Review: Bergara HMR B14 – a crossover rifle with a backbone!
This is a rifle that makes you look good. The new HMR by Bergara from Reloaders. A smart crossover package with a synthetic stock that has a metal backbone (more on that later).
Crossover? What is this? Well for a start HMR = hunting match rifle. The Bergara has features which are tactical as well as features which are hunting. Bergara has married these features and have done a great job to make one of the best rifles of 2017/18.
Lets look more closely the Bergara HMR features. Bergara has designed in an easy adjust cheek piece, also an adjustable length of pull (LOP), a vertical pistol grip, flush mounted sling cups front and rear that take the Uncle Mikes swivels from Reloaders, two sling swivels at the fore end to make it easy to attach the bipod and the fore end is perfectly flat on the bottom, ideal for bipods or resting on a rail or post. The butt also has a cut out on the underside to facilitate a solid platform when shooting off a rest.
Now for the backbone of the stock which is an integral (moulded in) aluminium frame, this stiffens up the stock and gives the bedding of the action a very positive hard bedding surface. This internal frame is a feature normally found on way more expensive rifles.
Take a look at the business end. The barrel is fully floated and button rifled, stress relieved. These barrels made Bergaras name for accuracy. It is a heavy barrel and can easily accommodate a can as it is pre-threaded.
The action is a Remington 700 clone, so it uses Remington 700 bases and Remington 700 style trigger. So you can also use Remington 700 aftermarket parts. The extractor is Sako style. It is a smoothly cycling bolt that feeds easily from an easy to insert tactical type moulded magazine. Did we mention the adjustable trigger?
What about accuracy? Watch the video -one of the best phrases I have heard describing accuracy is “The Bergara HMR is a bug hole rifle” Meaning it shoots them all in the same hole!
Our test used the wonderful Federal 165gr Bear Claw projectiles from Reloaders and agreed it’s a bug hole shooter, the Bergara HMR is ideally suited to those of us that want both worlds – to hunt out to longer distances and to range shoot. Your Bergara is a rifle robust enough to take hunting and stand up to the knocks. The Bergara HMR will not let you down on the range where it fits right in with the best range rifles. For bench rest it is very well behaved and accurate, the kind of accuracy you will love if you are a long range shooter.
Bergara HMR 308 -Things to love:
– Internal aluminium stock chassis for positive bedding and stiffness
– Adjustable everything: LOP, Cheek Piece, Trigger, sling positions
– Heavy barrel fully floated, button rifled, stress relieved and threaded for can.
– It’s a real looker, with an incredible feel that makes you fall in love with shooting all over again!
See the Bergara HMR at Reloaders – an off the shelf package that wont break the bank, that will land those long shots in the field and will break hearts on the range – especially at long range!
And just so you know what we are talking about, here is the three shot group provided with the rifle from testing at the factory:
