Bergara B14 Hunter Rifle Review Synthetic stock 6.5 Creedmoor

Bergara B14 Hunter Rifle Review Synthetic stock 6.5 Creedmoor

Editor: Mike

Basic Description of Item:
Bergara 6.5 Creedmoor B14 Hunter Sythetic stock rifle review.
22 inch barrel, Synthetic Stock Hunting Rifle

Just the Facts:

The B-14 Hunter rifle features a molded synthetic stock made of glass fiber reinforced polymer.

The (#3) Bergara 4140 CrMo steel barrel is finished in matte blue and is available in 22 inches in the short action, which weighs 7.05 lbs and 24 inches in the long action, which weighs 7.35 lbs.

During the molding process, solid steel pillars are inserted and permanently molded into place, providing a secure and stable bedding surface for the barreled action. The base color is green with tan and black flecks, providing a very tasteful camo look. A SoftTouch coating gives the stock soft, tacky feel that is easy to grip even in harsh weather.

All B-14 rifles are capable of producing sub-1.0 MOA groups or less at 100 yards using factory match grade ammunition.

The B-14 Hunter list price tarts at $825, but can be found for as little as $699 in some locations.

Calibers/Twists

.300 Win. Mag./1:10

.30-06/1:10

.270/1:10

.308/1:10.

.243/1:10

6.5 Creedmoor/1:08 (Floor Plate Model Only)

7mm Rem. Mag./1:09 (Floor Plate Model Only)

The B-14 has an adjustable trigger, that came to us set at 3 pounds.

My Story:
Bergara has long been known for producing some of the very best rifle and muzzle loader barrels. Their jump into the US Hunting gun industry was not a surprise! They seem to be able to produce great products at very reasonable prices, hence we were excited to check out this lower cost mass produced hunting rifle from Bergara, the B-14 Synthetic.
We took possession of a 6.5 Creedmoor in a 22 inch barrel configuration, which is what is offered.
On first inspection we noticed several things:
-The gun looks and feels great.
-The synthetic stock is impressive to the feel and looks great. It is slightly tacky like the Browning Duratouch finish.
-The Bolt is silky smooth and has the feel of a Sako, or Tikka.
-The safety was crisp and felt substantial.
-The barrel is belongs to Begara. What do I mean by that? It is heavier than other production Creedmoor rifles and has almost a bull look to it.
-The trigger has very little take up or slack, and came feeling about right at 3 pounds.

We then spent the next month or so developing a load for the gun and shooting the heck out of it.
You can see our load development video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xfKMHyDnig

We were determined to find a load that we could utilize out to 600 yards for Deer and Antelope, so almost a long range type of set up. We topped the gun with a Burriss XTR-ii 5-25×50 scope.
The loads we tried were first several factory match grade loads in a variety of grains and manufacturers. We found the Bergara to shoot the factory ammo fairly well, but it did not meet the 1 MOA promise with match grade factory ammo in most cases. We did find that it shot the 6.5 Creedmoor 129 gr SST® Superformance® factor ammo the most accurately and with pretty dang good speed.

We then focused on creating our own load with 2 different bullets: Nosler Accubond Long Range 129 grain bullets, and Hornady Eld-x 143 grain long range bullets. We loaded them up in Norma brass with RL 17 Powder.

We found our accuracy with our hand loads improved dramatically, and we were easily able to shoot 1/2 MOA groups in most cases with both bullets. NICE!!!

We were thrilled with the feel of the Bergara, it has a reasonable kick due to an adequate butt pad. It feels good in your hand due to a good and well made synthetic stock.
The trigger again was very nice without any adjustment, and in all cases shooters were surprised that we had not altered the weight. Common comment were: WOW that is a nice trigger, to Holy SHIT that thing feel good:)

Overall we were very satisfied with the Bergar b-14 hunter rifle. I can set this gun up to be a lethal 600 yard gun for under $1000, that is impressive!

Nice work Bergara, we would consider this gun a buy, and will recommend it to our users.

What they could do better:
-We had a hard time filling the magazine and cycling the rounds fast with our longer hand loads. (longer to match the lands)
-The check pad could be taller
-Factor ammo did not meet the 1 MOA promise, but was close.