First precision rifle. Upgrade or full build?

[GSRider]

Looking to build or buy my first real precision rifle that I will be regularly shooting out to 1000yd.
It's going to be 99% range gun, I doubt I will ever take it hunting. I believe I'm going to go 6.5 creedmoor.
I'm debating if I should pick up something like a Bergara B14 HMR (found one local for $875) and start shooting, upgrade piece by piece (trigger, chassis, barrel, etc.) over time or buy a receiver and slowly start a custom build. I already have a Leupold Mark 5HD 5-25x56 thats going on top of it.
Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[FNG1001]

If going Bergara, go with the Bergara Premier. Built and run in Georgia by former Marine gunsmiths.

 

[GSRider]

If going Bergara, go with the Bergara Premier. Built and run in Georgia by former Marine gunsmiths.

I did get to play with a Premier HMR Pro at one of the other local gun shops, smoothest bolt I've felt of anything I've handled. I think it was $1500ish. I really like the Premier Competition in the MPA chassis but I can't seem to find them anywhere.

 

[Partsunavailable]

I went bergara premier approach, its a nice rifle. Switched it to a krg bravo chassis. Had to replace the firing spring and the ejector spring. It just wasn't match reliable. Bought an origin and a prefit, put it in the krg, and am thinking of selling the bergara.

 

[FNG1001]

I did get to play with a Premier HMR Pro at one of the other local gun shops, smoothest bolt I've felt of anything I've handled. I think it was $1500ish. I really like the Premier Competition in the MPA chassis but I can't seem to find them anywhere.

Interesting. Bergara used to use XLR chassis in the competition builds. Looks like they went a different route and use MPA only.

The bolt is pretty smooth, and with the amount of abuse I've put mine through, they dont seem to give up in any department. Something i do like a lot about them (other than theIR quality) is the customer service, and their ability to warranty their products. Great company.

 

[Bungi]

In the long-term, I think you would be happiest with a custom action.

There is currently a great deal on ARC's Coup De Grace ... and the Origin is always a good option.

A lot of us have spent/wasted a bunch of money working up to what should have been purchased in the first place -- "buy one cry once" is a real thing, at least for me.

There is certainly nothing wrong with a Bergara rifle, but a custom ...

As a side note, I really like the Leupold Mark 5HD 5-25. One of the best values out there in my opinion.

 

[Kadams1563]

If your buying to build up then go Tikka.

My opinion go with a CDG, Origin, impact (if you got money to burn and want top action), then chassis of choice, trigger, prefit barrel.

 

[Bungi]

I agree with Kadams ... The only one I would buy to build would be a Tikka.

 

[redneckbmxer24]

If your buying to build up then go Tikka.

My opinion go with a CDG, Origin, impact (if you got money to burn and want top action), then chassis of choice, trigger, prefit barrel.

This.

Or buy something second hand for a hella deal like this:

Zermatt/Big Horn TL3 SA 6CM with Triggertech Special $1450 - AR15.COM

Firearm Discussion and Resources from AR-15, AK-47, Handguns and more! Buy, Sell, and Trade your Firearms and Gear.

www.ar15.com

For $100 more than the action itself costs you get a $700 barrel and a $200 trigger. Get a cheap KRG used and you could have a complete rifle for like $1700.

 

[FNG1001]

I've always found that the Bergara Premier actions maintain the edge over Tikka. It's an interesting action that doesn't have the factory-produced feel. And for the warranty and turn-key solution that Bergara Custom Shop provides, I can't see how they cant compete at a similar level of other small/custom shops out there. Made in USA by USMC gunsmiths.

What about this action doesn't meet the requirements of shooters that custom shop action do provide?

Browsing through the website, I'm curious why they dropped XLR and moved to MPA.

 

[CK1.0]

A barrel vise, action wrench, go-gauge, and cheap-but-adequate torque wrench will run you about ~$200... why wouldn't you build it yourself?

 

[Dogsniper]

Buy what you want the first time. Lots of great rifles on the px at a fraction of the price to build with no wait time.
In my experience. Happiness never comes from buying on the cheap and then spending money to upgrade and still not be what you wanted in the end.

 

[Rob01]

Build it. Get an Origin action and build it with the stock, trigger and barrel of choice. With the Origin you can easily change bolt face and change big to small calibers with just a barrel and bolt face swap and same bolt face calibers with a barrel.

 

[redneckbmxer24]

I've always found that the Bergara Premier actions maintain the edge over Tikka. It's an interesting action that doesn't have the factory-produced feel. And for the warranty and turn-key solution that Bergara Custom Shop provides, I can't see how they cant compete at a similar level of other small/custom shops out there. Made in USA by USMC gunsmiths.

What about this action doesn't meet the requirements of shooters that custom shop action do provide?

Browsing through the website, I'm curious why they dropped XLR and moved to MPA.

You can get prefits for Tikka and swap/rebarrel at home, you can’t with the Bergara unless you do some barrel nut fuckery.

The Premier I had ran nowhere near as smooth as a Tikka action either. It was a clanky action, it worked but it was clanky. It felt kind of like a salvage feeding and cycling almost.

That action doesn’t even begin to compare to a high end custom action, it’s like if you ordered a TL3 off wish.com.

 

[Obi-WanKannoli]

I agree with Rob, a common custom with prefits is an awesome way to go and get exactly what you want. Alternatively for your needs if your set on buying I might look at production class prs rifles like the Seekins Havak HIT.

 

[diggler1833]

I agree with Rob, a common custom with prefits is an awesome way to go and get exactly what you want. Alternatively for your needs if your set on buying I might look at production class prs rifles like the Seekins Havak HIT.

Add another +1. Those options are going to be as accurate to keep them fun, cheap enough that they don't hurt if you lose interest, and modular enough to really go all-out on them if/when it is time to upgrade.

 

[Runnineh]

I've gone both directions, and if I were doing it again, custom action all the way. Build the rifle to you the first time so you don't had be to add on to it later. That said, you'll have to know what you like and don't like. Go to some matches, make friends, get behind their rigs.

 

[Kadams1563]

Everyone speaks about the bergara highly but the one I got to play with felt like a stock rem 700. It was nothing impressive.

I honestly don’t see how people compare them to a custom action.

 

[OREGUN]

Build it. Stay away from anything that limits your choices or pigeon holes you into a specific brand or accessory set.

You don’t have to know what you like, but it helps to know what you won’t tolerate.
For me, that means 100% reliability, in a R700 footprint/pattern.

I look for single piece machining so there’s no fasteners associated with the rail or recoil lug. Single piece, two lug bolt. AICS mag compatibility with no caveats (won’t work because it’s a three lug bolt, or won’t feed BR sized cases, etc).

Regarding chassis features, for example, I won’t tolerate a swept grip, OR ANY kind of “some inletting required to accommodate XXX brand trigger or action.”

Your set of requirements will dictate your choices. Origin is not a bad choice. I like fewer parts so I’m an Impact guy.
Chassiseses are widely available in lightly used condition on here. MPA, Foundation, XLR, MDT, all good choices. KRG is good but see the above about inletting required.

 

[spife7980]

Everyone speaks about the bergara highly but the one I got to play with felt like a stock rem 700. It was nothing impressive.

I honestly don’t see how people compare them to a custom action.

Ignorance is bliss

Feels like a custom until you actually get a custom

 

[High Desert duck]

If you’re asking if you should buy the bergara and shoot now or put money in the safe until you have enough for a custom then build and shoot, do the Ferrara and upgrade. If you’re going to do the full build and shoot it now definitely go with a custom.
Shooting now, equals shooting more, equals you improving more than a custom action. But if the custom can be had in the same time frame as the bergara, do the custom.

 

[GSRider]

Thanks for all the suggestions, all great stuff to think about. I know for an upgrade case, the tikkas seem to be the gold standard around here, I just don't see the fuss about them, I looked at the t3x lite and lite stainless locally and felt quite underwhelmed, thin barrel profiles, cheap stocks, not very smooth bolt. Nothing impressive to me. I guess I'd have to do a CTR, UPR, or Super Varmint to get closer to what I like, which for that I'd rather build a gun from the ground up. I'm definitely thinking a full build will be of my best interest. Maybe I'll grab some cheap rings to throw my Mark 5HD on my Ruger american .308 so I can play with it a bit while I source parts.

 

[OREGUN]

thin barrel profiles, cheap stocks, not very smooth bolt.

If you are astute enough to recognize these things as undesirable, your only choice is to build. Factory offerings are always a compromise.

 

[CK1.0]

I run a DIY Origin/Proof-prefit setup and don't really consider it a "custom"... more like "pragmatic".

Right now it's 6CM, but sometimes it's a 6GT... it could also be a .223, or an ARC/Valkyrie., It accepts Origin and TL3 prefits (with a lug swap) as well as any Savage-threaded prefit barrels.

Do it.

 

[ECK]

@GSRider I came from a factory gun. Don’t get me wrong, I had my fun with it and learned quite a bit about long range shooting. I also learned what I was looking for in a rifle. It came down to either dump a bunch of money into the factory rifle (new barrel, trigger, bolt knob, weights to get it to balance right, etc.) or start over again with a brand new build from the ground up. What clinched it for me was the ability to buy an action that accepted pre-fit barrels, and the rest was easier than assembling an AR from parts.

Once you crack the code on buying a barreled action, the semi-custom path is not that scary of a road.

 

[Jeff1208]

Ok I’m new at this, about two years and I’m always the dumbass who just has to do all my learning with the credit card. So that’s the caveat to what I’m about to say.

No question at all in my mind, just skip the factory stuff and dumping money into upgrades. After I did that with Bergara, Savage and Remington I learned enough along the way that’s NOT the way.

Putting money into factory guns is like doing the same with an old car. When you’re done you haven’t improved the value much if at all and now you’re out all that money you COULD have put into what you’re going to end up with anyway.

So I’m going to subdivide your question into two parts. Do you like to tinker or do you just want to get to the range?

If you want to get to the range there are a few excellent choices for reasonable cash.

Masterpiece Arms builds complete chassis rifles on Curtis Custom actions and offers an innovative switch lug that you can simply loosen a set screw and spin off a barrel by hand and spin on another the same way. Takes 4 minutes and a T30 torx head screw driver. Around $2500 which is an absolute steal.They also build a barreled action same action and barrel and lug for $1475 and they will add a Trigger Tech trigger for the same money as you'd buy one for. That's what I did and then I put it in a KRG Bravo stock.
Springfield Armory makes a Waypoint rifle with a .75" guaranteed accuracy at around $2500. Choices of stock colors are limited though.

Alamo Precision has completed rifles also but at around $3200. But you get to choise barrels, caliber, twist trate, stock styles and colors and the metal is cerakoted in your colors.

Now if you like the pop the hood and tinker so to speak be sure to follow the previous guy's advice. Remington 700 footprint is absolutely vital because EVERYONE makes everything to fit so your will have unlimited choices of barrels, stocks etcetera.

There are three considerations for choosing an action. Precision manufacturing, Rockwell hardness and indexed threads.

When looking at companies that make prefit screw on at home barrels these are more important than if you're just going to use one caliber and mostly for hunting.

A few names keep coming up with the custom gun makers. Defiance, Impact Precision and a few others. Indexed threds means they are all cut with the same starting point so a barrel maker can have the barrel markings always in the right place because the barrel screws on the same way. If you don't swap barrels that's not important but if you do it is.

I've gone this route also because I enjoy getting each component exactly what and how I want it.

I put together a Defiance Anti action, a Proof carbon barrel, Hawkins bottom metal, Trigger Tech trigger and a Mesa Altitude carbon stock together. Just for fun.

The Origen action has some advantages of its own like controled round feeding, changing bolt heads and Savage barrel threads so you can use Savage OR shouldered Origen barrels. Have fun.

 

[Mrindecisive]

I would recommend building your own. You can always piece it together from vendors or the PX. If you don't want to assemble it yourself you can order all the parts from altus and pay them $35 to assemble it for you.