DartonJager
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2016
- Messages
- 1,010
About 6 weeks ago was at my private gun club and my friend who is an absolute 22lr PR addict and owns 22lr bolt guns from just about everyone from A Voodoo to CZ, to Anschutz, Reminton 40x, built his own Kidd 10/22 from all Kidd parts you get the picture.
That time he let me shoot both the (highly customized and modified by him) CZ 457 Varmint MTR and (which save for installing a Jewel trigger) his factory stock B14r steel barreled model and I liked the B14 steel better and I shot my best ever 5 and 10 shot 50 yard groups. Then last Friday he was there again this time he let me shoot his B14r and I shot even better 10 and 5 shot 50 yard groups and this time I shot ten bulls of a ARA factory class card he had up at 50 and I scored 10 bulls with 7x's so I was very excited. Then I shot it at steel targets varying in size from 1" to 3" at 50 75 150 and 3" and 4" targets at 200. Did VARY well. And this was using SK Match Rifle ammo, good ammo but by no means top shelf like RWS R50 or Eley Match or Eley TeneX. Bare in mind I'm shooting off his front and rear rests which my front rest is windage adjustable and his is not. He refused to let me pay him for the 2+ boxes of SK Rifle match I burned up.
I will add I'm sure the scope was a big help as it was a Vortex Strike Eagle 5-25x56 set at 25x.
So I took the plunge and bought one. Unfortunately no LGS I called within 125 miles of my home had a B14r Steel in stock and surprisingly none were willing to order me one either. I searched everywhere on line and ended up ordering from a vendor on Gunbroker who had not only the best price by far of anyone, he didn't charge Shipping or CC fees.
Should be at my FFL tomorrow or Wed. Am topping it with a Hawke Sidewinder 8.5-25x42 I have laying about doing nothing. It has zero stop and locking target turrets so it should do OK for now in both bench and steel shoots as I plan on competing in both KYL steel and ARA factory class shoots at my club and others near by.
My friend who introduced me to the B14r told me his opinion of the B14r steel barreled model is in his words "A poor mans Voodoo" As I know little about Voodoo's besides they are very costly extreme high quality custom 22lr riles I will have to take him at his word. He runs my all my clubs 22lr match shoots and is a very accomplished armature gun smith and pretty successful 22lr competitor. No he is not nationally ranked but he always finishes very well in the shoots in my area.
I asked him what in his opinion was my best option was for a 22lr rifle at or under $1k OTD that save for trigger work I wanted to do nothing else with it and compete in factory class 22lr bench and steel shoots. He replied he had no doubt right now it was his Bergara B14r with the steel barrel. He caution and reminded me when you buy any rifle but especially a 22lr rifle for PR shoots how accurate it will be is a to a great extent luck of the draw. But he added both he and his friend bought B14r's at the same time ordered from the same LGS and both have shot every bit as good as his highly accurized CZ 457 Varmint MTR that he glass bedded, re-barreled and did trigger mods to get the trigger PW down to under a pound. All he did to both B14r's was install a Jewel AM trigger and it shoots every bit as good as his CZ 457.
I guess we will see a week from now when I can get my new B14r to the range. Going to start out with SK Match Rifle and go from there. Will first set the factory trigger as low as I can get it, then clean it till the patches come out white then go shooting.
Thankfully my friend was willing to sell me a brick of SK Match Rifle to add to the several I already have.
That time he let me shoot both the (highly customized and modified by him) CZ 457 Varmint MTR and (which save for installing a Jewel trigger) his factory stock B14r steel barreled model and I liked the B14 steel better and I shot my best ever 5 and 10 shot 50 yard groups. Then last Friday he was there again this time he let me shoot his B14r and I shot even better 10 and 5 shot 50 yard groups and this time I shot ten bulls of a ARA factory class card he had up at 50 and I scored 10 bulls with 7x's so I was very excited. Then I shot it at steel targets varying in size from 1" to 3" at 50 75 150 and 3" and 4" targets at 200. Did VARY well. And this was using SK Match Rifle ammo, good ammo but by no means top shelf like RWS R50 or Eley Match or Eley TeneX. Bare in mind I'm shooting off his front and rear rests which my front rest is windage adjustable and his is not. He refused to let me pay him for the 2+ boxes of SK Rifle match I burned up.
I will add I'm sure the scope was a big help as it was a Vortex Strike Eagle 5-25x56 set at 25x.
So I took the plunge and bought one. Unfortunately no LGS I called within 125 miles of my home had a B14r Steel in stock and surprisingly none were willing to order me one either. I searched everywhere on line and ended up ordering from a vendor on Gunbroker who had not only the best price by far of anyone, he didn't charge Shipping or CC fees.
Should be at my FFL tomorrow or Wed. Am topping it with a Hawke Sidewinder 8.5-25x42 I have laying about doing nothing. It has zero stop and locking target turrets so it should do OK for now in both bench and steel shoots as I plan on competing in both KYL steel and ARA factory class shoots at my club and others near by.
My friend who introduced me to the B14r told me his opinion of the B14r steel barreled model is in his words "A poor mans Voodoo" As I know little about Voodoo's besides they are very costly extreme high quality custom 22lr riles I will have to take him at his word. He runs my all my clubs 22lr match shoots and is a very accomplished armature gun smith and pretty successful 22lr competitor. No he is not nationally ranked but he always finishes very well in the shoots in my area.
I asked him what in his opinion was my best option was for a 22lr rifle at or under $1k OTD that save for trigger work I wanted to do nothing else with it and compete in factory class 22lr bench and steel shoots. He replied he had no doubt right now it was his Bergara B14r with the steel barrel. He caution and reminded me when you buy any rifle but especially a 22lr rifle for PR shoots how accurate it will be is a to a great extent luck of the draw. But he added both he and his friend bought B14r's at the same time ordered from the same LGS and both have shot every bit as good as his highly accurized CZ 457 Varmint MTR that he glass bedded, re-barreled and did trigger mods to get the trigger PW down to under a pound. All he did to both B14r's was install a Jewel AM trigger and it shoots every bit as good as his CZ 457.
I guess we will see a week from now when I can get my new B14r to the range. Going to start out with SK Match Rifle and go from there. Will first set the factory trigger as low as I can get it, then clean it till the patches come out white then go shooting.
Thankfully my friend was willing to sell me a brick of SK Match Rifle to add to the several I already have.
Congrats on the great shooting rifle. Hearing many good things about Bergara!
