This year, my dad helped me switch from a Ruger M77 Mark II in 7mm Remington Magnum (the "boat-oar" stock as everyone called them) to a more modern, lighter weight rifle.
He got me a Rokslide writer's discount from Bergara. I sold the Ruger and my old Win. Model 70, also in 7mm to come up with the money.
Dad and Ryan gave me some advice on cartridge choices (I hunt deer and elk,) but I did the research myself and chose the 6.5 PRC. @VANDAL shoots a Bergara Ridge Carbon in a 6.5 PRC and was kind enough to let me put a box of shells through his and that confirmed the decision.
I checked out the their entire rifle line, including @Josh Boyd 's review of the Bergara B14 Squared here, and @Travis Bertrand 's UL MgLite here
Nice guns but I wanted a traditional stock with floor plate instead of a detachable mag, so we put the order in for the
bpioutdoors.com
I'm a lefty but I’ve shot right handed rifles my entire life, so finally running a true left handed bolt action was a big change for me.
A few other specifications: 7.4lbs, 20" barrel (brake or suppressor ready, 1:8 twist
The Bergara arrived in a few weeks of order, and with the factory brake. This was my first braked gun.
Dad gave me his Vortex Razor LH 2-10x40. It's a 10-year old scope but still shooting fine. We went with factory ammo to start with: Hornaday 143 EDL-X
We hit the the range within a few days. The first thing I noticed was the recoil. My old 7 mags definitely had some kick, especially when shooting from less than perfect positions. I could only shoot the Ruger about 6 shots accurately at a time because of the recoil (I'm 5'10 and 185lbs). The braked 6.5 PRC in the Bergara feels a lot more controlled and easier to manage, while still hitting hard. It feels much more accurate by that factor alone. It makes me feel a lot more confident about the accuracy of shots I’ve made. The factory muzzle brake does its job and definitely tames the recoil, though it’s pretty loud. Still, the trade-off is worth it for how much it softens the shot.
The adjustable cheek rest is another feature I didn’t realize I’d value so much. Being able to dial in a solid cheek weld makes getting behind the scope feel natural and consistent. Dad is clueless about adjustable cheek welds so he learned a thing or two as well.
We made two other trips to the range. I learned how to use the scope's hashmarks out to 350 yards. I was averaging 2" or so groups at 100. I put about 30 rounds through it and with hunting season near, Dad said "good enough for now".
We hunted a late bull season, mostly on private ground, and ended up putting in 10 days out of the two week season. The weather was unusually mild for that time of year, which made it tough. Elk weren’t moving much and stayed hard to locate. It turned into more of a truck and hiking hunt, covering ground and checking different areas each day.
It took 6 days just to find elk. We stalked the herd of 30 and I set up in some tall sagebrush at 150 yards out. With so many elk, I had to wait to get a clear shot at the raghorn. Then I missed.
We tracked them about a mile with no blood or snow then decided to give them time to settle. We still had five more days and didn't want to push them out after waiting so long for them to migrate in. I think I missed because I hit the sagebrush a few feet in front of me. You can see in the video that I could barely see above the brush and the elk were milling around. Dad said he's missed shots like that before.
We kept hunting the area, only seeing cow elk and spikes for three more days. On the 2nd to last day, we finally found another herd about a mile to the north. There was a much better bull so I was glad I missed the raghorn.
We hiked a long way around to get above them and again crawled into some tall sage and set up and 330 yards--the closest we could get. Dad put me on his SLIK 624 tripod with the Outdoorsmans Micro Pan and showed me how to make a rest between plate adapter and the foam handle. It took an hour to get a clear shot at the bedded bull (cows kept blocking the shot), but it all came together. The hour gave me time to really settle in and do dry fires. I hit him in the vitals the first shot but missed my 2nd because I rushed it. Luckily he tipped over before I shot again. He was down and Dad was getting excited.
We called mom and had her meet us on the county road with sandwiches and a chainsaw and headed back up the mountain. We could get my truck within 1/3 mile of the bull after we cleared the two-track of fallen trees. We quartered the bull up. My bullet had gone all the way through. And then backpacked him up to the truck. We just got the lab-age results back from @Big Sky Guy at Matson's lab. Bull was 4-years old
The rifle was easy to carry and handle, and when the moment came, I felt completely confident behind it.
It was great taking a shot I felt confident in, even at a longer range. It’s also noticeably lighter than the rifles I’ve carried in past seasons. On longer hikes, that makes a difference. It balances well and sits well on your back, which I appreciated.
You can watch my 10-day hunt in one minute right here:
For 2026, I'm n moving to Bergara's factory Suppressor, the BTi30. Dad ordered it for my 20th birthday and it's on the way right now.
I'm also working with @Unknown Munitions on load development. Dad thinks we can cut my groups in half. I'll start with their 6.5 PRC cartridge recipe and then we'll do some load development box testing. I don't know what that is but I'm excited to learn. Once we know my load, Dad is going to teach me to reload on his RCBS equipment. This is a skill I'm looking forward to having.
I can answer questions on here.
And I'll post up my 2026 updates on this thread too as we accomplish them.
He got me a Rokslide writer's discount from Bergara. I sold the Ruger and my old Win. Model 70, also in 7mm to come up with the money.
Dad and Ryan gave me some advice on cartridge choices (I hunt deer and elk,) but I did the research myself and chose the 6.5 PRC. @VANDAL shoots a Bergara Ridge Carbon in a 6.5 PRC and was kind enough to let me put a box of shells through his and that confirmed the decision.
I checked out the their entire rifle line, including @Josh Boyd 's review of the Bergara B14 Squared here, and @Travis Bertrand 's UL MgLite here
Nice guns but I wanted a traditional stock with floor plate instead of a detachable mag, so we put the order in for the
B-14 Wilderness Sierra (Left Handed)
bpioutdoors.com
I'm a lefty but I’ve shot right handed rifles my entire life, so finally running a true left handed bolt action was a big change for me.
A few other specifications: 7.4lbs, 20" barrel (brake or suppressor ready, 1:8 twist
The Bergara arrived in a few weeks of order, and with the factory brake. This was my first braked gun.
Dad gave me his Vortex Razor LH 2-10x40. It's a 10-year old scope but still shooting fine. We went with factory ammo to start with: Hornaday 143 EDL-X
We hit the the range within a few days. The first thing I noticed was the recoil. My old 7 mags definitely had some kick, especially when shooting from less than perfect positions. I could only shoot the Ruger about 6 shots accurately at a time because of the recoil (I'm 5'10 and 185lbs). The braked 6.5 PRC in the Bergara feels a lot more controlled and easier to manage, while still hitting hard. It feels much more accurate by that factor alone. It makes me feel a lot more confident about the accuracy of shots I’ve made. The factory muzzle brake does its job and definitely tames the recoil, though it’s pretty loud. Still, the trade-off is worth it for how much it softens the shot.
The adjustable cheek rest is another feature I didn’t realize I’d value so much. Being able to dial in a solid cheek weld makes getting behind the scope feel natural and consistent. Dad is clueless about adjustable cheek welds so he learned a thing or two as well.
We made two other trips to the range. I learned how to use the scope's hashmarks out to 350 yards. I was averaging 2" or so groups at 100. I put about 30 rounds through it and with hunting season near, Dad said "good enough for now".
We hunted a late bull season, mostly on private ground, and ended up putting in 10 days out of the two week season. The weather was unusually mild for that time of year, which made it tough. Elk weren’t moving much and stayed hard to locate. It turned into more of a truck and hiking hunt, covering ground and checking different areas each day.
It took 6 days just to find elk. We stalked the herd of 30 and I set up in some tall sagebrush at 150 yards out. With so many elk, I had to wait to get a clear shot at the raghorn. Then I missed.
We tracked them about a mile with no blood or snow then decided to give them time to settle. We still had five more days and didn't want to push them out after waiting so long for them to migrate in. I think I missed because I hit the sagebrush a few feet in front of me. You can see in the video that I could barely see above the brush and the elk were milling around. Dad said he's missed shots like that before.
We kept hunting the area, only seeing cow elk and spikes for three more days. On the 2nd to last day, we finally found another herd about a mile to the north. There was a much better bull so I was glad I missed the raghorn.
We hiked a long way around to get above them and again crawled into some tall sage and set up and 330 yards--the closest we could get. Dad put me on his SLIK 624 tripod with the Outdoorsmans Micro Pan and showed me how to make a rest between plate adapter and the foam handle. It took an hour to get a clear shot at the bedded bull (cows kept blocking the shot), but it all came together. The hour gave me time to really settle in and do dry fires. I hit him in the vitals the first shot but missed my 2nd because I rushed it. Luckily he tipped over before I shot again. He was down and Dad was getting excited.
We called mom and had her meet us on the county road with sandwiches and a chainsaw and headed back up the mountain. We could get my truck within 1/3 mile of the bull after we cleared the two-track of fallen trees. We quartered the bull up. My bullet had gone all the way through. And then backpacked him up to the truck. We just got the lab-age results back from @Big Sky Guy at Matson's lab. Bull was 4-years old
The rifle was easy to carry and handle, and when the moment came, I felt completely confident behind it.
It was great taking a shot I felt confident in, even at a longer range. It’s also noticeably lighter than the rifles I’ve carried in past seasons. On longer hikes, that makes a difference. It balances well and sits well on your back, which I appreciated.
You can watch my 10-day hunt in one minute right here:
For 2026, I'm n moving to Bergara's factory Suppressor, the BTi30. Dad ordered it for my 20th birthday and it's on the way right now.
I'm also working with @Unknown Munitions on load development. Dad thinks we can cut my groups in half. I'll start with their 6.5 PRC cartridge recipe and then we'll do some load development box testing. I don't know what that is but I'm excited to learn. Once we know my load, Dad is going to teach me to reload on his RCBS equipment. This is a skill I'm looking forward to having.
I can answer questions on here.
And I'll post up my 2026 updates on this thread too as we accomplish them.
