Bergara BXR002 Review

Depends on the rifle/barrel. The Feddersen barrels so far have required very few rounds. My avatar is the first 5 rounds (at 25 yards) I fired through my initial Feddersen purchase after one of the guys at the other local NRL22 shooters used a mag to sight it in then tried 10 rounds for accuracy. After an intense cleaning, they may take nearly a box if I leave the barrel wet for storage. My Savage rifles on the other hand usually took multiple boxes of ammo before the barrel settled down. One of them took a few hundred rounds until it was accurate as before cleaning.
Reason I ask is I don't recall any rimfire rifle of mine getting any more or less accurate the more I shot it. This is taking into account starting with a clean barrel. If there ever was a difference it was never significant enough to notice. I did go through a "break in" procedure with my 1710 XLR but in the end, I don't think it made any difference. For example I didn't follow any type of break in procedure with my 1712 and I have cleaned the bore numerous times with solvents, bronze brushes and even several times with "the taboo rimfire cleaner" JB Bore Paste and I just shot this yesterday. It's my personal opinion that if a rifle is going to shoot good it will do it from the beginning and continue on unless damage occurs from cleaning or something else someone did.

1712 XLR Lapua Pistol King 10-23-19.jpg
 
I pointed out a while back a theory I had about cleaning, barrel quality, and accuracy. Basically the better the barrel, the less fouling required to get it to shoot well. It was based entirely on my cheap, mass-produced factory barrels (i.e. the Savages rifles), my Feddersen barrels, and reading I had done on more expense rifles like the ones the Olympians use in competition. I speculated that a very good barrel that had been hand-lapped would require very few, if any, fouling rounds:

 
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My BXR002 wont ever pick up the last round either. CCI standard velocity or mini mags. Once I grab a ruger magazine it's fine. I still have to pickup some match grade ammo, but I've had 1 sub .5" group at 50yds with CCI SV. Multiple around the .5-.75". I'm hoping it will be more consistent with match ammo.
 
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Reason I ask is I don't recall any rimfire rifle of mine getting any more or less accurate the more I shot it. This is taking into account starting with a clean barrel. If there ever was a difference it was never significant enough to notice. I did go through a "break in" procedure with my 1710 XLR but in the end, I don't think it made any difference. For example I didn't follow any type of break in procedure with my 1712 and I have cleaned the bore numerous times with solvents, bronze brushes and even several times with "the taboo rimfire cleaner" JB Bore Paste and I just shot this yesterday. It's my personal opinion that if a rifle is going to shoot good it will do it from the beginning and continue on unless damage occurs from cleaning or something else someone did.

View attachment 7169916

I would relegate all knowledge / expertise to you :). I've only started shooting this summer so I really don't much but have my weird observations when things go funny.

For example, on my T1X, after I did a cleaning on it, it went to shit for a lot of rounds. I then did a much more thorough cleaning of it, and it shot great after like 5 rounds. My suspicion is that after 2500 rounds of ammo through it, it probably built up some dirtiness in there. I didn't clean it thoroughly so I probably wiped stuff out unevenly in the barrel, which meant that until it built a uniform coating, things were just not as precise.

The second time around when I cleaned it, I properly did the 2 wet patches, then the 3rd wet patch I left at the entrance of the barrel to try to soak in any carbon ring stuff. And let it sit for 15min. Then I dry patched it until it was fully clean, which usually takes about 8 dry patches.

Same with the 3rd time I cleaned it, and both those times it got right back on target after 5 rounds.

On the 10/22 given it's a 10/22, the last time I cleaned it, I just ran a bore snake through it with some cleaning agent like 5 times. I didn't feel like disassembling it so I could put a rod through it. For now I'll let the fiance shoot out these 600 rounds of SK+ for the next few months of competitions.
 
My BXR002 wont ever pick up the last round either. CCI standard velocity or mini mags. Once I grab a ruger magazine it's fine. I still have to pickup some match grade ammo, but I've had 1 sub .5" group at 50yds with CCI SV. Multiple around the .5-.75". I'm hoping it will be more consistent with match ammo.

As stated earlier function testing it mine would jam as shown in the pictures I posted on the last round every time....and with any ammo I tried so it isn't ammo related. Ruger magazines feed every thing I tried just fine. Today I released the Bergara magazine spring and turned the spring nut 2 1/2 turns and now no more trouble feeding the last round. Now to accuracy test it with a variety of quality ammo.
 
My BXR002 wont ever pick up the last round either.

On the Bergara mag, use an allen wrench to loosen the screw to where you can push the hex nut beyond the mag housing. Rotate the hex nut adding a little more tension and retighten the allen head screw. Don't overtension the mag spring as it'll be harder to load and may not strip off the first round.
 
On the Bergara mag, use an allen wrench to loosen the screw to where you can push the hex nut beyond the mag housing. Rotate the hex nut adding a little more tension and retighten the allen head screw. Don't overtension the mag spring as it'll be harder to load and may not strip off the first round.

Just got that done. Will see what happens this afternoon. Thanks
 
1/6th to 1/3rd of a turn should be enough if it's only the last round. But carry the allen wrench with you when testing at the range in case you need to add a little more tension.

If it fixes the issue, it'd be apprecaited if you let us know.
 
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1/6th to 1/3rd of a turn should be enough if it's only the last round. But carry the allen wrench with you when testing at the range in case you need to add a little more tension.

If it fixes the issue, it'd be apprecaited if you let us know.

Loaded 10 rounds of SV and ran through them without a hitch. I couldn't tell you how many turns I did, it slipped and unwound a bit. I just wound it back until the tension felt 'bout right.
 
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Had a similar issue with a known decent 10/22 that I SBR'd. The barrel was cut down and threaded, a blem folding stock was obtained from AGP, a suppressor, and a Burris Fastfire was attached. This was to be a tractor gun for targets of opportunity while mowing - wasn't a target rifle. When I tested it, I noticed at once mags hung up in the stock. Shot it anyway. Had a lot of light strikes and a few jams. The kicker, tho, was the 8" groups at 50yds... so I inspected the crown and threads again, no issue there. Moved the barrel and can to a different SBR and it worked fine.

FInally decided to relieve the sidewalls of the molded stock where they were pinching the mags and the problem went away. Entirely away. I can only guess the poor magazine placement from the binding stock caused the bolt to struggle to strip a cartridge and some were not seating all the way; this caused the hammer to have to sometimes seat the bolt and fire the round. Inconsistent ignition resulted.

FWIW.

1022sbr6.jpg
1022sbr6.jpg
 
Anyone know what happened to billmeek and the BXR? Did he get it back? Did Bergara give feedback to the problem or adjust anything to the current production?

I sent him an IM about a month ago. He has been super busy but from the IM the gun don’t shooting much better. He tried a bunch of different ammo and the CCi SV did the best. I didn’t ask for group size or pictures so if you want those you can send him an IM.

I am still holding out hope because the B-14r’s shoot so well.
 
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Thanks Frankr

All of the new bolt action rimfire's just released are pretty exciting. I noticed there's a thread about the rimX vs VuDoo mentioning some patent infringements they're dealing with. Haven't heard what the problem actually is...Although some sort of commonality would be good for the aftermarket and end user.

The thread also touches on the slow lock time of the B-14r's due to the firing pin/striker arrangement. Not sure about what to think but everything is so new it's hard to know what is what.

Here's the thread:
 
My BXR002 (CF barrel) still has less than stellar accuracy. I haven't shot it for a few weeks as I have been shooting my new CZ Pro Varmint which is much more accurate. I've heard that the steel barreled BXR's shoot better but I haven't tried one.
I sent him an IM about a month ago. He has been super busy but from the IM the gun don’t shooting much better. He tried a bunch of different ammo and the CCi SV did the best. I didn’t ask for group size or pictures so if you want those you can send him an IM.

I am still holding out hope because the B-14r’s shoot so well.
 
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Thanks for the detailed review billmeek. I would agree with pretty much everything you posted. I was doing a bit of research before buying one of these guns but it was next to impossible to find anything on them. My buddy has one, and I just picked one up used. They are cool guns, and for the most part shoot decent for a semi-auto. I was definitely hoping for more accuracy given that Bergara is known for their barrels. I would say I average about MOA at 50 yards with my T1x, CCI SV. I did not shoot one sub-MOA group today with the BXR. Granted, it was my first time shooting it and the trigger is a fair bit heavier than what I am used to.

Attached are a few pictures of our setups and some of our groups. The top row in the first picture is the first groups I shot after mounting the scope. I would say the rows below it are pretty much what I would expect from the gun going forward, perhaps with slight improvement as I get used to the trigger. I am not a great shot by any means, but I can definitely get considerably tighter groups with CCI SV out of my T1x. All in all these guns are cool looking and accurate enough for plinking and taking small game, but I would not recommend buying one outside of that.

Shots are taken from 50 yards. Targets are 1". Third target (orange) is one of the first groupings I shot with T1x, for reference.
 

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Thanks for the detailed review billmeek. I would agree with pretty much everything you posted. I was doing a bit of research before buying one of these guns but it was next to impossible to find anything on them. My buddy has one, and I just picked one up used. They are cool guns, and for the most part shoot decent for a semi-auto. I was definitely hoping for more accuracy given that Bergara is known for their barrels. I would say I average about MOA at 50 yards with my T1x, CCI SV. I did not shoot one sub-MOA group today with the BXR. Granted, it was my first time shooting it and the trigger is a fair bit heavier than what I am used to.

Attached are a few pictures of our setups and some of our groups. The top row in the first picture is the first groups I shot after mounting the scope. I would say the rows below it are pretty much what I would expect from the gun going forward, perhaps with slight improvement as I get used to the trigger. I am not a great shot by any means, but I can definitely get considerably tighter groups with CCI SV out of my T1x. All in all these guns are cool looking and accurate enough for plinking and taking small game, but I would not recommend buying one outside of that.

Shots are taken from 50 yards. Targets are 1". Third target (orange) is one of the first groupings I shot with T1x, for reference.


Thanks for the review. Is your barrel fully free floated in the stock?


I wonder if anyone has dropped one in another stock to see if that fixes the feeding issues. I wonder if the issues could be stock related and the steel barrel versions are more forgiving than the CF barrels to pressure or other issues from the stock.
 
Shooting a 10/22 / semi auto is always harder than shooting a bolt. The vibration from the bolt moving means that shooter fundamentals have to be really dialed in to get it to group well. My 10/22 match, when I am very focused on fundamentals will group fantastically well. When I am lazy, and not following all my fundamentals, groups open up a ton. When I shoot my T1X I rarely have to pay attention since there's no recoil and no bolt movement.

This is nicer ammo, but the T1X with fundamentals will shoot like this -

1589741164125.png
 
Thanks for the review. Is your barrel fully free floated in the stock?


I wonder if anyone has dropped one in another stock to see if that fixes the feeding issues. I wonder if the issues could be stock related and the steel barrel versions are more forgiving than the CF barrels to pressure or other issues from the stock.


Good point about the stock maybe causing some issues. The action is pretty tough to get back into the stock it's a very tight squeeze although the barrel is free-floated. My steel version feeds well. The Bergara mag fits so tight I can barely get it out, but it feeds great with the Ruger 10/22 mag.

To littlepod's point my groups also improved as I got warmed up, aside from the somewhat alarming flyers that seemed to be a part of every group. I understand CCI SV is not a match- grade ammo but my t1x doesn't produce flyers like that, at least not nearly as often.

Certainly this gun is capable of more than the quality of these first groups, but it will never be a bench gun.
 
Shooting a 10/22 / semi auto is always harder than shooting a bolt. The vibration from the bolt moving means that shooter fundamentals have to be really dialed in to get it to group well. My 10/22 match, when I am very focused on fundamentals will group fantastically well. When I am lazy, and not following all my fundamentals, groups open up a ton. When I shoot my T1X I rarely have to pay attention since there's no recoil and no bolt movement.

This is nicer ammo, but the T1X with fundamentals will shoot like this -

View attachment 7328750

That's a great point about staying focused and just the vibration and motion of the bolt being a factor on a semi-auto. It will take a bit of getting used to. I don't expect the world from this gun but if a gun isn't reliable it makes it alot less fun to shoot.

Those are some great groups! I hope to be shooting those one day with my t1x haha. I will have to try some better ammo and get a proper bench setup and see what I can do- I know the rifle is more than capable!
 
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