One of the very best uses of inexpensive, soft-shooting .22 LR ammunition is in training to properly shoot a full-size, centerfire rifle. All the better if your .22 LR firearm (or conversion kit) precisely matches your centerfire firearm in size, weight, ergonomics, trigger, controls, etc.
New from Bergara is the B-14 R, which does just that very thing. It’s a .22 LR trainer in the same footprint as its big brother, the B-14. Which is to say, it’s compatible with Remington 700 short action footprint components. Excellent. Read on for Bergara’s press release . . .
Lawrenceville, Georgia – BPI Outdoors / Bergara Rifles is pleased to announce the release of the Bergara B-14 R .22 LR Rifle at the NASGW Expo in Orlando, FL Oct. 22-25, 2019.
The Bergara B-14 R .22 LR is the latest offering in their ever-popular B-14 series of rifles. Ben Fleming VP of Sales for Bergara states. “Our team has been working on a very accurate full size .22 precision trainer for several years now with a goal to help set the bar with the .22 shooters. With this gun we are confident that it will help long range .22 shooting grow for years to come.” Dakota Russell, National Sales Manager for Bergara added, “Our customers have been requesting a gun like this for some time, and with the growing NRL22 and PRS .22 competition matches the timing was right to introduce a rifle of this nature.”
This rifle is designed as a true rimfire “trainer” being that it works within the dimensions of a REM700 platform, allowing shooters to have a similar size and feel to their centerfire rifle, or even set up as a clone to their centerfire to train with. It therefore fits REM700 compatible stocks, bases, and triggers.
This being the case, it gives a perfect platform to allow any shooter the ability to customize their rifle with all kinds of compatible accessories already on the market. The magazine is a single stack .22LR mag that is built within the same dimensions as a standard short action AICS mag.
With the growing popularity of long range shooting this gun allows shooters to practice their disciplines at a more affordable price and in areas where longer ranges may not be available.
Bergara is known for its extremely accurate barrels and rifles. With this new model the .22LR shooter is sure to be pleased with Bergara’s latest offering.
Bergara B-14 R Specs:
- Caliber: 22 Long rifle
- Action: B-14R
- Barrel: 4140 Bergara barrel
- Twist: 1:16
- Barrel length: 18”
- Threaded muzzle: 1/2-28
- Weight: 9.25 lbs.
- Length: 38” with spacers
- HMR stock
- 10 round magazine
- Scope mounts: 6-48 screws, Rem 700 compatible
B-14 R MSRP – $1,150
Wait till someone makes a caliber conversion bolty. Has to happen if it hasn’t already.
$1200 buys a lot of ammo in a short action as well. The big benefit would be usability on pistol ranges.
This is a really nice looking gun, and I can see its appeal. But to be honest, if I’m going to “practice my disciplines” with a Rem 700, I’ll do it with the actual chambering (.308 or such). .22LR makes sense to me for something that doesn’t require precise shot placement, such as room clearing with an AR.
Heck they chamber them in 223 as well which if you’re looking for a good combo of price and performance for recoil sensitive shooters would work out really well too. It’s not like this is a sub 5LB AR here it’s going to have some heft to it. I’d be surprised if the gun moved much at all shooting 22lr at 9+lbs.
This could well be a half-minute gun. Also, I’ll add that practicing long-range shooting with .22 LR is pretty awesome, because the ballistics of shooting a .22 to 250 yards is like shooting a 6.5 CM to 1,000. Accounting for wind drift, drop, etc can be practiced with an accurate .22 LR rifle at significantly shorter ranges while giving you all of the training experience of shooting a full power, long range cartridge at long range.
There is also an entire match series dedicated to 22LR “mini” PRS style stages. So if you shoot a big gun in matches, this gets you equivalent practice in the actual conditions you would should a fullsize in.
I’ve actually been shooting more 22 matches at a local club recently; they are just flat out fun, and most are only half a day and provide lunch at the end.
I’m just kicking myself right now, because no less than 2 months ago I broke down and bought a Vudoo V22 because the only rimfire that Bergara had out at the time was a 10/22 clone. Would have saved myself quite a bit of coin if they had launched this back then.
I got a 4-16 power scope for my Ruger 10/22 last year and have had fun shooing 100 yards with the .22. Federal Auto Match keeps me in 2″, which really surprised me as shooting irons I was not all that accurate at 25 let alone 50 yards. There is just something about the .22 that is fun.
One of my dumber ideas is the 22 ultra long rifle match. 1000m, match provides the ammunition, you can do what you want with the rifle (taper bore, why not?). Probably have artillery class (3 points of contact with the ground or a plate) bipod, and freehand?
Even with a can a 308 is a bit loud. This would be much nicer for backyard training.
Hopefully they make a lefty one.
Not at that pricepoint, no way, no how…
I would figure on a street price closer to $850-900 based on what they charge for the regular HMR. That’s not bad considering the closest thing this competes with is $1700+ just for a barreled action (Vudoo V22), and probably within $100 of the CZ model that comes in a PRS style stock.
Some people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.
CZ 457 Ultra Lux is about $415 street. Very accurate! But I’m a CZ fan boy for sure.
Yeah, but the ultra lux isn’t even close to the same thing as this… (or the CZ trainer varriant) the stock alone on the CZ trainer is worth $800-1000 as a standalone (it was made by Manners).
Savage is now selling a precision rifle .22 LR on an aluminum chassis that weighs 2 lbs less and costs half as much. It also has the adjustable accu-trigger. Savage also has a reputation for accurate rifles. My old Mark II certainly is.
Which would you opt for? For me the choice is easy as between these two. But the new CZ 457 is tempting also.
Mind showing me where I can put a sub 8 ounce trigger in that Savage? Oh wait….
This thing uses ANY aftermarket Remington part. The Savage is cheaper, but it’s the same company that doesn’t clean the glass beads out of their barreled actions before assembly. Unlike Bergara, Savage QC is shit.
Actually I do, I have an 1813 from the 90’s. I also have a 1710 XLR, 1712, two Exemplars and a 17 HMR 17 LP. Obviously your definition of one hole and mine are different. My definition is 1 hole no larger than 1/8″ center to center. Yours must be something like 1/2″
I just got a Tikka T1X and a Primary Arms 3-18x (with the Athena mil reticle) yesterday specifically for training. It’s my first bolt action gun and (as a lefty) I wanted to experiment with different techniques of shooting a right-handed bolt gun quickly and accurately on the cheap. I’m hoping the skill I develope will apply to bolt action guns of larger caliber (and at longer ranges). My local range only goes out to 200 yards so a 22lr seemed appropriate.
If anyone with more experience could give me some pointers and tips, I’d much appreciate it.
You picked one of the best 22 rimfire rifles made today regardless of price. I had 4, now have 3, one 17HMR and two 22’s. Many aftermarket products are offered for the Tikka T1x. Based on my experience I have had with mine I can say the following. Remove the barrel/stock spacer to free float the barrel. Action screws should be 20-25 in/lbs. Look up trigger adjustment, you should be able to get your trigger weight below 2 lbs and possibly without a spring change. If you want to use a muzzle brake “for whatever reason” the Silencerco ASR works great. All of my Tikka’s including the 17hmr shoots best suppressed. For a dedicated rimfire suppressor I highly recommend the Silencerco Sparrow. I have on of my Tikka’s set up with KRG Bravo stock, IBI aftermarket barrel and flashlight attachment. I shoot suppressed a lot at night too. If you want to see what your Tikka can look like, email me. [email protected]
It would have been nicer if they had made the barrel 22 to 26″ long.
Can you elaborate, please? Does the longer barrel increase accuracy? There is no advantage in velocity and with a scope no gain in sight radius.
I was hoping to see an answer to this as well. DG knows his stuff so I’m confident he’s not talking about inherent accuracy, or practical accuracy for a gun with no irons.
The only thing I could find is that some loads still get a modest velocity benefit up to a 22″ barrel compared to a 16″ (ballistics by the inch).
An awful lot of .22 LR loads hit 95% of their fastest-they’re-gonna-get velocity in about 9 inches of barrel. Heck, many start to *slow down* after like 18 inches of barrel length! There is also only a vanishingly small chance that going longer would improve accuracy. There’s just no real correlation between barrel length and accuracy as long as the bullet is stable, which it will be — fully — with a .22 LR even out of a super short barrel. In fact, shorter barrels are stiffer so the effect of harmonics is often reduced as is walking due to heat and whatnot, so in many cases they can be *more* accurate than long barrels. The old school thinking that longer barrels are more accurate just isn’t true. Especially with .22 LR where you don’t even see a velocity penalty to going really short.
I may not have been clear… obviously barrel length doesn’t affect inherent accuracy.
My assumption would be so that it matches the weight and balance of today’s common competition rifles more closely (average 6mm/6.5mm variety in PRS trim are in the 24-26″ range) since this is supposed to be a training rifle that matches a fullsize match rifle. Bergara offers the fullsize HMR in 22″ and 24″ for the 6.5 Creedmoor and 26″ for their 6mm Creedmoor.
Velocity isnt a factor in precision 22 shooting, and most of the guys I have talked to in the few precision 22lr (Mini PRS) matches I have shot actually say you really want the rounds to be near subsonic. Even hyper velocity rounds like CCI stingers/mini-mags will go subsonic between 90-100yds so you are having to deal with transonic disruption on any of the longer shots in that format just where wind holds start to matter.
My Vudoo V22 match rifle has a 20″ barrel as that was the longest they make without going custom and it it is reasonably close in feel to my fullsize match gun. The SK Long Range rounds I run out of it are right at 1100 fps which I have found works well enough at least out to the 200yds or so that I have shot them at. Its an ok trade off vs. running something like Lapua Center-X that is truly subsonic.
When I shot small bore competitively I seem to remember that the longer barrel helps with velocity. Not faster, just closer spreads. I think that it actually slows the bullet down just a bit on a longer barrel. $0.02.
Longer barrels look cool. Plus, if it’s a Savage 22lr barrel , they make for good hammers, pry bars or Kelly-come-alongs(way more effective than the firearm form). Sure, around a 16” barrel is what’s been determined adequate for a 22lr cartridge to achieve its advertised velocity. So why the 22”, 24” & 26” or longer barrels?….Smaller deviations in muzzle velocities.
I’m living in world of crazy peoples. Man, I thought $275.99 was too dammed expensive for a .22 lr or shorts, with a 4x scope on top.
I admit it looks sexy, but not a grand worth of glamor in a boxed dozen.
Not really. You are just used to cheap, stamped sheet metal .22s, that are more of a toy than a real rifle. A good .22 rifle will shoot into one hole at 50 yards all day long with the right ammo. Check prices of Feinwerkbau or Anschutz .22 rifles.
Heck, an old single shot Suhl 150 are sold at prices close to this new Bergara.
No production made 22 rimfire shoots into 1 hole “all day long”.
Then you’ve never owned an older or high end Anschutz…