My first Bergara is on the way

M

Mrvmax

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 30, 2020
Messages
795
Location
Texas
It looks like Bergara stopped making the Ridgeback and I found one on clearance. I already have a scope for it and the .308 Win version was cheaper so I bought it. I have plenty of .308 hand loads so it made sense to stick with .308.

Eventually I will make it out to the range and see how it does out to 1000. I also plan on using my Liberty Mystic suppressor when I get it sighted in just in case I want to I use it for hog hunting. It's heavy, but I hunt out of a blind anyway so the weight is not really an issue. If I can get .5-.75 MOA I will be pleased.

This is my first Bergara and my first bolt action .308 (the ones I have had were gas guns). I'm looking forward to my next range trip. It will be a long day though, I swapped scopes on my East Ridge Gun Co Rebel in 50 BMG so I have to get that sighted in too. At least I can swap between the two moving out to 1000 and have the other one cooling off.

Bergara Ridgeback

East Ridge Rebel
 
Already frustrated with Bergara, I bought their 30 MOA rail which stated it would fit my Ridgeback. It states it comes with 6-48 and 8-40 screws (it should use 8-40), It had eight 6-48 screws in the package and no 8-40. No problem, I have extra screws so I found some 8-40. Guess what? The mount holes are too small for 8-40 screws.

I looked at it online and there was one review stating it did not come with the 8-40 screws in his either.

I would have to drill out the screw holes in order to use the 8-40 so I am going to order another brand.
 
My suggestion on the Bergara, bed and or pillar the action. Bedding is a weak spot on their guns, though I have not shot a chassis version, which may be bedded better. Hopefully you have no, feed, chamber or barrel issues with yours. The ones that are built right are good shooting guns, at least once they are bedded. If you have issues, just get a refund, because dealing with Bergara for repairs is a major pain in the butt.

Best of luck.
 
Last edited:
I've had a short action HMR in .308 for over a year now. It's a nice shooting gun, but accuracy isn't the best. The problem is that the throat is way too long. For instance, I shoot 185gn VLD Hunt. With a Hornady comparator, the throat measures: Ogive-2.4205 and COAL-3.0960. AICS short action mags have a max COAL of 2.860-2.990. I have my ammo loaded with COAL-2.8480 and Ogive-2.1715. That is the longest I can go before the rounds start to bind in the action. I've thought about sending the gun to my smith to remedy the problem, but I decided to make my .284 Win a dual purpose rifle and use the .308 for my wife to short to mid-range big game. She really likes the reduction of recoil from her .270 Win.

With that said, you can hand feed your ammo and achieve the lengths your rifle shoots best at. This will not be a problem at the range, but in the field, it definitely complicates matters. Hopefully yours is reamed shorter than mine and you won't have to worry about length.

All the best.
Mrvmax said:
It looks like Bergara stopped making the Ridgeback and I found one on clearance. I already have a scope for it and the .308 Win version was cheaper so I bought it. I have plenty of .308 hand loads so it made sense to stick with .308.

Eventually I will make it out to the range and see how it does out to 1000. I also plan on using my Liberty Mystic suppressor when I get it sighted in just in case I want to I use it for hog hunting. It's heavy, but I hunt out of a blind anyway so the weight is not really an issue. If I can get .5-.75 MOA I will be pleased.

This is my first Bergara and my first bolt action .308 (the ones I have had were gas guns). I'm looking forward to my next range trip. It will be a long day though, I swapped scopes on my East Ridge Gun Co Rebel in 50 BMG so I have to get that sighted in too. At least I can swap between the two moving out to 1000 and have the other one cooling off.

Bergara Ridgeback

East Ridge Rebel
Click to expand...
 
Mrvmax said:
Already frustrated with Bergara, I bought their 30 MOA rail which stated it would fit my Ridgeback. It states it comes with 6-48 and 8-40 screws (it should use 8-40), It had eight 6-48 screws in the package and no 8-40. No problem, I have extra screws so I found some 8-40. Guess what? The mount holes are too small for 8-40 screws.

I looked at it online and there was one review stating it did not come with the 8-40 screws in his either.

I would have to drill out the screw holes in order to use the 8-40 so I am going to order another brand.
Click to expand...
Bergara uses the smaller screws on the their B-14 line and bigger screws on the premier line. Not their fault.
Bergara's shoot well, about like Tikka's accuracy consistency. For the money the HMR is a great rifle for newbies to learn on.
Back when I used FB the CEO of Bergara's parent company was on there and he was Johnny on the spot making sure issues were fixed. So I find it hard to believe their CS sucks now. I delt with them, once over a Bergara branded Stiller action I got from their custom shop and they were fair.
 
I am in Canada, trust me, their service sucks the Big Megilla Gorilla up here. Read of more than a few Americans having issues getting things resolved properly, in 2020 and 21, a few of those threads were on here, but no idea if it is still like that now.
 
Dean2 said:
I am in Canada, trust me, their service sucks the Big Megilla Gorilla up here. Read of more than a few Americans having issues getting things resolved properly, in 2020 and 21, a few of those threads were on here, but no idea if it is still like that now.
Click to expand...
I'm a home based FFL and have been mounting scopes for customers for the last 15 years. I e-mailed them and stated I bought their base and it did not have the correct screws and the base was not drilled for 8-40 screws (after stating I am an FFL. Yes, this means nothing since there are some real knuckleheads that are FFL's but I thought maybe it would show that I understand screw sizes and mounting).
They said they would mail me some 8-40 screws. I emailed back and stated 8-40 would not fit, that I tried some since I have scope mounting stuff on hand. I have a device that will check the thread size on small screws so I verified. Here is their reply:
"There could potentially something out of spec of the screws that you originally received. When you receive them, and these still do not work, we can get your rifle brought in and inspected for you."

This makes no sense, I told them I had 8-40 screws and they were too big to fit through the holes of the base. 8-40 is 8-40, theirs are not different than mine. And why would their mount have anything to do with the rifle? I checked the rifle and they holes are 8-40 like they should be. I hope this rifle shoots decent, I do not want to deal with them about rifle accuracy.
 
That woul
Mrvmax said:
I'm a home based FFL and have been mounting scopes for customers for the last 15 years. I e-mailed them and stated I bought their base and it did not have the correct screws and the base was not drilled for 8-40 screws (after stating I am an FFL. Yes, this means nothing since there are some real knuckleheads that are FFL's but I thought maybe it would show that I understand screw sizes and mounting).
They said they would mail me some 8-40 screws. I emailed back and stated 8-40 would not fit, that I tried some since I have scope mounting stuff on hand. I have a device that will check the thread size on small screws so I verified. Here is their reply:
"There could potentially something out of spec of the screws that you originally received. When you receive them, and these still do not work, we can get your rifle brought in and inspected for you."

This makes no sense, I told them I had 8-40 screws and they were too big to fit through the holes of the base. 8-40 is 8-40, theirs are not different than mine. And why would their mount have anything to do with the rifle? I checked the rifle and they holes are 8-40 like they should be. I hope this rifle shoots decent, I do not want to deal with them about rifle accuracy.
Click to expand...
That would be consistent. Support staff that seem to have no idea what they are talking about, convoluted validation and verification processes followed by completely ineffective resolution attempts. Things like trying to fix an out of spec chamber by suggesting different brand ammo or a different magazine, and neither of these is an exaggeration. Exactly what happened.

Worst part is, you can never seem to get to talk to anyone that actually knows their az from a hole in the ground.
 
I received different mounts (I bought a few to make sure one fit). The EGW, Warne and Talley all work, Not sure how Bergara cannot get it right. I have the scope mounted, now I just need to find time to shoot.
 
Hiring the wrong people or not properly training the CS people you have seems to be a common problem with many companies. Marketing strategy is important, but lack of focus in operations is often the downfall of the company.
 

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