Stocks & muzzle brake for Bergara

[Justinherren82]

Hey everyone,

I have decided next year to get back into hunting after taking a break for probably 10 years. I have found a Bergara in 7 PRC that I will be purchasing this weekend and mounting a Revic PMR428 on. I was looking for a stock or chassis that would be good replacement to shed some weight. Would a chassis system be a better choice? Also, what would be a good muzzle brake?

 

[Sdvldog1371]

Hey everyone,

I have decided next year to get back into hunting after taking a break for probably 10 years. I have found a Bergara in 7 PRC that I will be purchasing this weekend and mounting a Revic PMR428 on. I was looking for a stock or chassis that would be good replacement to shed some weight. Would a chassis system be a better choice? Also, what would be a good muzzle brake?

Welcome to the forum. Chassis .vs. stock is subjective. Some folks prefer a classic profile stock, some prefer an adjustable stock with a vertical grip, some only have chassis. Your choice should be made by setting your criteria and then finding what meets that criteria.

Are you hunting out of a lawn chair with a corncob on your muzzle like a midwestern or southerner? Half- joking boys, calm yourselves.
Are you sitting in a blind or a deer stand?
Are you backpack hunting?
Are you hunting the PNW where you're camping nearby and hiking up and down steep draws, canyons or super dense brush?

There are so many considerations to be made.
Is the rifle a hunting only rig or are you shooting it for fun and practice the rest of the year?

Does the rifle need to meet overall weight requirements? For instance, say a Bergara stock weights 50 oz. and you want the lightest rifle possible. Well, you're pretty much stuck with a stock, as there are a few 20 oz. stocks on the market and few Chassis weighing less than 30 oz. The MDT HNT26 weights in at 26 oz. ,however, that is for the bare bones fixed buttstock and no spacers. With a folding stock you pay a 4oz penalty.

With a 20 oz. stock you will pay a penalty in ergonomics as most are just basic moulded carbon fiber with a foam core. You won't be able to fit the stock to you. However, If all of your shots are taken under say 150yds seated off a rest of some sort, or seated off-hand...that doesn't matter as much as shooting it several hundred to over a thousand yds from the prone or a makeshift position. A whole lot of considerations to be made, and the biggest is budget. If you want to drastically reduce weight....get ready to pony up the big bucks. Shaving ounces is probably the most expensive endeavor one could take on when building out or having a rifle built.

Why don't you tell us the use case and wants, needs, budget etc... and maybe the fine folks here can put you on the right track.

Honestly, if you're hunting from a blind

 

[Justinherren82]

Thanks for the Reply,

Most of my hunting is done from shooting blinds or shooting houses. We do have some power lines we occasionally get to hunt where we have some longer shot possibilities. I believe the most I would ever hike with the rifle would be a mile or less. I haven't weighed the stock on the rifle yet but the complete rifle weighs 10.1 lbs. with a 24" 5.5 contour barrel. i guess I was mainly looking to offset some of the weight that the optic and mount would be adding. I wouldn't mind having some Arca rails on the bottom too

I do plan to use this rifle to do some recreational shooting on occasion. maybe some long range shooting on occasion with some friends but no competition stuff.

One thing i dislike about the current stock on it is the lack of adjustment in length of pull. I'm not comfortable with it. I've had a good bit of experiece with AR's so I think I would enjoy a chassis system as opposed to a traditional stock. as far as a budget I would say my budget would be up to $1,500. I did look at the MDT HNT26 and it was a nice looking set up. I looked at the XLR element 4.0 magnesium also which came in pretty light.

I would like to replace the trigger with a 2 stage. I was a big fan of the geisselle 2 stage triggers. Looks like they used to make a 2 stage trigger for the rem 700's but stopped production. Do you have any other recommendations?

 

[1wildcatfan]

Thanks for the Reply,

Most of my hunting is done from shooting blinds or shooting houses. We do have some power lines we occasionally get to hunt where we have some longer shot possibilities. I believe the most I would ever hike with the rifle would be a mile or less. I haven't weighed the stock on the rifle yet but the complete rifle weighs 10.1 lbs. with a 24" 5.5 contour barrel. i guess I was mainly looking to offset some of the weight that the optic and mount would be adding. I wouldn't mind having some Arca rails on the bottom too

I do plan to use this rifle to do some recreational shooting on occasion. maybe some long range shooting on occasion with some friends but no competition stuff.

One thing i dislike about the current stock on it is the lack of adjustment in length of pull. I'm not comfortable with it. I've had a good bit of experiece with AR's so I think I would enjoy a chassis system as opposed to a traditional stock. as far as a budget I would say my budget would be up to $1,500. I did look at the MDT HNT26 and it was a nice looking set up. I looked at the XLR element 4.0 magnesium also which came in pretty light.

I would like to replace the trigger with a 2 stage. I was a big fan of the geisselle 2 stage triggers. Looks like they used to make a 2 stage trigger for the rem 700's but stopped production. Do you have any other recommendations?

In your situation, I wouldnt worry about weight. I'd personally want a heavier rig for hunting out of a blind. Triggertech makes a 700 two stage.

 

[Sdvldog1371]

Thanks for the Reply,

Most of my hunting is done from shooting blinds or shooting houses. We do have some power lines we occasionally get to hunt where we have some longer shot possibilities. I believe the most I would ever hike with the rifle would be a mile or less. I haven't weighed the stock on the rifle yet but the complete rifle weighs 10.1 lbs. with a 24" 5.5 contour barrel. i guess I was mainly looking to offset some of the weight that the optic and mount would be adding. I wouldn't mind having some Arca rails on the bottom too

I do plan to use this rifle to do some recreational shooting on occasion. maybe some long range shooting on occasion with some friends but no competition stuff.

One thing i dislike about the current stock on it is the lack of adjustment in length of pull. I'm not comfortable with it. I've had a good bit of experiece with AR's so I think I would enjoy a chassis system as opposed to a traditional stock. as far as a budget I would say my budget would be up to $1,500. I did look at the MDT HNT26 and it was a nice looking set up. I looked at the XLR element 4.0 magnesium also which came in pretty light.

I would like to replace the trigger with a 2 stage. I was a big fan of the geisselle 2 stage triggers. Looks like they used to make a 2 stage trigger for the rem 700's but stopped production. Do you have any other recommendations?

As @1wildcatfan mentioned, for your purposes I wouldn't worry too much about weight. However, I can get behind the need for adjustability. I have a face like the Easter Island Moai so having an adjustable comb (cheek riser) and adjustable length of pull is important to me. If you want to shave a little weight, you will want to weigh your current stock to see what you have before you can determine where to go. I have a few Bergara HMR-pro stocks on non-Bergara rifles. I really like them, but they are by now means lightweight. I am also an ARCA user and have pushed almost all of my stuff to arca, stocks, bipods, bino mount, spotting scope etc...I have an AG composite adjustable hunter that I put a Salmon River Solutions hunter ARCA rail on. They're not difficult to install if you're somewhat handy.

A shameless plug here, I don't know whether or not it would meet your needs or weight, but I have a Masterpiece arms hybrid hunter chassis in the classifieds. It had a 300 PRC in it, that went into a HNT26 folder after this years elk season. It also got a shorter barrel and different scope. Paying big money to shave ounces.

 

[Justinherren82]

Mine is the wilderness terrain. It has adjustable comb which is great but no adjustable lop. I will check out your for sale post and let ya know. Do u like the full length arca rail or sections?

 

[Sdvldog1371]

Mine is the wilderness terrain. It has adjustable comb which is great but no adjustable lop. I will check out your for sale post and let ya know. Do u like the full length arca rail or sections?

I prefer the full length for the versatility. I could swear the wilderness used length of pull spacers like the HMR, does it not?

 

[Justinherren82]

I bought it used but the lop is too long. It doesn't look like there's any spacers but I will check again. I got these short t-Rex arms. Lol