LOLOL!!!  That's just about what I did.  By the way...Steiner is also putting out some super clear glass!  Gonna put one of those on my Christensen VTAC.

It isn't so much the city that makes 1000 yards hard to find, there's a shit ton of public land right on the edge of town,  its all the damn brush, hills and washes that make it impossible to see a target 1000 yards away.

Yup.  It's REALLY rare to get more than about 350 yards without having high ground or shooting to high ground.  It made .308 an easier choice to swallow...as much as I want to shoot 6.5C.  I am still thinking of making a 6.5 upper for my Mega.

How about shooting the barrel out on the .308 and replacing with a 6.5 Creedmoor barrel?

That HAS crossed my mind.....but I don't shoot a "whole" lot right now and I dread ever having to pull that JP forend.  WHEW! 

NightForce hath arrived!!!

TPS base, extra AIC Mapuls and scope covers secured.  Waiting on the Spurh, the muzzle break thingie and the Harris.



.....oh.....

...and the rifle........

SHIP! SHIP! SHIP!

Looks like one beefy scope... I picked up mine last night at the LGS and got the rifle mounted with Warne rings... range day and a day off to celebrate!

Fill us in on the day when you get home!

 I SAID: "FILL US IN WHEN YOU ARE DONE SHOOTING!!!" 

I happened to get a chance to handle another B14 HMR yesterday.....dear GOD, I cannot wait to get mine!!!!

Had a blast working up loads for 165 grain SST and 168 grain SMK this weekend... used 43.1 grains of TAC inL/C brass with BR2 primers for a sub MOA load with both bullets.  Grouped the SST load at 2" high at 100 yards then went out the next day to shoot log distance.

230 yards on steel silhouettes and was achieving 1st round hits.  Used ballistic calculator to get another 1st round hit at 450 yards after vertical adjustment on SHV.

Got cocky and stretched things out to 650 yards and realized I'm having difficulty reading wind.  5 knots gusting to about 10 (estimated) was kicking my ass.

In all, had a great time shooting, reloading, and learning about my equipment.  The set up on my rifle is spot on... the only thing holding me back is my ability.

Sounds AWESOME!  I am transitioning my multitude of 168 grain 4064 loads from my AR-10 to this.  Both run 1/10 twist so I am expecting good results.  I small base size so that I can switch hit amongst multiple AR-10 platforms.  I won't be getting the most accuracy I can wring out of it....but I expect it to be good.....

darn good from what I am hearing!!!

I am most excited to run the 168 grain ELD Match rounds I loaded.  I also picked up some Sierra 168 grain TMKs that I want to load before I go.

I was able to pick up a Tikka CTR in .308 for $600 with a Harris 6-9" bipod so I couldn't pass it up, but man... I kind of wish I just spent the money and got the Bergara HMR. That is one great looking rifle.

DUDE!!  That's a screechingly good deal....

NOW: spend what you saved on a good mount, rings and an optic from hell!!! 

ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL right!





Rings, scope and mount ready for fit up.  I have mags....bipod....


all I need is that damn rifle!

( which should ship this week!!!  )  WOO HOOOOOO!

Awesome, looks like you are ready to go once your rifle shows up. The wait sucks, I know.

Those Spuhr mounts look legit but aren't they quite expensive? And good job on the NF scope.

Yeah, that Spuhr kicked my in the jimmy.....to the tune of 410 bucks BUT....damn if it didn't set up sooo sugary sweet with that NightForce.

I also checked my TPS mount to make sure the screws were all set up correctly....based on some other comments and it it's perfect.  As was the one I put in an old, trued up Remington 700 recently.

I am dying to run this thing!!!  Rifle shipped today.  fingers crossed that I might pick it up on Friday.....but who knows.

So, dish the rest of the story (details)...

TPS rail - steel or aluminum?  4 screws the same length or 3 + 1 shorter?

Steel.  All holes are plunged to the same depth.  One screw appears a bit shorter ( by no more than one millimeter ) than the rest.  I should measure it so I save it for the bolt lug hole.  Adding to list of things to do!

Just as a point of reference, my "user shortened" screw ended up with an OAL of 0.273" with a "head" length of 0.092" and a threaded portion of 0.181" or a few thousandths short of 3/16".  I didn't measure an unmodified screw so I can't tell you how much shorter the mod-ed screw is!  

GOOD DATA!  Thank you!

Ugh.  What a goat rope.

Fortunately, my goat's name was Serendipity.

Got my Bergara and, long story short, I tossed the NF on it.....this was the Spuhr 3001 ( lowest 0 MOA they make ) setup I did the other day.

UGH!!!  Way......too....HIGH!!!!



You could throw a dead cat under there.

"Hmph!", says I.  "What can I do about this?  I am too lazy to send the mount back...but what am I gonna do with this thing?"

I get to thinking and I realize I never have liked the height of the ADM Recon on my MA-10.  I always have wanted to drop the height on that.  I wondered if I put the Spuhr on my MA-10 what it would do?

Oh, man!  It was sweeeet!!!  I dropped that thing almost a half an inch!!!!  I had to pull the top rail to gt it to fit!!!!  YEAH!!!!  This pic is before I took off the rail.  I just had the mount on finger tight.



I was even able to drop the cheek piece to zero elevation.  This is SO MUCH BETTER than the setup I had.

So....off to the gun store to get some NightForce low ( .885inch ) rings.  Oh, man....this was the second "Sooo much better!!" I got today!!!!



I dropped the scope about .300 thou....and man, I couldn't be happier!!!!

Finally got to handle one today.

It's my ideal 308 bolt action rifle. The weight, balance, stock, barrel, magazine and so on down to really oddball details unique to my own weird tastes are just perfect.

Trouble is, it would be another caliber and I have been paring those down lately and I already have a 6.5 Grendel that I don't shoot as often as I should. The nearest 1000 yard range I like to go To is 80 miles away. I would use this as a more general purpose, (hunting, self defense) gun than a precision rig. Something more like the Ruger Scout as opposed to the RPR. I consider myself a decent shot but precision riflery is a foreign country to me. I don't even have a reloading press let alone rangefinder, bags, kestrel, and so on.

With factory ammo like FGMM, Copper Creek, and Prime, who needs a reloading press? Chances are, you'll find a round that is accurate and consistent enough to do some damage at long range.

And no need for a Kestrel right off the bat. Learn to read wind the old fashioned way and practice. Learn from your mistakes.

Good bags are cheap. Vortex or Sig rangefinders are nice and inexpensive. And Konus spotting scopes are great for the price.

Also, consider picking up a copy of Ryan Cleckner's Long Range Shooting Handbook. It's a great read and incredibly informative even if you aren't new to precision shooting.

But most importantly. Get a Bergara HMR. You'll love it

Got to shoot mine on Saturday.  This was largely a recon of a new range and some initial functional testing.  I did a 25/100 zero on paper and then dialed it in on a potato sized stone at 100.  New week, we are going out for groups.

I also paired the gun up against an OLD, blueprinted Remington 700 BDL/HB in an FDE Magpul 700 stock with Magpul AICS mag furniture.

I zeroed and dialed each gun in the same manner and shot them with various types if 168 and 178 grain loads.

I was VERY glad for the muzzle brake on my Bergara and wished I had one on the Remington.  Both are light for their barrel profile and give an authoritative boot when fired.

Both guns rocked the house.  Note that the BDL is a blueprinted, old school HB....these are no BS guns when it comes to accuracy.

The Bergara kept right up with that Remington neck and neck through all of my practical shooting.  Both guns were dead relaible and I was engaging little stones and such with dead precision and ease.  I can't wait to do some groups!!!!!

Thumbs WAY up on Bergara!!!!!!!!

Awesome. Post up some groups when you get the chance.

I ended up getting mine in .308, and I've got a hankering for an RPR in 6.5 CM.

I still haven't decided on a base and rings for my HMR yet, though. I was looking at the LaRue and the Seekins...

Okay, first...love my rifle!

Precision shooting is something that I have dabbled with but have not done very seriously even now.  It is something I am just experimenting with.  I want to make that clear.

I think that will also make clear that if the rifle does this good in my hands.....think of what GOOD shooters can do with it.

I started using a lead sled during my AR-10 experiments as I was having some serious accuracy issues with that gun.  It turned out to be mechanical interface problem...and using the lead sled, it helped me dial in to exactly what my issues were.  That being said....if your lead sled isn't seriously weighted down or fixed to the table, I have learned that you can load a sled with tension that you aren't away of and THAT can cause the gun the "spring" when you pull the trigger.  I have NOT gotten very good at de-tensioning a lead sled and a really need to come up with a way to secure it to the bench when I use this tool.

All of that being said, I also have issues with timing my shots and gaining a good, consistent interface.  I am not that good of a shooter.

So, understand that I am not a good shooter, I am NOT in good shape, I need to work on my skills and I need to run my gear more securely.  It's all part of the learning process.

Now, THAT being said, in 119 degrees Fahrenheit with all of my handicaps, most the bullet types I used shot just as well as you see here.  Note that they flier you see was due to me not de-tensioning the lead sled correctly.  That was frustrating but it was very obvious it was myself or the gear....NOT THE RIFLE.

Here is a group shot at 100 yards with 41 grains of IMR4064 pushing the Winchester/Nosler 168 Grain Combined Technologies luballoy coated projectiles.  These run very well in my AR-10, also.  Note that I do NOT trickle charges, they are thrown via an RCBS thrower adaptor on a Dillon 550 stepped down to a 450.  Round s are small base sized so that I can run them interchangeably on any of my .308 rifles.



Here was the frustrating part of my day.  I would not set up my sled correctly and I would ( at random intervals ) though fairly wild fliers because the rest would jump sideways if I didn't take tension off of the very grippy rubber feet.  If I had taken the time to add more weight to the rest or had fixed it to the bench I could have been a bit more consistent.

Here is one of MY flubs:



I have shot really good groups with 168 grain BTHPM from just about every gun I can think of, and as you can tell, if I had done my part, this would have been another great group for me.

So think about this:

In my poor hands and my lackluster skill level, this rifle performs AT LEAST this well.  At the minimum...in 119 degree heat.

Think of what they can do in the hands of people who know what the hell they are doing.

I thought I'd share my thoughts/experiences with the B-14 HMR.  I initially saw this rifle in January at some trade shows and was immediately impressed.  I had not made the plunge into 6.5 Creedmoor yet and wanted to do so.  I knew I wanted something I could play with at the range, but also wanted to hunt with it- doing so eliminated a chassis rig.  Being in the 9 lb range made the HMR within range of the old Mausers I used to lug around.  I liked the adjustable comb and LOP.  After working the action I had to know how much the rifle was going to be.  At a $1000-1100 retail I immediately ordered one.  A few months later and I had it.

Examining the rifle, I was pretty impressed with fit/finish.  The action felt much more solid/smooth than a lot of rifles in this price point.  Stock look very good and I immediately fell in love with the adjustable comb, a feature I'd never had on a rifle.  Barrel is free floated.  I know some have said their stock is VERY rigid; mine not.  I can easily grip the barrel and end of the stock and squeeze until the barrel touches the stock.  A little disappointing, but not the end of the world.  I grabbed some ammo from my LGS, and headed off to the range.

I chose Hornady ELD Match, 140gr.  Loaded up my mag, and much to my dismay, immediately started having issues with the rifle feeding.  If I had more than one round in the magazine, the bolt would bind up about 2/3 of the way down.  I pulled the mag and found that the bolt was catching on the next round.  Below are pics of how far the bolt would bind, and what the mag looked like when I pulled it.





So, I reached out to Bergara and almost instantly they sent me a return authorization and a shipping label.  It took about two weeks, but they sent the rifle back and it is feeding without issues, as it should be.  I had initially suggested maybe it was just a magazine issue, but there was actually a bur on the bottom of the bolt catching on the next round, causing it to feed prematurely and binding the action.

I did not measure any of my groups.  I shot 40 rounds and really did not let the barrel cool very much.  Once I zeroed I should 4 5-shot groups.  Every group would have three round touching, and would have two "fliers".  But, even the fliers were within about 3/4"-1" of the other three shots.  Overall, groups were under 1" (I didn't measure, but you can tell pretty close using the 1" grid sighter trargets).  I was plenty pleased with this.  I also think bedding the action to the stock may improve this a bit.  I did not think the rifle would shooter 1/4 MOA.  It's well within 1 MOA and I'm happy with that.

Here is my breakdown of likes/dislikes so far:

Likes:
Love the adjustable LOP and comb
Lightweight enough for me to walk to a deerstand and hunt with
Very good quality feel to the action
Compatibility with Remington 700 accessories (bases and stocks are interchangeable to my understanding)
Plenty accurate
Removable mag that is widely available, not too expensive, and works with other platforms

Dislikes:
Stock is too flimsy for my taste

Would I recommend this rifle?  Heck yes I would!  This rifle has a lot to offer at a very attractive price point.  I'm impressed enough that next year I would like to buy a chassis rifle and will probably end up with one of Bergara's actions, most likely the BMP.

PSA:

As it relates to the HMR, I did receive a flier from Bass Pro this past week that would seem to indicate that they're in cahoots with Bergara and managed to get a 24" version of the 6.5mm HMR system made as an "exclusive" that's priced at 999 through the 30th.  The one I checked here in the Austin area surprisingly had all of their non-custom LR models.... the HMR, BMP, LRP and the LRP Elite in stock and on the rack when I stopped by.  Was nice to see the LRP platforms in the wild finally...

Could somebody with a 6.5 HMR throw a set of calipers on the muzzle shoulder and post the diameter here?

Thanks!

Good to know. I've had my LRP for about a month now and it has completely blown me away. Got it from Joe Bobs for $500 under list. The 5-shot groups look like 3-shot
Attached File

I got .751" on mine.

Now that's a tack driver!!!!

I picked up my HMR 6.5 last week and as of today received my Nightforce SHV 5-20x56 MOAR, Nightforce 20 MOA base and Seekins 0.97" rings. Cant wait to put it all together and hit the range this weekend despite the projected high of feeling like 104.

The only reason that group isn't one ragged hole is because I am a retard.  I shot that in 119° degree heat.   Don't sweat the heat......your Bergara will shrug it right off.  You are running damn near the same set up as I am...but you gots mo' powah.....and you will be glad of it.

Whittakers has two HMR 6.5s in stock as I type this; promo code GRAND and it comes in under $800 shipped to your FFL...

Wow, that's solid. Might have to pick one up as a hunting rig. Don't really want to tote my heavy ass LRP around next season.

Picked up my 6.5 today.  Threw a Leupold Mk4 15MOA base and a LRTSi 4.5-18 in Burris XTR low rings on it, put it on a scale where it weighed 11lb 13.2oz with the empty 5rd Pmag AC, ran a couple patches down the barrel, then went chootin'.

I put 50 rounds through it; 5 old 123 Amax/40.7gr Varget reloads to get on paper, 25 Hornady 140gr HPBT American Gunner, and 20 Hornady 140gr Amax Match ammo.  Rounds 21-25 through the rifle were 140gr HPBT American Gunner and registered an average of 2554fps across the Magnetospeed V2.  Rounds 26-30 were 140gr Amax Match and their velocity averaged 2646fps.  I imagine the barrel will pick up velocity over the next hundred rounds or so and plan to check velocity as the barrel burns in a bit.

I didn't get any groups as good as finslayer, but I would say the rifle lives up to its "sub-MOA guarantee".

I found the trigger a bit heavier than I prefer, but it certainly feels better than any X Mark Pro and I'm not inclined to pull the barreled action to adjust pull weight.  Side bolt release is a nice touch as is the bolt knob; bolt lift and throw was definitely smoother than the average RR-serial 700 I've cycled lately but it ain't a Tikka.

The rifle represents an excellent value, especially with the Whittakers price.  H4350 and IMR4451 are unobtanium right now so it doesn't really matter, but if I can get the American Gunner ammo to run 2600fps I'll probably never worry about reloading.

My HMR in 6.5 is in route to my dealer.  Ended up getting it for $889 delivered.  Will be shooting it alongside my RPR 6.5 and my 5R 308 to compare.  Looking forward to getting to the range and working up a load.

So, after I got my rifle back from Bergara (failure to feed issues), they had sent me a 30% off coupon for their website.  Poking around, I found they had McMillan stocks on there.  I've always wanted one and couldn't resist.  So, I picked one up.  Got home, worked on inletting the bottom metal, ordered some pillars, pillared and bedded it (seems simple, but this was about three weeks worth of tinkering to get everything right, but I like to tinker).

Let me first say that although I said before that I thought the factory stock was too flimsy, I don't think it would negatively affect accuracy.  In fact I put a bore sighter in the muzzle, and looked through the scope as I loosened and tightened the action screws.  No shift in relation to sight picture, so I'm confident the factory stocks will perform.

So, I got the rifle out for a bit today.  First time in the new stock and first time with handloads.  With 140gr being virtual unobtainium, I grabbed some 123gr I have for loading 6.5 Grendel.  I was able to chronograph 11 round before my chronie started acting up; rounds averaged 2824fps overall, but I had on round that chronied 71fps lower than the next lowest (also shot outside of grouping); throw out the "dud" and the other 10 averaged 2832 fps.  Load was 43.5gr H4350.  I shot 15 rounds of this load and some Hornady 140gr Black ammo (BTHPs).  Both shot well but the 123gr was the star of the day.  Pic below of 6 shot group; the flyer is the "dud".

I also had a new Howa Chassis Rifle with me (more on that in a whole different thread).  It is my 5th Howa 1500 (I own two varminters in 223 and 22-250, a S&W 1500, and a Vanguard) so needless to say I know and love these actions.  Shooting both one after the other, I think I prefer the Bergara.  It is just plain smooth, more so than the HCR was.

Anybody else have a Bergara that was shooting sub moa then the accuracy dropped to 3 moa? ( barrel has less than 1000 rds through it)
If you did what caused it and what fixed it?

Check the torque on all of your fasteners first.

Second, get some Sweets, some Kroil and some JB Bore paste and clean the heck out of the barrel. ( look up the Kroil and bore paste thing...have a good jag and tight fitting patches )

Those are your two most likely culprits.  If that doesn't work, get ahold of Bergara as they have every good customer service.

Checked all the fasteners they were torqued correctly. We cleaned it throughly with Sweets and Hoppes no9. Still 3 moa. Sent it to Bergara said they cleaned it and I think they recrowned it just judging by the look of it. Got it back, they got it down to 2 moa at 100 yds. I'm still trying to figure out why accuracy fell off.

Damn.  If the barrel was going south Bergara should have caught it.  What scope are you running?

Yeah either the scope or bases. I bet the locked the rifle down and fired a group with it.

Had a Nightforce ATACR thought maybe something broke in it. Swapped it with a Sightron SIII on to rule out the scope issue. Group size didn't change between the two. Using Vortex rings and EGW 20moa base, all were torqued to the recommended specs.

If you are shooting factory match ammo and it's still not grouping well I would push the issue with Bergara.  They are claiming the rifle are sub-MOA.

If you are shooting hand loads, grab a box or two of match ammo for comparison.  Mine really likes Hornady 140gr ELD-M.

X2 I don't think the throat would go that drastically. Unless sub standard barrel made it through.

How long have you had it?

How did you determine it was sub moa?(sorry got to ask, some think one or two 5 shot groups are enough)

Were these hand loads?
If so did they shoot sub moa in all temps?

Has the muzzle velocity dropped?

Athlon or Nikon scope?

Yeah I'm gonna order some Hornady eld-m, Prime and Stand One. And just see how they all shoot