Bergara Highlanders

[Mountainman3]

I am a big 7/08 fan as well and that 280ai is pretty intriguing! Any idea of the actual weight of the rifle? I am trying to keep this rifle under 9 pounds and am not sure that will be possible. I will most likely be using a Tract Toric which is around 20oz so it would probably be close.

I have the highlander in 6.5. Topped with a leupold VX6 3-18x44 with Talley light weight rings. Just over 9#. It’s a tack driver too. .406” 100 yard groups.


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[Motown]

I have the highlander in 6.5. Topped with a leupold VX6 3-18x44 with Talley light weight rings. Just over 9#. It’s a tack driver too. .406” 100 yard groups.


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Do you have the Creed or PRC?

 

[Mountainman3]

Do you have the Creed or PRC?

Creed


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[Luvbowhuntn]

I am a big 7/08 fan as well and that 280ai is pretty intriguing! Any idea of the actual weight of the rifle? I am trying to keep this rifle under 9 pounds and am not sure that will be possible. I will most likely be using a Tract Toric which is around 20oz so it would probably be close.

Mine is almost 10# on the nose but that’s with a 4.5-18 Bushy LRHSi on it. The scope is a tank and built like one. You should be able to hit the 9# mark with a Tract or lighter scope. Btw those Tract Toric’s are excellent glass especially for their price


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[whaack]

I have the highlander in 6.5. Topped with a leupold VX6 3-18x44 with Talley light weight rings. Just over 9#. It’s a tack driver too. .406” 100 yard groups.


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Got any pics. This is exactly what I’m looking to build.


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[Mountainman3]

Got any pics. This is exactly what I’m looking to build.


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[Motown]

I like the looks of this rifle! Is it 9# with the rail and rings or with the Talley’s?

 

[Mountainman3]

Mine has the talleys and it’s a couple ounces past 9#


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[Watrdawg]

Update on my Highlander issues. I started having the same issues as previously with the bolt riding over the top round in the magazine and cycling was very rough. I emailed the same CS rep from previously and told him that I had purchased a Seekins PH2 and had come to the conclusion I was going to have to sell the Highlander at a loss. This was just before Christmas. He emails me yesterday and says that they have reviewed my case and he was going to his manager to see what they could come up with. This morning he emails me and says that Bergara is going to purchase my rifle from me and that all i need to do is send my original receipt with the rifle and they will refund me my money. This is absolutely unbelievable!! I'm floored!! I didn't ask for this in anyway and they took this on themselves to do this. All I can say is that Bergara is top notch in my book.

This issues I had may have been a one off lemon gun or it could be with the 6.5PRC rifle itself because of the round being based on a magnum cartridge. Regardless, I wouldn't not buy one in a different caliber. I'm a bit invested in the 6.5PRC now and am glad that I went to the Seekins PH2 and it's easily on the same level as the Highlander.

 

[rootacres]

I had a 308 in the Bergara Hunter. I know its not a highlander but my understanding is the barrels and actions are nearly identical. I think the highlander is a #5 contour where the hunter is a #4 and non threaded. It was a sub MOA rifle with factory Noslers. If 308 was my chosen caliber I would have kept it. I ended up going a different caliber route.

 

[Crocker]

Hey guys, new to the forum. Been leaning hard toward a bergara highlander in 6.5 PRC and see warthog has had some issues. Was gonna send you a PM directly but have to get a few post in first. Any info is appreciated.

 

[Crocker]

"watrdog" I mean

 

[Watrdawg]

Just saw your post Crocker. First off the rifle was very very accurate! Fit and finish was great! Overall it was a very good looking rifle and probably the most accurate rifle I owned. The issues were multiple. The rifle was advertised with a magazine capacity of 3 plus one in the chamber. When I tried to load 3 in the magazine I could barely get 2 rounds in. When chambering a round the bolt would ride over the top round. I could easily chamber a round if there was 1 round in the magazine but if i loaded up two rounds then the bolt face would not engage that top round and would ride over it. When chambering that one round it was very very difficult. I was using Hornaday 143gr ELD-X's and Copper Creek 140gr Berger Elite Hunter ammo. Didn't make a difference. So I contacted Bergara and spoke with Oliver Butts. He was great to work with. Over the phone we ran some trouble shooting as far as loading and chambering was concerned and nothing worked. So he sent me a RMA and I sent off my rifle back to Bergara. It came back 3 weeks later and at that time I could load 2 round easily but not a 3rd. Oliver said because of the dimensions of the round only 2 could be loaded into the internal magazine. I wasn't too happy but it wasn't a killer. However, I still had issues chambering rounds. It was very difficult and i had to use a good bit of force to do so. Another issue popped up at this time. When extracting live rounds instead of being kicked out to side of the rifle. IT was as if the extractor wasn't strong enough to handle the live round. All of my other rifles easily ejected live round out an away from the rifle. I called Oliver and he said it was because of the weight of the live round.
So about two weeks later Seekins had a sale on the Havak for Christmas. I ordered one in 6.5PRC and it came in the week before Christmas. I loaded up the magazine and 3 round loaded easily. I cycled the bolt and all 3 round ejected easily out and away fro the rifle. Went to the range and it shoots at least if not better than the Highlander. No issues at all.

I sent Oliver an email describing my feeling about the Highlander and that I had bought a Seekins Havak PH2 in 6.5PRC and that I was selling the Highlander, probably going to have to take a loss on it, but I really appreciated all the help he gave me. I told him that maybe my rifle was a lemon and that I had other Bergara's that were great. Less than a week later he replied and said that he had relayed the history of my rifle to his manager and that they were sending me a RMC to return the rifle and they would refund my what I paid for the rifle. I emailed him my thanks and sent him copies of my receipt showing what I paid for the rifle. 3 weeks after they received the Highlander I had a check in the mail!

I think that I may have had a lemon rifle for some reason. Bergara stepped up and bought it back from me and I was fully prepared to sell it at a loss. All I can say is that they went above and beyond! I'm sure none of the other big companies would even have thought about doing that. If there is one change I would make to the Highlander it would be to change up from an internal magazine to a box magazine. That would probably clear up any similar issues and also bring the capacity back up to 3 rounds.

 

[Crocker]

Hey man, Thanks for taking the time to reply. Good info!

 

[Watrdawg]

Any time.

 

[Finn16]

Dang, two cracked stock reports, feeding issues, 2 poor bluing reports and 6 oz over advertised spec and a lot of interaction with customer service. There's no excuse for this stuff.

 

[Watrdawg]

Hmmm. Good thing is that CS is great and they are taking care of issues. However, you are right. A weapon, especially in this price range shouldn't be having all of these issues. Sounds like a QC issue in production.

 

[khuber84]

Why anyone would pay 1700$ for a 7.7# bergara rifle thats unproven, when you can get a seekins ph2 that weighs 6.9-7.1# depending on chambering for similar or less price. I just used a seekins 25% off coupon to order a rifle/rings/brake/pic rail for my nephew, with the discount all those items were still less than ph2 msrp.

 

[Mountainman3]

Why anyone would pay 1700$ for a 7.7# bergara rifle thats unproven, when you can get a seekins ph2 that weighs 6.9-7.1# depending on chambering for similar or less price. I just used a seekins 25% off coupon to order a rifle/rings/brake/pic rail for my nephew, with the discount all those items were still less than ph2 msrp.

I paid $1350 for my highlander, not $1700. I have a couple different bergara and they all have proven themselves time and time again. Both at the range and on the field. I have heard great things about the seekins but never shot one. I’ve shot plenty of bergaras and every single one has been the best shooter I’ve ever touched. Even over custom made rifles.


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[Luvbowhuntn]

My experiences with Bergara rifles mirrors Mountainman’s. I own several and haven’t had a single issue whatsoever. My Highlander in 280AI has been my favorite rifle I’ve ever owned by far. I learned a long time ago to take online reviews with a grain of salt. As folks tend to try to portray worst case scenario even if they have to embellish the details some. Now Watr put out the kind of review that really catches my attention bc he points out the problems he had but also says how it was resolved and whether or not he was satisfied with his dealings. As far as the issues mentioned above there’s no excuse for cracked stocks. A lot of feed issues arise from folks not seating the internal mag box back correctly when they disassemble their rifle. I’m not knocking the Seekins rifles at all other than that god awful fluting and I have no doubt they’ll be accurate rifles. Just like all the Bergara’s I have owned have been. You always have to remember that it’s the folks with an issue that you’ll hear the loudest rather than the countless people who have had great experiences with their rifles. I also paid less than $1400 for my Highlander.


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