Hunters Of England

BERGARA B14R (rimfire)

The .22 rimfire in shooting terms is something you will have almost certainly come across at one time or another, usually as a starting point from which we all start to learn the basics and fundamentals of shooting in order to progress to find our niche or favourite discipline. That progression usually means the poor old 22 rapidly becomes a forgotten item that is sadly relegated and forgotten in the back of the gun cabinet.

Which was pretty much the same for me until a growing early teenage daughter wanted to try the sport, but was definitely not a fan of loud full-bore rifles, so the .22 was clearly the place to start, and this got me re-examining this little gem again after many years. Following a visit to my local dealer I soon had a mint condition Anschutz singe shot target rifle that is great for teaching the basics and of course is insanely accurate for under £100. Shooting this rifle is so much fun that I spend as much time behind it a she does.

Fast forward to present time and my niche in our sport - I have been actively competing in PR / Sniper / Tactical competitions in the UK and abroad for many years. This type of dynamic competition seeks to find a balance between movement, speed and precision, engaging targets at both known and unknown distances on both paper and reactive steel targets. Shooting distances can typically vary from between 15 out to 1000 yds., and this discipline has expanded and recently started to offer extreme long range comps for larger calibre magnum rifles over 1-2 miles, this sport is slowly morphing towards the next step in its natural evolution from Practical Rifle (PR) through Sniper/Tactical and it is now rebranding itself as “PRS” (precision rifle shooting)

The UK is in the early stages of trying to organise the sport under the umbrella organisation of UKPRA in order to offer a standard format for comps across the world, so if you travel to other countries to compete, as I do, you know more or less what to expect, and the comp format (range commands, target sizes, scoring etc) is familiar wherever you compete. This is not unusual, as F-Class, TR and Benchrest, and lots of other shooting disciplines work along the same standardized competition rules/guidelines.

For me one of the big attractions for this type of event is that it is “dynamic” and by that I mean you are expected to move from firing point to firing point. Sometimes this can be a short distance, sometimes not, and in the past climbing over and under and tough obstacles. You are expected to start the day carrying everything you need to shoot for the day, and of course finish with it - no 20kg front rests here!

Shooting positions can be standing, squatting, kneeling and sitting as well as prone, and at least 80% is shooting through, over, and under, at angled and moving targets, and of course sometimes under time limits.

The target size is usually between 0.3-0.9 MIL (3-9 cm at 100 m, approximately 1/3 MOA. This adds a whole extra dimension of difficulty and increases the chances to screw things up. While you can register to shoot these comps and just rock up and give it a go, if you are serious about competing in this sport you need to practice, practice, practice - and when you’ve had enough; practice some more.

So in order to practice getting in and out of positions, mag-changes and moving transitions our cousins from the US have started to practice the sport using .22 rifles specially constructed to duplicate their competition rifles. This is a great idea as you could easily burn out a full-bore barrel in practice without even entering a comp, so a duplicate rifle in .22, for practice makes perfect sense.

The shooting industry has been quick to see this new opening for a rimfire “cross trainer“, and the growth of a whole market has appeared to meet the needs of the shooter who wishes to add a practice rifle to their training program. This new market has been so successful there are now rapidly growing PRS 22-only competitions.

Enter the Bergara B14R, (available in 22lr, 22WMR, and 17HMR, and both right and left-handed)

Bergara have been producing quality rifle barrels for many years and have naturally progressed into rifle production, and produce the Bergara Match Precision rifles (in various standard calibres). In order to match their line of centrefire rifles, they have used the same a synthetic stock for the new .22. It has an inner alloy spine, is fully adjustable for length of pull and comb height and has a look and feel very much like a McMillan tactical stock.

One of the biggest selling points is that Bergara rifle actions are built on a Remington 700 foot print

which of course means it is compatible with a huge amount of aftermarket stocks and accessories.

This year they added the B14R (rimfire) Trainer in a choice of carbon fibre wrapped or standard steel barrels, in their HMR stock.

But don’t be fooled this does not look or feel like a .22 even though the barrels are 18”, and not the 20, 24 and 26” of the full-bore versions.

So what you have is a full-sized HMR with all its features, but chambered in 22LR. The rifle is fitted with Bergara’s #6 (heavy) profile 18-inch, 4140 chrome-moly steel barrel with a SAAMI spec match chamber, with a nicely recessed crown, and threaded ½-28 for a suppressor or muzzle device. 

The standard steel version comes in at 9.2 pounds, and the carbon at 8.1 pounds. All my competition rifles use a suppressor and although not necessary for a .22, I have added one to give it a little more length and balance to the rifle

STOCK

The stock is dark grey with a black random splatter pattern over the top that also gives more grip. Bergara describe it as a Graphite/black Cerakote finish. There are also cast-in textured panels on the grip and forend. This gives the look and feel of the McMillan A5 which luckily for me is my go-to stock for any rifle build.

The angle of the grip is near vertical and fits the hand well in a very natural “hand shake” position and sets up the finger well for proper trigger control. The stock also has a small thumb rest under the bolt, and a cut-away hook under the stock for off-hand support, as well as the all-important adjustable LOP and cheekpiece, making custom fitting the rifle to the shooter quick and easy.

The stock feels completely rigid thanks to the internal aluminium skeleton and therefore needs no extra bedding - although I still might do this just as a comfort factor. The barrel channel is central to the line of the stock and more than adequate to take the heavy profile barrel. Bergara have clearly done their research well, in creating this competition stock, and have installed four flush cup sockets (two on either side front and back), and two bipod mounting studs, which is just how I set my comp rifles up. The reason for these “quick release points” is that now, with the range of front and rear bags and slings required to carry a course of fire, it means the less kit to carry in your hands, the better which can definitely help with the fumble factor.

Good as the stock may be, there will always be those wanting just that bit more individualism, and for them, the B14 is readily available as a barrelled action – just waiting to be dropped into an Accuracy International, or other exotic stock.

ACTION
the B14R action has a 90-degree bolt throw, and “push-feed”, which is important as the bolt strips the round from the top of the elevated 10 round magazine stack and pushes it directly forward, in line, with the chamber without the need of a feed ramp, as that could deform a soft lead round and lead to accuracy issues. This great idea should not impede the shooter if shooting at speed. To match your comp rifles, the bolt sports a large teardrop handle for ease of operation.

MAGAZINE
Once again, as a nod to the target user, Bergara has designed the magazine to fit into what most shooters would recognise as standard - the AICS 10 round magazine – so, in look and feel it’s going to be the same thing as your full bore comp gun uses. Great for practising safety drills and 10/5 round mag changes, even the magazine release is in the same place as the majority of comp rifles, just forward of the trigger guard, and is ambidextrous.

TRIGGER

The Bergara trigger is a decent factory single-stage trigger, with a small grub screw just forward of the trigger shoe to make the weight adjustments. With the screw all the way in, it’s a 3-pound, 3-ounce pull, which adjusts down to 2 pounds, 4 ounces at its lowest setting.