifle but with that particular lot of Wolf Match Target "normal to mid grade ammo" it is exceptional. Of course it will shoot $10-$12 box Lapua as shown below but I like to shoot....a lot.
View attachment 7280609
View attachment 7280610

Don't know if it's safe to dry fire; I can put a piece of paper on the bolt face and see if it makes an impression. I have never had an issue with misfires that could be traced to the rifle, the way I check is when I have a misfire, the round pulled and inspected. Look at the firing pin intention and compare it with the other empties laying around. It should look the same, if not you "could" have a problem. Never had a broke firing pin.

As for lock time? IDK, whatever it is, is what it is I guess.

Agreed with KOD on all accounts. I now have 2 of them.

 

[MuricanPatriot]

I emailed Bergara yesterday and got a response this morning. They recommend NOT to dry fire as it may damage the firing pin.

I don’t dry fire any of my 22s for this reason. However if you want to practice with them go to Home Depot and pick these up.Link

They are drywall anchors but work perfectly as dummy 22LR rounds. Will protect your firing pin and let’s you shoot them up 6-10 times (depending on the gun) before needing to trash them.

I like to store my 22 bolt guns with the firing pin released, trigger pulled, and this is what I use for that.
Hope this helps.

 

[orkan]

That's one major thing I really love about the RimX. You can dry fire the crap out of it... and if something does happen to break, it's super easy to replace. The more traditional "40x" style of the bergara makes that a little more complicated.

 

[littlepod]

I don’t dry fire any of my 22s for this reason. However if you want to practice with them go to Home Depot and pick these up.Link

They are drywall anchors but work perfectly as dummy 22LR rounds. Will protect your firing pin and let’s you shoot them up 6-10 times (depending on the gun) before needing to trash them.

I like to store my 22 bolt guns with the firing pin released, trigger pulled, and this is what I use for that.
Hope this helps.

I've been using https://amzn.to/3crpu2t for dry firing. They work really well.

 

[MuricanPatriot]

I've been using https://amzn.to/3crpu2t for dry firing. They work really well.

13 dollars for 12 though. The wall anchors are 4 dollars for 100. The issue with the metal dummy rounds is some rim fire guns will dent them to the point that it’s useless.

 

[littlepod]

13 dollars for 12 though. The wall anchors are 4 dollars for 100. The issue with the metal dummy rounds is some rim fire guns will dent them to the point that it’s useless.

I had issues getting 10 wall anchors into my magazine and having them feed reliably. I wanted something to actually simulate feeding from a mag, timed stage practice.

 

[MuricanPatriot]

I had issues getting 10 wall anchors into my magazine and having them feed reliably. I wanted something to actually simulate feeding from a mag, timed stage practice.

Ah, that makes sense. Yeah you can get about 5 max of the wall anchors in the bergara mag before it becomes a mess.

 

[1911Shootist]

What is the failure mechanism on the Bergara? Any gun designed in this day and age without the ability to dry fire 10's of thousands of times is damn near inexcusable.

 

[AGrizz]

1911 you are correct. I just received mine back from Bergara yesterday and it will be going to a friend of mine. He knows the issue. I will be just running the CZ 457. I have fired and dry fired it thousands of times without issues.

If Bergara overcomes this problem I may re think this. However at this time it is a no go. They shoot great but durability is paramount.

 

[vaguru]

How tight are folks running their bolt shroud/firing pin spring? I didn't check mine before disassembling and can't tell if it was full tight or one turn back from fully tight...

According to Bergara it is supposed to be one turn off from tight.

 

[vaguru]

1911 you are correct. I just received mine back from Bergara yesterday and it will be going to a friend of mine. He knows the issue. I will be just running the CZ 457. I have fired and dry fired it thousands of times without issues.

If Bergara overcomes this problem I may re think this. However at this time it is a no go. They shoot great but durability is paramount.

What problem are you referring too?

 

[Baracuda22]

I just did order mine today. BARRELED ACTION IN STEEL ONLY and got a good price and ship $14.50 to my dealer.Am thinking to rebarreled it with lilja that i have in hand and my own chamber reamer when time permits.

 

[AGrizz]

What problem are you referring too?

The Bergara B14 has issues with the firing pin. It breaks like nothing you have seen before. Also I have a bore scope and it is one of the worst barrels I have looked down. Does it shoot? Certainly however it could be far better than it is if they would work on the interior lands and grooves. They put the effort into the rifle and make a good one. They just need more effort in the final areas that make it actually shoot well.

 

[Baracuda22]

Agrizz, Thank you for the info. i never heard about that issue before? I hope mine will works just fine and had no issue about that?

 

[vaguru]

The Bergara B14 has issues with the firing pin. It breaks like nothing you have seen before. Also I have a bore scope and it is one of the worst barrels I have looked down. Does it shoot? Certainly however it could be far better than it is if they would work on the interior lands and grooves. They put the effort into the rifle and make a good one. They just need more effort in the final areas that make it actually shoot well.

First I have heard about the firing pin issue.

As far as the barrel interior, it is not the worst I have seen with a scope, but could be better

Accuracy with mine is very good, no complaints there.

 

[cwmoss]

I researched this rifle a bunch before I decided to buy one, and this is the first I have heard of this "firing pin issue". I know the Bergara centerfire 6.5 CM has an issue with breakage in the bolt cocking piece shroud thingy. A friend of mine has one which has broken twice and they are in the process of sending him a new rifle.

 

[MuricanPatriot]

I researched this rifle a bunch before I decided to buy one, and this is the first I have heard of this "firing pin issue". I know the Bergara centerfire 6.5 CM has an issue with breakage in the bolt cocking piece shroud thingy. A friend of mine has one which has broken twice and they are in the process of sending him a new rifle.

All of the first production rifles had issues with their firing pin. If you purchased a rifle after February you are good. I just replaced my firing pin which bergara sent to me. I bought my rifle in December

 

[1911Shootist]

Spotted another one in the wild today!

 

[CarlsonCustoms]

I got my B14R carbon fiber barreled action in the other day, got it mounted in a KRG bravo with TT Diamond trigger.. went to go mount a PST Gen2 5-25 when it hit me that I hadn't ordered a scope mount! Whoops, ordered but now waiting anxiously with a rifle I can't really shoot yet. Really tempted to steal a mount off another rifle.

Hope mine works out as well as the others shown here.

 

[Rem7]

Pick mine up next week! Got a Carbon as well!!

 

[Baracuda22]

All of the first production rifles had issues with their firing pin. If you purchased a rifle after February you are good. I just replaced my firing pin which bergara sent to me. I bought my rifle in December

MP, Nice to hear about that info. you share! I just order mine this week.i hope mine works good.

Any info. after feb.? technical problem etc.etc.

 

[vaguru]

All of the first production rifles had issues with their firing pin. If you purchased a rifle after February you are good. I just replaced my firing pin which bergara sent to me. I bought my rifle in December

Are you replacing the firing pin or the firing pin striker assembly? Have a picture of the part? Just curious.

 

[Baracuda22]

Vaguru,how is your bergara b14r?did you get it before february 2020? if so any problem you encounters?

 

[*rim-star*]

I have a Remington 40X with roughly 45,000 rounds since it's been cleaned. Still shoots in the .2's and .3's or better at 50yds every time I take it out.

That is amazing, I have cut back on cleaning so much, especially brushing

 

[*rim-star*]

I, for one and really happy with my B-14R. If for some reason I'm not, I would just rebarrel it. I don't believe it would ever sell it. But, I'll be honest, with just about any low to mid grade ammo it's a normal shooting rifle but with that particular lot of Wolf Match Target "normal to mid grade ammo" it is exceptional. Of course it will shoot $10-$12 box Lapua as shown below but I like to shoot....a lot.
View attachment 7280609
View attachment 7280610

Don't know if it's safe to dry fire; I can put a piece of paper on the bolt face and see if it makes an impression. I have never had an issue with misfires that could be traced to the rifle, the way I check is when I have a misfire, the round pulled and inspected. Look at the firing pin intention and compare it with the other empties laying around. It should look the same, if not you "could" have a problem. Never had a broke firing pin.

As for lock time? IDK, whatever it is, is what it is I guess.

Thats a good shooter KOD....well done

 

[vaguru]

Vaguru,how is your bergara b14r?did you get it before february 2020? if so any problem you encounters?

Mine is an early gun, received it Feb 4, 2020. Had some light strike issues with one lot of CCI SV. Bergara sent me the updated striker assembly and it has been 100% since then. Read about that issue in previous posts in this thread.

I have shot over 3,000 rounds since updated striker and am pleased with the update. Total fired to date closing in on 8,000 rounds. Never thought I would shoot that many 22LR rounds in years, and here I have done that in only 4 months. This rifle is just amazingly consistent and accurate. Doesn't seem to be too ammo fussy either. Feeding and extraction is flawless. Bolt is super smooth in operation.

 

[Baracuda22]

Mine is an early gun, received it Feb 4, 2020. Had some light strike issues with one lot of CCI SV. Bergara sent me the updated striker assembly and it has been 100% since then. Read about that issue in previous posts in this thread.

I have shot over 3,000 rounds since updated striker and am pleased with the update. Total fired to date closing in on 8,000 rounds. Never thought I would shoot that many 22LR rounds in years, and here I have done that in only 4 months. This rifle is just amazingly consistent and accurate. Doesn't seem to be too ammo fussy either. Feeding and extraction is flawless. Bolt is super smooth in operation.

did you upgrade your trigger? if so what trigger you have now?I like cci standard too.That is my go to plinking/target ammo.

 

[vaguru]

did you upgrade your trigger? if so what trigger you have now?I like cci standard too.That is my go to plinking/target ammo.

I'm running a factory trigger set as light as it will go.

 

[fireman610]

I just ordered mine today! I’m kinda excited!

 

[fireman610]

Now to find mags! any one got a place?

 

[CarlsonCustoms]

Now to find mags! any one got a place?

When I ordered my barreled action I ordered 5 extra mags directly from Bergara.

 

[fireman610]

When I ordered my barreled action I ordered 5 extra mags directly from Bergara.

Out of Stock

 

[CarlsonCustoms]

Out of Stock

Damn that was quick! I got mine just a couple weeks ago.

 

[jhr1986]

Now to find mags! any one got a place?

Sign up for an in stock notification at Bergara's website.

About 6 weeks ago they showed mags in stock. I had just ordered the gun and figured I'd wait until other dealers had them in stock for less than MSRP. About 2 days later they were OOS on Bergara's website and dealers never got any in stock. I signed up for notification and was able to order a handful two weeks ago. They were only in stock for a day or two that time as well.

My guess is that there simply aren't many extra mags to be had at this point in the production cycle so the few that are available are just going up on Bergara's own online shop as opposed to being shipped out to distributors. That and the fact that dealers probably aren't ordering the mags considering how few of these guns are actually being made, it's not like we're talking about Glock 19s or AR-15s.

 

[Baracuda22]

FOLKS SHARE YOUR BERGARA B14R "RANGE REPORT AND ASSESSMENT" with picture of your gun.

 

[CarlsonCustoms]

FOLKS SHARE YOUR BERGARA B14R "RANGE REPORT AND ASSESSMENT" with picture of your gun.

Here's mine, taking it on a maiden voyage this weekend probably. It's big brother behind is a Bergara HMR PRO in 6.5 Creedmoor.

Both guns are sporting KRG Bravo stocks, spigot mounts, dead air cans, TT diamond triggers, Vortex PMR rings, Vortex PST Gen2 5-25's, and I only have one BT bipod so that has to get shared around. Both guns are using Bergara scope mounts, the 6.5 a 20MOA, and the 22 a 30MOA.

The B14R is a carbon barreled model, right now it's a couple lbs lighter than the bigger brother so I have some stick on wheel weights incoming to fatten it up a bit to get it a closer replica of it's big brother.

 

[Baracuda22]

that is a good looking bergara carlson custom! did you change the bolt handle in your 22lr or that is a factory? mine still in shipping mode right now!

 

[CarlsonCustoms]

that is a good looking bergara carlson custom! did you change the bolt handle in your 22lr or that is a factory? mine still in shipping mode right now!

Factory

 

[z28kid]

Should have mine in on Tuesday, have everything waiting for it. I may try to make a arca rail for it if I can this weekend.

 

[Eadle]

Took mine out for a spin today. Shot from the bench with a bipod. Top 2 rows are cci standard, bottom two are old wolf match.

I have the steel barrel and run the new Vortex Strike Eagle 5-25x.

 

[z28kid]

View attachment 7350323

Took mine out for a spin today. Shot from the bench with a bipod. Top 2 rows are cci standard, bottom two are old wolf match.

I have the steel barrel and run the new Vortex Strike Eagle 5-25x.

I'm gonna have the same setup in a few days.

 

[JohnK454]

I bed my Bergara down between these two 90yo geezers so it will learn proper manners . Appears to be working.

. .

 

[coontz74]

View attachment 7350323

Took mine out for a spin today. Shot from the bench with a bipod. Top 2 rows are cci standard, bottom two are old wolf match.

I have the steel barrel and run the new Vortex Strike Eagle 5-25x.

That’s the combo I’m thinking of running if I get a Bergara. Could you tell me what rings you went with and the height? Good looking groups..

 

[1911Shootist]

Cleaned the 200/300/400 yard stage but only got 1 out of 3 hits on the ELR World Record attempt at 452 yards