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Wanted to do an official review of my new rifle now that I've had a chance to get it finally setup and out to the range. I will also include a brief review of my optic choice, but will do a separate one in the "optics" section once it has been fully vetted. I've yet to mess with the zero stop and confirm tracking...and will reserve pros and cons till after I've put it through the paces.

Some of you may know I've been asking questions and tinkering back and forth trying to decide on a 6.5 Creedmoor. For the past 6 months I've been kicking tires at gun stores and shows around Texas and Louisiana and I've fondled and read reviews on everything from the RPR, Tikka T3, multiple Savages, Howa 1500, Weatherby, and more. I even considering truing and rebarreling a R700 SPS Tactical. In the end, I felt the Bergara Premier line of rifles was the best bang for the buck, for me.

Although they are a bit newer to complete precision rifles, Bergara has been producing match barrels in Spain for quite some time now and they have an outstanding track record. The main thing that sold me on it was the fact that Dan Hanus is the production manager at Bergara and had major input on the Bergara LRP rifles. So much that the Atlanta SWAT team has now adopted this line for their snipers. If you don't know, Dan Hanus had 22 years in the Marine Corps and ultimately spent time as the chief instructor and production chief at the Precision Weapons Section (Quantico). Not only for the M40 family of rifles, but also M14 EMR and M45 pistol. But enough about that.

The MSRP on the BPR17-65C is just shy of $2200 and I paid $1700 from Joe Bob Outfitters. Huge shout-out to them for shipping same day via FedEx (free shipping). I had it 2 days later.

Initial Impressions
Chassis:  I have always been a fan of XLR chassis systems so this was no brainer. It's rock solid and the molded rubber pistol grip is very comfortable and has a nice palm swell. I wasn't sure about the buttstock at first, but I definitely got used to it quick. It suites me well and has plenty of adjustment. The only bad thing I have to say about the stock is the cheek-riser adjustment screws are a tad too short. It takes some force to get them to seat on the threads properly. And I do wish the chassis accepted M-Lok instead of the XLR's proprietary modular system. It does comes with one sling stud mount and I really don't plan on attaching any other accessories as of now.

Barrel: The Premier line of Bergara rifles uses their premium 416 stainless match barrel. Bergara has apparently consulted with Ed Shilen and has followed his manufacturing advise closely for their premium stainless barrels. The contour is just a tad lighter than I would like however. I would prefer to see a heavy varmint, but they use a light varmint Shilen #5 contour. No worries though, it still handles heat well and saves a little in the weight department. Also, the LRP line has a traditional R700 footprint, not a Savage or Remage barrel nut. When it's time to do a barrel swap, I'll be headed to the gunsmith.

Action:  I am amazed with the action. I have never felt anything more smooth in a trued factory-type action (non custom). Even at full extraction, there is hardly any slop or wobble. The bolt is fluted and has 2 locking lugs, separate floating bolt head to assure contact w/ lug abutments. So far I've only tried PMag 5-rounders and it feeds flawlessly. This was one area I was not expecting much in but I've loaded 1, 2, and 5 rounds in it so far and it feeds and extracts like a breeze. The bolt handle is nicely shaped, but could be a bit bigger IMO. Would like to see a Badger or Tac-Ops stype knob here. Easy bolt release is located on rear left side of action

Trigger:  Came with Timney 517. I was a little disappointed with the straight trigger as I've always been used to Timney 510 curved triggers. However, this is something else that I've already gotten used to and prefer over the curved trigger now. For some reason, it feels lighter to me than the curved shoe. It came in at just over 3 lbs. and I adjusted down to 2.25 lbs. Bergara states 55 in-lbs for the action screws and it was a simple task to take the grip off and get the action out of the chassis.  

The rifle came in with a nice soft case, 1 PMag, 20 MOA Talley Tactical base (that was properly installed w/ thread locker) and a 3-shot test target that measured 0.216"! That last part got my attention. I gave it a thorough cleaning w/ J Dewey components and Hoppes 9 and copper terminator. It was dirty, but cleaned up easy. I already had a Harris 6-9 bipod that quickly found a new home on the LRP.

Optics: Will cover more later, but finally decided to take a chance on the Japanese made Athlon Cronus 4.5-29x56 MOA. They were $1700 pretty much everywhere. At the last minute, I came across www.marksmanguide.com that had them on sale for $1500! Ordered at 2:00pm and had tracking info at 4:00pm. However, I see their sale has already ended and they are back up to $1700. I have been "eyeing" the Razor Gen II for quite some time now. I know everyone doesn't like to cover "glass quality" anymore since it's so subjective but I can honestly state without a doubt that my eyes see the Cronus glass as better than the Razor Gen II. Even though out of my price range, I looked hard at the NF ATACR F1 as well and I can see no difference between optical clarify between the ATACR and Cronus, especially at lower magnification. The scope seems to be built like a tank and have no complaints so far. The only area I've found that is not up to Razor or ATACR quality is turret feel and sound However, the clicks are still tactile and crisp enough to not spend an additional $800 - $1200. Will report back after another few trips to range and a serious tracking test other than the 6 MOA box I shot at the range, which was spot on.

Rings & Caps:  Badger steel 1.125". Not much to say here, top notch quality. Wish I would have gone with 1.00" though....should have listened to Rob01 ;) But they are still low enough to keep and I went with Vortex Defender caps. The objective Defender cap is awesome in every way. The eyepiece cap...appears to be a piece of shit! It will not close properly no matter what I try. Will mess with it later and contact Vortex if issue proceeds.

So got everything mounted up and off to the range (great way to start a Monday morning BTW). I plan on getting some Prime and Copper Creek to try, but in the meantime I was able to score some Hornady 120 and 140 ELD-M.

I've only been tinkering with precision rifle shooting for 5 years, but the main thing I've learned is to be honest with yourself. I have no association with Bergara or any of the manufacturers mentioned here and this is the first time I've tried ANY of their products other than Vortex. I was hopeful that it would be a shooter that I could start working towards matches with. After getting it zeroed with the 120 ELD-M and shooting my first 5-shot group at 50 yards...I was a little butthurt. I'll admit it. 5 shots at 50, barely under an 1" WTF? I tucked tail and headed down to 100 yards to try the 140 ELD-M. And it was ON after that. I am blown away at how well this thing shoots and how smooth everything works. Side note:  It came with Dead Air muzzle break but I will be replacing with AAC 51t brake so I can shoot my 762-SD can.

I need to get the OTS software so I can be exact and I plan on doing that this week, but with my digital calipers that I scored from work I am coming up with a 5-shot group of 0.382" at 100 yards! The 3-shot group is 0.207".

On the pictured target, the top right box is the 5-shot 140 ELD group, bottom left is 3-shot 140 ELD group, and bottom right is 3-shot 120 ELD. It's confirmed, it just doesn't like the 120s. And I'm fine with that. Can't wait to try the Copper Creek 140 and Prime 130 to see what she will do. Next purchase is V3 chronograph.  

I gave it a thorough cleaning after my first 4 shots at the range. After that, I didn't bother. Bergara recommends cleaning after every round for the first 10. In my experience, this just isn't necessary with a quality stainless barrel.

After I shot the 3-shot group (slowly), I made the .382" 5-shot group in under less than a minute. I know this since my range gives a 1 minute warning before a "cease-fire". I shot everything off bipod and Triad rear wedge bag.


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Not liking you right now, literally paid off my CC 5 mins ago.

Go for it. Joe Bobs still has em for $1700. I think they are going to be harder to find at that price after they catch on.

Nice review.  I considered one of those but, ultimately purchased a RPR.  Nice choice of range as well.  I do almost all of my range testing out there.

Great review, Alpha!!!  This is exactly what I expected from your gun.

I wish I was as good a shot as you right now...but see my post in the other thread...I have some work to do.

That being said...my HMR can WAY outperform me...and THAT, at the end of the day, carries some weight.

BADZ, where do you normally shoot? ASC is close to the house but I only go during the week now. The weekends are ridiculous.

Desertmoon, I am not a great shot by any means. The adjusted Timney trigger and the rifle overall is making me look good. I think in the right hands, it's a consistent 5-shot 3/8 MOA shooter.

I am with you on a good trigger making a difference.  I am a big Trigger Tech fan thanks to Christensen Arms.....I think my HMR will be running one soon.

I shoot out at ASC a fair bit.  I normally go early on Saturdays if I go there.  I normally shoot on the 200+ ranges so, not that bad.  I also do some shooting out in Liberty Hill when I go up to visit family in the area.  Honestly I haven't been doing much rifle shooting lately, been in a rent house the last few years and don't have my reloading stuff set up.  Buying a house so that changes this month.