Bergara Ridge Rifle Accuracy?

[Chase4556]

you do realize that a handload worked up in another rifle won't necessarily shoot well in your rifle right?

Nah, figured what’s good in one is good for another.

Yes sir, very well aware. However like I said, if someone has the same model rifle and has a load theirs likes, I’d like to know about it so I can work up my own version of it. Appreciate the competency check though.

[bass_lander]

I have the ridge SP in 6.5 creed. Shoots better than I can. Highly recommend.

[kc5rkg]

I have a Ridge in 300wm and it shoots great. I’m using Federal factory ammo.

[az2tx]

I bought a Bergara Wilderness Ridge 6.5 PRC used and test shot it, I was quite dissapointed. Hornady 143 eldx shot about 2.5" groups and Hornady 147 gr
Shot about 2' groups at 100 yds. I gave the rifle a good cleaning and it was full of carbon and copper fouling. I checked all the torque specs found some,
re-torqued everything and shot it again. The 143 eldx was 0.80 moa and the 147 eldx was 0.54 after shooting about 25-30 rounds the groups were opening up a bit. I did a quick bore cleaning and the groups tighten up again. All the shots were with factory loads
So if your rifle doesn't shoot you might want to clean it and try it again. I also bedded the recoil lug, and ground down all points of contact on the receiver and the plastic parts of the stock and put an Accutech trigger on it set a 1.5 lbs

[glen]

Rifle accuracy depends a lot if you are lucky enough to get a barrel made in the “sweet spot”. Let’s say they push 500 - You don’t want the first x of them and you don’t want the last x of them. Headspace is the other factor.

looks like AZ did about everything there was to do and obtained very desirable results

[Slick8]

My buddy has one in 308 which shoots great although most of his work is at 1-200 yards.

I recently bought a used barreled action and have shot it just a little, as in 2 boxes of hornady. The 140m has grouped 1 moa at 300 repeatedly and once at 600 on paper then I switched to steel.

I'm excited to start loading for it in the spring.

[Chase4556]

I bought a Bergara Wilderness Ridge 6.5 PRC used and test shot it, I was quite dissapointed. Hornady 143 eldx shot about 2.5" groups and Hornady 147 gr
Shot about 2' groups at 100 yds. I gave the rifle a good cleaning and it was full of carbon and copper fouling. I checked all the torque specs found some,
re-torqued everything and shot it again. The 143 eldx was 0.80 moa and the 147 eldx was 0.54 after shooting about 25-30 rounds the groups were opening up a bit. I did a quick bore cleaning and the groups tighten up again. All the shots were with factory loads
So if your rifle doesn't shoot you might want to clean it and try it again. I also bedded the recoil lug, and ground down all points of contact on the receiver and the plastic parts of the stock and put an Accutech trigger on it set a 1.5 lbs

I keep the bore clean as I’m testing these different loads and a clean bore is usually a better one to go off than a dirty. But some also tighten up with some fouling, so it’s a matter of playing with it.
Went to the range on Friday and got a load using the 174gr Hammer Hunter to shoot about 3/4”. So that’s excellent. Was running out of projectiles so it’s only a 3 shot group, will have to load more and confirm it over about 10 shots or so but if that first test wasn’t a fluke I should be good to go with it. Hoping all will be good in the world again. If it proves itself I will probably go ahead and bed the action and do the stuff I was holding off on doing in the chance I sent it to Bergara.

Even though I found a handload it likes, NO factory rifle should go through 8 factory ammo options with only one shooting sub MOA(and does a match bullet in a HUNTING rifle really count?). Understand not every rifle likes every ammo, but come on Bergara.

Sorry OP for halfway hijacking your thread, but found it pertinent to know the good and bad on them, even if mine is a one off case.

[slayr]

My buddy has Bergara in 300 PRC and cannot get it to shoot under MOA. He’s tried multiple loads and is to the point he’s getting rid of it and changing brands.

[Chase4556]

My buddy has Bergara in 300 PRC and cannot get it to shoot under MOA. He’s tried multiple loads and is to the point he’s getting rid of it and changing brands.

This guy was suggested to me by folks that do way more long range precision shooting than I ever will. After getting advice from them most said they would have turned the factory barrel into a tomato stake by now and rebarreled from this guy. I saved it in case I ever get to that point(not out of the woods yet). I don’t see myself kicking it down the road to be someone else’s problem if it comes to that so I’d be putting a barrel on it.

https://www.crownridgebarrelworks.com/

[az2tx]

This guy was suggested to me by folks that do way more long range precision shooting than I ever will. After getting advice from them most said they would have turned the factory barrel into a tomato stake by now and rebarreled from this guy. I saved it in case I ever get to that point(not out of the woods yet). I don’t see myself kicking it down the road to be someone else’s problem if it comes to that so I’d be putting a barrel on it.

https://www.crownridgebarrelworks.com/

What i've seen with my Begara is that it is well made with good quality with everything except the stock. Their are a lot of things that be causing problems that is not barrel. Have you pulled the action out of the stock to see what type of contact you have? With mine the pillars were below the level of the composite stock and several points of the stock were putting pressure on the action. The bbl action was moving when it was fired because of contact and in the case of the recoil lug because it had lots of room to move around.

Good luck

[piercebronkite]

I recently bought a Divide in .308 and it shoots extremely well. This past weekend I put 5 rounds in the same 1-1 1/4 inch hole, wish I snapped a pic of it. The attached target is my 13 yr old sons first shots from this rifle at 100 yards.

[Chase4556]

What i've seen with my Begara is that it is well made with good quality with everything except the stock. Their are a lot of things that be causing problems that is not barrel. Have you pulled the action out of the stock to see what type of contact you have? With mine the pillars were below the level of the composite stock and several points of the stock were putting pressure on the action. The bbl action was moving when it was fired because of contact and in the case of the recoil lug because it had lots of room to move around.

Good luck

I read that too so I pulled it and did do some cleaning up. I was gentle with what I did, again because I MIGHT send it back to Bergara I didn’t want it blatantly obvious that I had been in there, ya know? Their customer service did say that if I bedded the action that would void the stock warranty. So I have not done that… yet.

If this load it shot well the other day pans out and is in fact a shooter, I will go ahead and glass bed the action and do some stock work. The stock overall is pretty nice, but like yours just some minor QC and cleaning up issues that they didn’t get at the factory. My R700 25-06 had enough room to slide back and forth 1/16-1/8” in the stock, rock solid after I glass bed it, if I had a drill press I would have pillar bed it as well. The Bergara will probably get it in time no matter what, I don’t see how it could hurt anything to do it. Just want to get it squared away and shooting good first so I know I have a baseline to go off of.

[az2tx]

The Bergara has pillars front and rear the the problem is they are covered with composite and paint. The recess for the bbl recoil lug is about 4 times bigger than it should be. Most people clean up the pillars so to get consistency out of their rifle. Do you have an inch pound torque wrench, if so torque the action into the stock

[Chase4556]

The Bergara has pillars front and rear the the problem is they are covered with composite and paint. The recess for the bbl recoil lug is about 4 times bigger than it should be. Most people clean up the pillars so to get consistency out of their rifle. Do you have an inch pound torque wrench, if so torque the action into the stock

Yeah, I meant I cleaned up around the pillars some without going crazy. The r700 25-06 I was debating on pillar bedding but ended up just glass bedding it(shoots 3/4moa or better so all is good there). Once I confirm the Bergara is shooting good I will clean it up more and probably glass bed it. Might end up back at square one again with that. Haha.

Torqued the stock to the action after I went over the rifle for its initial cleaning before mounting the scope, and again after I cleaned up around the pillars.

[az2tx]

I shot my first hand loaded 147 gr ELD-M the other day and shot my best group so far. All were in one hole about 0.4 moa