Hey guys, the bolt handle on my Bergara HMR .308 broke off two times and is currently at Bergara! 1st time at around 450rds and the 2nd at around 500rds, both times happened as I took my shot and proceeded to lift the bolt handle to extract the spent casing, no resistance, it just snapped right off at the brazing. I LOVED this rifle but after having the handle break off twice makes it an automatic disqualification in my book, if I'm going to own one good precision rifle, I need it to be reliable. Was just wondering if this has happened to any of you guys that own the HMR?
Mini Review: Between my 3 choices for my first Bolt action (HMR / 700 5R / T3x CTR) The HMR stock is what sets it apart from the 700 5R and CTR, the HMR Stock's adjustability just makes the world of a difference. The accuracy from this rifle was more than enough for a beginner like me to grow into (It far exceeded my expectations.) My rifle and I could do half MOA with the right load and consistently shot .5-.7 moa 5 shot groups with Federal GMM 168gr SMK. Another reason I loved this rifle is because it shot factory ammo with the accuracy I wanted to achieve, not to mention that Federal GMM is one of the lesser expensive factory match ammo which means more shooting. I seriously loved this rifle and it has became my favorite platform.
I did have to apply blue loctite to the cheek piece screw because it kept backing after about a 100rds, (I let it dry on the screw before putting it into the stock so it would still be easy to unscrew.)
After about 600 rounds I had to re-tighten the two screws that hold the block underneath the cheekpiece, needless to say it was an easy fix and didn't change my mind about the rifle, but having the bolt handle break off not once, but twice, I'm pretty devastated about it. Just wanted to share and get some feed back and advice on my situation.
Just want to do a quick update: Bergara took care of me big time, took a little patience on my end but this is definitely a good company that stands behind their product with good customer support.
Mini Review: Between my 3 choices for my first Bolt action (HMR / 700 5R / T3x CTR) The HMR stock is what sets it apart from the 700 5R and CTR, the HMR Stock's adjustability just makes the world of a difference. The accuracy from this rifle was more than enough for a beginner like me to grow into (It far exceeded my expectations.) My rifle and I could do half MOA with the right load and consistently shot .5-.7 moa 5 shot groups with Federal GMM 168gr SMK. Another reason I loved this rifle is because it shot factory ammo with the accuracy I wanted to achieve, not to mention that Federal GMM is one of the lesser expensive factory match ammo which means more shooting. I seriously loved this rifle and it has became my favorite platform.
I did have to apply blue loctite to the cheek piece screw because it kept backing after about a 100rds, (I let it dry on the screw before putting it into the stock so it would still be easy to unscrew.)
After about 600 rounds I had to re-tighten the two screws that hold the block underneath the cheekpiece, needless to say it was an easy fix and didn't change my mind about the rifle, but having the bolt handle break off not once, but twice, I'm pretty devastated about it. Just wanted to share and get some feed back and advice on my situation.
Just want to do a quick update: Bergara took care of me big time, took a little patience on my end but this is definitely a good company that stands behind their product with good customer support.
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