Bergard B14 HMR

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Had the itch for something with better potential for LR than my bone stock 700 that I took to a LRP course three years ago. That was agony, for multiple reasons. Bergara claims "1 MOA guarantee", but they are absolutely not sub MOA rifles. That said, thus far, I'm not complaining, I've had a hodgepodge of match .308 ammo laying around, some of it upwards of 20 years, and so I broke the rifle in with a stack of PMC ball ammo.

The Hornady and Black Hills loadings were well sourced, but the M118 is some crap I got from Cheaper Than Dirt back in probably 2006-2007. Needless to say, it's garbage. The Freedom 175 load was about the only thing I could get my hands on to take to Colorado in 2021, and I've got 140-160 rounds of it left. I do have a couple cases of 175 SMK that should be in tomorrow that was referred over from the gentleman that instructs those LRP courses.

I may finally do some handloading for something beyond .223 when it's all said and done. I stuck with .308 because I'm invested enough in it. Rifle wears a Strike Eagle 5-25, because with their discounts for .mil, I could afford it at the time. I'd prefer an Arken now, but I don't have to worry until I get somewhere locally to shoot beyond 300 yards.

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Had the itch for something with better potential for LR than my bone stock 700 that I took to a LRP course three years ago. That was agony, for multiple reasons. Bergara claims "1 MOA guarantee", but they are absolutely not sub MOA rifles. That said, thus far, I'm not complaining, I've had a hodgepodge of match .308 ammo laying around, some of it upwards of 20 years, and so I broke the rifle in with a stack of PMC ball ammo.

The Hornady and Black Hills loadings were well sourced, but the M118 is some crap I got from Cheaper Than Dirt back in probably 2006-2007. Needless to say, it's garbage. The Freedom 175 load was about the only thing I could get my hands on to take to Colorado in 2021, and I've got 140-160 rounds of it left. I do have a couple cases of 175 SMK that should be in tomorrow that was referred over from the gentleman that instructs those LRP courses.

I may finally do some handloading for something beyond .223 when it's all said and done. I stuck with .308 because I'm invested enough in it. Rifle wears a Strike Eagle 5-25, because with their discounts for .mil, I could afford it at the time. I'd prefer an Arken now, but I don't have to worry until I get somewhere locally to shoot beyond 300 yards.

I have two HMRs. One is a .22-250 with a 9 twist that shoots well under MOA with 55 NBT over Varget in Norma brass. It wears an Arken EPL4 4-16x. I shot a 1.6" group at 400 yards with it during load dev. The other is a 7mm Rem Mag that averages around .675" groups at 100 yards with 162 ELDX over H1000 in ADG brass. It currently wears an Arken EP5 5-25x.
With the Ridge and the HMR having identical barreled actions, I have both the Ridge and HMR stocks and bottom metal for each setup. They are both great rifles that I have hunted with quite a bit. I have hammered prairie dogs and coyotes with the .22-250 and have killed deer and antelope with the 7mm Mag. I shoot steel out to 1000 yards with the 7mm.

All that said, I just picked up a Tikka T3X Roughtech Ember in .243 Win with an 8-twist barrel. I have a Nightforce NX8 on it. Last trip out I shot a 2.5" three-shot group at 600 yards and 10.5" 4-shot group at 1000. If you deduct the first shot where I held too much wind from the 1000-yard group, it was an 8.5" three-shot group. This was with 108 ELDM over Hybrid 100V, Peterson brass. This is not a pet load, but an acceptable break-in load to have fun with getting to 200 rounds down the pipe and see if the barrel speeds up.

I like all of the rifles, but if I had to choose one again, I would prefer the Tikka. The HMR is no slouch; once you find a pet load, it should be a beast. Despite my newer preference for Tikka, I will keep the Bergaras and shoot them until they are shot out.

Have you tried working up a load for yours yet? I bet it would shoot well with a 168 or 175 TMK over Varget or H4895 in good brass.

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I have two HMRs. One is a .22-250 with a 9 twist that shoots well under MOA with 55 NBT over Varget in Norma brass. It wears an Arken EPL4 4-16x. I shot a 1.6" group at 400 yards with it during load dev. The other is a 7mm Rem Mag that averages around .675" groups at 100 yards with 162 ELDX over H1000 in ADG brass. It currently wears an Arken EP5 5-25x.
With the Ridge and the HMR having identical barreled actions, I have both the Ridge and HMR stocks and bottom metal for each setup. They are both great rifles that I have hunted with quite a bit. I have hammered prairie dogs and coyotes with the .22-250 and have killed deer and antelope with the 7mm Mag. I shoot steel out to 1000 yards with the 7mm.

All that said, I just picked up a Tikka T3X Roughtech Ember in .243 Win with an 8-twist barrel. I have a Nightforce NX8 on it. Last trip out I shot a 2.5" three-shot group at 600 yards and 10.5" 4-shot group at 1000. If you deduct the first shot where I held too much wind from the 1000-yard group, it was an 8.5" three-shot group. This was with 108 ELDM over Hybrid 100V, Peterson brass. This is not a pet load, but an acceptable break-in load to have fun with getting to 200 rounds down the pipe and see if the barrel speeds up.

I like all of the rifles, but if I had to choose one again, I would prefer the Tikka. The HMR is no slouch; once you find a pet load, it should be a beast. Despite my newer preference for Tikka, I will keep the Bergaras and shoot them until they are shot out.

Have you tried working up a load for yours yet? I bet it would shoot well with a 168 or 175 TMK over Varget or H4895 in good brass.

Way late to respond, but I haven't been here in a while. Rifle took a back seat for a while, because that's what happens to everything from late Nov through Jan. I bought a couple cases of 175 SMK from a site recommended to me by my long range buddy, and I'm not overly thrilled with it thus far. My main complaint at this point is the fact that I don't have anywhere to shoot beyond about 3-400 yards, at least that I've been able to find.

I did load up some Hdy 168 BTHP over Varget, just have not had time to get out with it. I'm also itching to get a suppressor for this rifle. I bought my first one last fall, and wasn't entirely sure what I wanted next, until I bought this gun. I don't expect it to be sub MOA, but 1.5 on a consistent basis would be wonderful.

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*edit. Looking at my original post, I’m going to eat my own words. This gun is absolutely MOA capable, it just needs the right loads, and the right nut behind the trigger.

Rifle finally made it out after winter, and now sporting an Omega 300. Bought a case of Federal LE T308T (I understand it to be a 168 TMK with a different color tip, I think). It will shoot right in an MOA or slightly more with 10+ round groups.


I’ve had the itch to Handload for it. I wasted what I feel like was a lot of time chasing the 168 ELDM. They suck in this rifle. Hornady 168 BTHP and an old Nosler 168 BTHP the kid at the gun store gave me will shoot 10 shot groups in ~1.5”. Might could do a little better with more load development, but that’s about what that bullet would do in factory ammo.

Broke down and bought some Sierra. I’m most interested in the 169 SMK. And I’d love if CFE223 would be a winning combo at $10-12/lb less than Varget. Loaded some 169 and 175 SMK, and 168 TMK, with CFE223 and Varget. Shot the 169’s today, and one group of TMK. Charge 44.5-46.0 with CFE and 43.0-44.5 of Varget. The fliers to the right with CFE, I will own, but I’m pretty certain it was due to mirage more than anything.