Bergara vs. 700

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Remington742

Remington742

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I am look at getting another rifle. The two I've come down to is the Bergara B14 timber or continuing to look for a pre 2000 700 BDL. I am wanting to stick with a wood stock rifle and these two seem to fit the bill of what I am looking for. I know I would be happy with the 700 but finding one seems about impossible as well as finding the B14 in stock so I can actually look at it is seems about impossible to. What is everyone's opinion on the Bergara vs. the original 700? Pros or cons? Thank you in advance!
 
What caliber are you looking for?
I have a wood stocked 700 in 35 whelen, 243, 300 win mag, 30-06.
I have bergara ridges in 6.5 creedmoor and 300 win mag.

I find myself taking the ridge in 6.5 the most due to it being a synthetic stock and I am not worried about it.

They all are early to pre 2000's 700's and shoot great. I will say I haven't shot the 700 in 300 win mag yet though.
 
TN Song Dog said:
Thought Bergara is a 700 clone, just better made and more refined. Basically the same but better. No cons that I'm aware of.
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From looking at pictures the Bergara seems to be identical just a little heavier and probably more refined. The Bergara uses a 700 action.
 
clwg97 said:
What caliber are you looking for?
I have a wood stocked 700 in 35 whelen, 243, 300 win mag, 30-06.
I have bergara ridges in 6.5 creedmoor and 300 win mag.

I find myself taking the ridge in 6.5 the most due to it being a synthetic stock and I am not worried about it.

They all are early to pre 2000's 700's and shoot great. I will say I haven't shot the 700 in 300 win mag yet though.
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I am looking at both in either 30-06 or possibly 7mm08. The longest shots I could possibly make is around 300 yards where I hunt. My 742s have served me well but anything past 150 yards is kind of a guess if you will hit or not.
 
Isn't Bergara foreign made? That's a non-starter for me. I might have to buy some products that are foreign made, but thankfully guns aren't one of them…yet. Plenty of quality America made options that will keep our manufacturers here going. I'm sure someday that won't be true, but hopefully I won't see it.
 
DaveTN said:
Isn't Bergara foreign made? That's a non-starter for me. I might have to buy some products that are foreign made, but thankfully guns aren't one of them…yet. Plenty of quality America made options that will keep our manufacturers here going. I'm sure someday that won't be true, but hopefully I won't see it.
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The b14 I think is made in Spain, but the premier line is made in Georgia.
 
I picked up a B14 Hunter last year. It's not an ultra-lite rifle but the weight is right on par with other rifles in it's class. The action is really smooth and it has one of the better factory triggers I've felt in a good while. Overall, I have zero complaints with it.
 
Jcalder said:
The b14 I think is made in Spain, but the premier line is made in Georgia.
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This is 100% correct. The one thing I will add is that their Technical Director who does their firearm design is a former US Marine who built rifles for Marine Snipers. BPI Outdoors is the parent company here in the states and is run by guys who are true outdoorsmen, hunters and shooters, not some corporate, private equity guys. Addiitonally, Bergara supplies barrels to a number of US manufacturers and those barrels are made in Spain.
 
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Remington742 said:
I am look at getting another rifle. The two I've come down to is the Bergara B14 timber or continuing to look for a pre 2000 700 BDL. I am wanting to stick with a wood stock rifle and these two seem to fit the bill of what I am looking for. I know I would be happy with the 700 but finding one seems about impossible as well as finding the B14 in stock so I can actually look at it is seems about impossible to. What is everyone's opinion on the Bergara vs. the original 700? Pros or cons? Thank you in advance!
Click to expand...
The best part about the Timber model is the design, fit and finish of the stock. It has a great cheekpiece and a slight palmswell which makes the grip fantastic. The wood on the TImbers is generally really good and all of the one's I have are great shooters. The Bergara Timber barreled action is a Remington 700 clone so it takes Remington 700 bases and after market triggers. I am not sure where you are located but if you are in West TN, reach out and you can check one of mine out.
 
CHRIS WILSON said:
I picked up a B14 Hunter last year. It's not an ultra-lite rifle but the weight is right on par with other rifles in it's class. The action is really smooth and it has one of the better factory triggers I've felt in a good while. Overall, I have zero complaints with it.
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Thank you that helps a bunch!
 
TNRifleman said:
The best part about the Timber model is the design, fit and finish of the stock. It has a great cheekpiece and a slight palmswell which makes the grip fantastic. The wood on the TImbers is generally really good and all of the one's I have are great shooters. The Bergara Timber barreled action is a Remington 700 clone so it takes Remington 700 bases and after market triggers. I am not sure where you are located but if you are in West TN, reach out and you can check one out.
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From doing side by side comparisons online they look almost identical. I'm about as south and middle of TN as possible. Is there a specific brand of ammo they like over another or are they about the same for factory ammo? I really would love to get one in hand to see how I like it. My dad has a 700 and I love the feel of it but haven't been able to find any bergara timbers in stock in TN. I get the same story of having to order it first.
 
Remington742 said:
From doing side by side comparisons online they look almost identical. I'm about as south and middle of TN as possible. Is there a specific brand of ammo they like over another or are they about the same for factory ammo? I really would love to get one in hand to see how I like it. My dad has a 700 and I love the feel of it but haven't been able to find any bergara timbers in stock in TN. I get the same story of having to order it first.
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Yeah, unfortunately most gun stores these days find it too easy to just order it for you and wait for it instead of carrying it in inventory. The problem with that is that you can almost ALWAYS find it online cheaper and just order it and send it to an FFL. In many, cases, you can also avoid paying sales tax from the online retailer. I have not found a specific brand of ammo in particular but the 30-06's tend to favor 165 and 180 gr bullets over 150's. I have shot some higher end stuff in mine but it also really likes Federal Fusion and Norma Bondstrike. I have a Timber in 270 as well that loves 140 grain Berger Hybrids.
 
DaveTN said:
Isn't Bergara foreign made? That's a non-starter for me. I might have to buy some products that are foreign made, but thankfully guns aren't one of them…yet. Plenty of quality America made options that will keep our manufacturers here going. I'm sure someday that won't be true, but hopefully I won't see it.
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Bergara made in Spain
But they used Shilen Barrels machinery bought by Bergara and expertise from the US Army marksmanship team gunsmith retired for technical expertise. A lot goes into a Bergara …….my favorite B14 Ridge ! A lot of the best guns in the world are foreign made especially European. Even the Canadian have a better M16 type weapon and barrel.
 
Red-Team-98 said:
Bergara made in Spain
But they used Shilen Barrels machinery bought by Bergara and expertise from the US Army marksmanship team gunsmith retired for technical expertise. A lot goes into a Bergara …….my favorite B14 Ridge ! A lot of the best guns in the world are foreign made especially European. Even the Canadian have a better M16 type weapon and barrel.
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Shilen makes great barrels for sure
 
Got my new ridge carbon today in 308 can't wait to top it with the vx-5hd and see how it shoots.
 

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I'm going with dual dovetail leupold and a vx-5hd 3x15x44 cds that's the only scope I use hasn't let me down yet.
 
I found a 6.5 bergara a couple years back that was new never fired. A buddy wanted one so I sent the info to him and he bought it.
That is a sweet shooting gun. I shot a 4 shot group that measured .75 and that was with the first shot being pulled a little (the trigger got me). The other 3 were around .35

Needless to say it's def a shooter and I wouldnt be afraid to buy a bergara any day of the week!!
 
The demand for light weight accurate rifles are in high demand. The one Bergara rifle I had was accurate but heavy.
When I choose a rifle for carrying if I plan to do a lot of walking is my mountain rifle in 280.
Bergara needs to build a light weight stainless properly twisted short action rifle similar to a fieldcraft or Kimber montana.
If they build that at reasonable price they would have a winner.
Until then I'll just keep my Tikkas and Remington mountain rifles.
 
280longshot said:
The demand for light weight accurate rifles are in high demand. The one Bergara rifle I had was accurate but heavy.
When I choose a rifle for carrying if I plan to do a lot of walking is my mountain rifle in 280.
Bergara needs to build a light weight stainless properly twisted short action rifle similar to a fieldcraft or Kimber montana.
If they build that at reasonable price they would have a winner.
Until then I'll just keep my Tikkas and Remington mountain rifles.
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You mean like the 6.2 lb rifles they have had for a couple of years now?
 

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