Bergara b14hmr accuracy issues

[Samg1707]

Just picked up a b14 hmr in 308

First range trip and was shooting 178gr Hornady precision hunter and 168gr BTSP handloads. Rifle wouldn’t hold under a 1 inch group. Made sure rings/ bases were tighten down to spec and lock tight.

Any help would be great, heard these rifles were laser beams

 

[mt100gr.]

Scope? Mounts? Rest? Your rifle shooting experience?

 

[redneckbmxer24]

Try a box of 168gr FGMM, that’s the gold standard of 308 match ammo. I’ve yet to see a 308 that didn’t like it. That will at least determine if the rifle shoots.

 

[Samg1707]

Scope? Mounts? Rest? Your rifle shooting experience?

Scope- vortex pst gen 1 6-24x50
Mounts- seekins 30mm
Base- seekins
Harris bipod with a rear bag

Experience- sniper section U.S army, been shooting since I was a kid.

Just found some stuff online about overspray on the bedding blocks. Gonna give that a try

 

[Samg1707]

Try a box of 168gr FGMM, that’s the gold standard of 308 match ammo. I’ve yet to see a 308 that didn’t like it. That will at least determine if the rifle shoots.

I’ll give it a go and see what happens

 

[mt100gr.]

Scope- vortex pst gen 1 6-24x50
Mounts- seekins 30mm
Base- seekins
Harris bipod with a rear bag

Experience- sniper section U.S army, been shooting since I was a kid.

Just found some stuff online about overspray on the bedding blocks. Gonna give that a try

Copy that. IME, those should definitely give you a picture of what the rifle can do.

I'd play around with a few different factory loads first. Like the FGMM, the federal blue box soft points have always been a good test for me in .308 cal rifles. And the Fusion line, too.

 

[swavescatter]

Don't waste too much ammo - call up Bergara and they'll pay for shipping to make it right.

Had this issue myself - tips:

Take off the muzzle brake (they said they had to machine mine out a bit)
Ensure action screws are tight
Try another scope if possible

You'll get your laser beam dialed in, but rarely they do need some re-work. Great rifles.

 

[MAP1]

Begera does have a barrel break in procedure did you follow it? Put at least two or three boxes of ammo thru the gun before assuming gun isn’t MOA. When in doubt try Barnes ammo they shoot well in all my guns.

 

[swavescatter]

My 6.5 Creed HMR shot sub MOA laser beams out of the box. I do break in barrels slowly myself, but many say it’s a waste of time and post groups to prove it.

I wouldn’t throw away $200 in ammo to avoid shipping it back inevitably. Sucks but they’ll make it right.

 

[black dawg]

Bergara does list what ammo they test each cartridge with.

 

[XLR]

Just picked up a b14 hmr in 308

First range trip and was shooting 178gr Hornady precision hunter and 168gr BTSP handloads. Rifle wouldn’t hold under a 1 inch group. Made sure rings/ bases were tighten down to spec and lock tight.

Any help would be great, heard these rifles were laser beams

I doubt they are hand lapping their barrels so you could see poor accuracy for the first few rounds! I would get 50 through the tube before you consider trying other ammo or sending it back. When the rifle is new you are going to have very sharp rifling so during those first couple boxes your barrel is changing after each shot! After those first couple boxes the accuracy should get better even though the barrel hasn't sped up all the way. Burn the first two boxes then clean all of the carbon and copper out. After the cleaning shoot 5 shots and then shoot a group.

 

[Harvey_NW]

My B14 never shot worth a shit. Took multiple combinations of hand loads just to get it consistently shoot 1". I never tried their customer service though, so hopefully they'll take care of you if it goes that far. Best of luck.

 

[MAP1]

Begera customer service is good, I sent them a 450 Bushmaster with round feeding issues. They replaced the floor plate spring, the whole process took about 5 weeks.

 

[Diced]

I had a b14 ridge 300 win mag that wouldn't group better than 2 moa. Turns out the crown of the muzzle was damaged. Bought it new and I definitely didn't damage it so they fixed it.

I've also heard a common issue for a while with them was the muzzle brakes "shaving" bullets.

 

[gethuntin]

I have read multiple times to sand down the overspray on the bedding blocks.

 

[OneShot]

Try a box of 168gr FGMM, that’s the gold standard of 308 match ammo. I’ve yet to see a 308 that didn’t like it. That will at least determine if the rifle shoots.

Was going to post the same! Every 308 I’ve shot with 168gr FGMM , shot it extremely well.

 

[Samg1707]

I doubt they are hand lapping their barrels so you could see poor accuracy for the first few rounds! I would get 50 through the tube before you consider trying other ammo or sending it back. When the rifle is new you are going to have very sharp rifling so during those first couple boxes your barrel is changing after each shot! After those first couple boxes the accuracy should get better even though the barrel hasn't sped up all the way. Burn the first two boxes then clean all of the carbon and copper out. After the cleaning shoot 5 shots and then shoot a group.

I put 50 through it the first range trip, I got the overspray taken care of and torqued the action screws back down and cleaned the barrel, I’ll post results when I get back to the range tomorrow and see what has happened. If there’s no improvement, back to bergara it goes

 

[Samg1707]

My 6.5 Creed HMR shot sub MOA laser beams out of the box. I do break in barrels slowly myself, but many say it’s a waste of time and post groups to prove it.

I wouldn’t throw away $200 in ammo to avoid shipping it back inevitably. Sucks but they’ll make it right.

Whole reason I bought it was cause a buddy has a 6.5 prc and it was awesome out of the box. Headin back to the range tomorrow and I’ll post some follow ups

 

[grfox92]

Based on the sheer number of threads with Begara accuracy issues in the last 6 months, and a personal friend who just bought one that isn't grouping on paper at 100 yards, I would say, even if you were using a paper towel tube with paper machet scope rings, it's probably still the rifle.

In all seriousness, I would not burn up a bunch if ammo. Make sure everything is tight and torqued down. If it is and still shoots like crap, send it back. They always seem to take care of it.

Someone above mentioned overspray on the action. Pretty sure my buddies 6.5 had a ton of it. I cleaned it up, and it still shot terrible, but that has been effective for some.

Good luck, I hope it works out.

Sent from my SM-G990U using Tapatalk

 

[redneckbmxer24]

Based on the sheer number of threads with Begara accuracy issues in the last 6 months, and a personal friend who just bought one that isn't grouping on paper at 100 yards, I would say, even if you were using a paper towel tube with paper machet scope rings, it's probably still the rifle.

In all seriousness, I would not burn up a bunch if ammo. Make sure everything is tight and torqued down. If it is and still shoots like crap, send it back. They always seem to take care of it.

Someone above mentioned overspray on the action. Pretty sure my buddies 6.5 had a ton of it. I cleaned it up, and it still shot terrible, but that has been effective for some.

Good luck, I hope it works out.

Sent from my SM-G990U using Tapatalk

There's no doubt that Bergara puts out some turds, I had one and it left a bad taste in my mouth. Most of them are good shooters though and their CS is decent so the gamble of a dud is still worth it even if you have to send it back for a barrel replacement. The features you get for the $$ are unmatched, they are an excellent value. Yeah you can buy a Tikka and drop it in a stock or chassis but you'll have more $$ in it and Tikka has put out some rifles that didn't shoot too and their CS is a nightmare to deal with. It's a gamble either way.

I still recommend Bergara if it fits the bill, just like I still recommend Tikka. Buying any sort of entry level production rifle you just have to know that it might not be a winner out of the box.