well this one should shoot

[fiver]

I have been eye-balling these rifles for a while now but all I have been seeing is the wood stocked versions.
very nice wood too.
many of them are holy cow super nice chunks of wood. [the stocks in the pictures are what is on the store shelves and some are nicer[
but I have a tendency to shoot from rock piles and to scratch the dickens out of the bottom of my rifles no matter how nice I try to treat them.
so I have been holding out waiting for the synthetic stock.
I finally got the LGS to get one in.
I told them if they get one in, in either 308 or 30-06 and I'd take it.
and they finally did.
a no nonsense rig, I had to buy the bases and rings [takes model 700 stuff] extra.
I topped it off with a no nonsense 3.5X10X42 vortex diamond back scope on sale for under 200 bucks.
and I got the rifle for under 700.00 so it wasn't too bad.
good thing I got that bucket of Berger J-4 jackets and 2 boxes of sierra match jackets sitting in the garage I think I got a use for them.
now I have to cast up some cores and do some measuring/weighing and squishing.

take a look.

http://www.bergarausa.com/bergara_b-14_series_hunter_rifle.php

 

[Ben]

Bergara makes some FINE barrels. I have a CVA scout in 30-06 with a Bergara barrel. That little rifle is totally amazing in the accuracy dept.

I'm looking forward to hearing a nice range report on your new rifle.

Ben

 

[Josh]

So what did it run you? They seem to be shipping out 8x57's and 9.3x62's on their long action. That is exciting...

 

[9.3X62AL]

Those are right handsome-looking rifles.

Those 2 metric calibers mentioned by Josh are favorites of mine.

 

[fiver]

if I run across one in 8 mauser i'll ditch my rem 700 in a heart beat.
I really like the new Ruger Hawkeye rifles but for another 75 bucks you can see and feel a difference between the Bergara and the Ruger.
they had a really nice figured walnut stocked 6.5 Creedmore there that just about came home instead of the 0-6 just for the looks.
now if they just had the controlled feeding feature.

 

[fiver]

oh it was 695 about 150 under msrp.

 

[fiver]

Here is the target.

 

[fiver]

aaand the target is sideways.
anyway those are three different groups, I put a couple on paper at 50, counted out the clicks shot one more right in the middle of the group of 2 and went to 100.
this target is from 100 yds.
you can see the first group top right [3 shots]
the second off left a tick [3 shots]
and the last 4 rounds right in the center.

I was gonna shoot another group but had to fiddle with setting the 25-06's trigger some more which required pulling it out of the stock.
by the time I got it together and settled into place and shot a group with it, more people were showing up.
then of course we got to BS'ing and I was checking out a guy's 30BR bench rifle.

I almost forgot to go down and get the target.

anyway take the fastest mode of transportation down to your LGS and get one of these.
I see another one in my [hopefully near] future [6.5 Creedmore anybody]
I'm pretty sure I sold one in 7-08 at the range tonight..

 

[Ian]

now if they just had the controlled feeding feature.

Got too many of these already. I like being able to poke one in the hole and then close the bolt on it when shooting from the bench, but I absolutely hate not being able to control the ejection force with the bolt handle. You know, sometimes you want to just barely flip the empty out onto the towel on the bench, sometimes you want to sail it clear and ram a fresh one home pronto. My first thought when I clicked the link in your OP was Dammit, copy PAUL MAUSER, not REMINGTON. Sheesh.

However, if they shoot that well, I'm going to suggest you go early, camp on that gun store's doorstep so you're first, and buy that Creedmore. Sell something else if you have to. I've played with a couple recently (Tikka and re-barreled FN Winchester) and OMG. Just OMG. Damn things shoot near flat to 500 meters and make itty isty bitsy little groups with recoil that feels like a reassuring pat on the shoulder. 140-grain 6.5mm bullets take most of the "fun" out of doping the wind, too. You live where you can stretch the legs of something like that, I think you'd really enjoy it even if you had to swage or buy bullets.

 

[fiver]

oh yeah the bullets.
jeez I flat forgot.

those are my home made bullets in the other picture.
you can see how the noses are not perfectly exact.
I just got the jackets and done a real quick set-up and test to see if I needed a new core seating stem [I did but the swage dies stem fits perfectly]
I was squishing and cutting excess lead in small increments and squishing again.
so I only made 17 of them until I can get some specific core/jacket weights put together. [i'm thinking a 145gr hollow-point might do well]
but the sierra bullet jackets sure do shoot better than the much cheaper corbin jackets [but at 8 cents a bullet we can shoot a ton of them and they will hold 1 to 1-1/2" groups with no trouble]
I almost can't wait to try out the Berger jackets I swapped some lino-type for now.

anyway I was strutting around with a pretty big head for a while after a couple of guy's there seen my bullets and asked about them.
they were initially skeptical about them being able to shoot well, until they went down to hang a target and seen the groups.
they seemed interested so I went into detail about the steps/cost involved and that seemed to let some air out of their sails.
until they talked to my bud with the 30BR rifle there and he told them he was paying $2.00 a pop for custom swaged bullets and was shooting Bergers today because they were cheaper to practice with.

 

[Ian]

I rarely hear anyone who swages precision rifle bullets brag about how much money they're saving. That seems to be one area where doing it yourself is usually all about being able to craft your own better than can be bought.

 

[fiver]

yeah [giggling] there ain't no savings.
I could have bought a pallet of bullets for the price of the dies
I could have done that for all the gas checks I have bought too.
but you sure do learn a lot about how bullets work.
you know what's in there and thicknesses and hardness of the jackets and stuff so you see the results of what does what.
these jackets should make some dang good deer bullets too.
they are a couple thou thicker than the ones we used last year with fair results.
a smaller nose, the thicker jacket, removing the exposed lead at the tip, and a slightly tougher core will add more controlled penetration and allow a couple hundred feet per second increase to boot.

 

[35 shooter]

Wow, those are darn nice looking bullets your making. Also looks like you've got one very accurate 06.

I love a fine wood stock, but i'm with you on the synthetics for hard use...hurts a whole lot less when you eventually scratch it.

 

[fiver]

I got it out again today and give it another go round.
I shot a 9 shot sub 1" group [with the rest of the swaged rounds] then tried some sierra's that match the profile of my home made's [the ogive is within .0015] and shot a 1/2" 3 shot group and decided to not push the issue.
it would have been ridiculously small but I pulled the third shot a click to the right [and knew I did it]
the SIL thought I was joking when I told him I pulled the shot.

they make a couple of other stock profiles and I really want one of them but they are super nice walnut.
I did see one the same as this one in 308 that would also make a super nice hunting rifle.
but after shooting those 100 yd groups and a few shots at 300 yds I let the SIL shoot it.
he decided to try it at 300 yds.
he just looked at me in amazement after plonking 3 rounds down there [with about .008 run-out] and being able to see the splash marks through the scope all bunched up together.
all he could say was wow..
I don't think I'm even gonna mess with anything and just put it up until deer season.
one load [picked almost at random] 2 similar bullets, great results right out of the gate and done.

 

[35 shooter]

So your bullets shoot just as good as they look...wow! Yeah, i'd bet a deer hunt on 9 and 10 shot groups like that any day.
Your new rifle is definitely a shooter.

 

[fiver]

i'll get some more cores done up pretty soon and push them to the proper weight.
I really wish I had a tip forming die sometimes.
but I think I have a little trick I can use to point some exposed lead into a tip.