Sorry your bolt broke but it's great to know that Bergara customer service made it right and did so quickly. I have two B14r rifles, both in .22LR, and I'm satisfied with both.

 

Was this an older rifle? I seem to remember a few of these reported with early production rifles ( after high/competition usage.) It had quite a panic running through the B14 shooting PRS community. If I recall , it was due to stress concentration in the slot and was remedied in new production with a radiused cut in newer production rifles. I'm sure it was written about in these pages back then.

 

The rifle is a 2021 and has about 15,000 rounds fired through it. The radius appeared similar but I didn’t measure anything. I can tell a difference in extraction between my 2023 HB and my 2021 so I’m sure there are some material changes between the two.

 

Just sent my b14r in to be repaired. Bolt an the receiver need replaced. Hopefully they get it back to me b4 winter.

 

I did read your post and felt for you. I have two B14Rs. The 2021 I purchased from a forum member and loved it. So I turned around and ordered one of the B14R HB from A&J and put it in an MDT Chassis and enjoy it very much. I shoot almost daily and this is the first real issue I've had with either gun. Both guns shoot better than I can. I'm a loyal fan, I still believe they are great guns for the price. I explained to the young lady that I wasn't the original owner and she said no problem. I hope you get as good as service as I received.

Can I ask how old is your rifle? The last two digits of the serial number tell you the year of production, they will end in a -21, -22, -23 etc.

 

Cornfed427 you are fortunate Bergara is willing to do this for you and here is the precise reason you have had this issue.

Don't know what the headspace was. But was crushing the rim on anything eley, sk, norma, started with .015, it's better but still bending the rim over. Group seems to have tighten up as well at 100yrds. Thinking about trying the .02 an .03 just to see how it does. An if it effects my 50yrd groups.

Please get yourself some decent lube like high pressure, High temp synthetic grease like "Mobil 1" to put on your bolt lugs and get this from your local auto parts store. It is just like any other lube however has excellent high pressure lubricating properties. Keep the bolt body lubed with a light oil. Not lubing the bolt will not help you with accuracy in any way. Properties Mobil 1™ Synthetic Grease | Mobil™ Motor Oils

And refrain from the bolt shims you were using. That is where your over pressuring the lugs comes from and the "galling". They will cause you nothing but problems with this or any other rifle. The head space is set the way it is for a reason.

Just find some SK Long Range Match or SK Match, SK Standard Plus, Lapua Center X and Lapua Polar Biathlon if you want the top dogs. Search for a proper lot number for your rifle and have a good time. And yes I have had and also have a few B14R's around over the past few years.

These are very good rifles they are not bench rest weapons. Should you wish that accuracy you will need something like a 2500 action and a shilen barrel.

Have fun

 

Cornfed427 you are fortunate Bergara is willing to do this for you and here is the precise reason you have had this issue.


Please get yourself some decent lube like high pressure, High temp synthetic grease like "Mobil 1" to put on your bolt lugs and get this from your local auto parts store. It is just like any other lube however has excellent high pressure lubricating properties. Keep the bolt body lubed with a light oil. Not lubing the bolt will not help you with accuracy in any way. Properties Mobil 1™ Synthetic Grease | Mobil™ Motor Oils

And refrain from the bolt shims you were using. That is where your over pressuring the lugs comes from and the "galling". They will cause you nothing but problems with this or any other rifle. The head space is set the way it is for a reason.

Just find some SK Long Range Match or SK Match, SK Standard Plus, Lapua Center X and Lapua Polar Biathlon if you want the top dogs. Search for a proper lot number for your rifle and have a good time. And yes I have had and also have a few B14R's around over the past few years.

These are very good rifles they are not bench rest weapons. Should you wish that accuracy you will need something like a 2500 action and a shilen barrel.

Have fun

Yeah I still have that rifle works great. And I use Spartan tactical greese. Works very well.
An if .015 shim will cause a rifle to start eating it self I don't want it. Lol I guarantee the tolerance on these guns coming down a factory line are not that tight. Never got passed the .015 I took that out and just went to stock. Still crushes rim when fired just didn't realize it till I tryed .015 shim. But all is well.

I think bergara makes great factory benchrest rifle. They produce 2350 to 2500 targets box stock. Between ohio an Michigan where i shoot there's guys I know shoot very well with them. Mine was shooting very well. Till I sent it in.

 

Max there is a very sharp corner machined into the slot in that bolt. This has been corrected in some of the newer bolts with a very slight radius in the corners. Some of the early rifles did have an issue here when they were run hard.

Also when the bolt head was removed and the dowel pin not in proper alingment when it was re inserted in the bolt. The corner would fracture from the tapping the pin into the bolt again.

 

In terms of firearm production, the B14R’s are a relatively new design, Maybe 5 years, while not perfect, they are a mass produced factory firearm designed to fill a niche of an affordable rimfire 700 clone, most of their competitors are either custom or semi custom rifles built with industry leader components and a price tag that would keep all but the most dedicated or financially well from owning one.

While not cheap the Bergara’s were designed to cover a need at a price point. Something I think they were pretty effective at.

They can also be upgraded with many of the components used in the $3500 rifles like Vudoo, Rim-X and even centerfire 700 clones. I will admit that while they may not be as accurate as a purpose built BR rifle, they were not really designed to be.

While I am constantly in the presence of most of the highest quality BR rifles available, and I understand that they are extremely effective for their designed purpose, but they are also very limited in application outside of that arena.

So to compare a modern mass produced $1000 rifle to a purpose built competition rifle costing 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 times the price, is a bit unrealistic. I shoot mine in production class events with decent success. When I don’t do well it’s more the shooter skill and ammo selection more than the brand of rifle.

In terms of durability, I think they hold up pretty well, there are a lot of them out there that have close to 20,000 rounds on them, mine have approximately 35,000 rounds combined. How many bolt action rifles do you own that you can say you have fired 5000 rounds a year just for fun?

While some are a little more accurate than others, overall I consider them about 1 MOA capable under normal conditions, better under ideal conditions and of course worse under adverse conditions.

For my purpose it is a great design, if I were to pursue BR, I would have to go into a much more purpose built design.

And like anything else out there, they can suffer from improper maintenance and improper modifications. It’s always important to use proper tools and go slow when disassembling or reassembling mechanical things. A bigger hammer isn’t always the best plan. 👍

 

Just to make sure there is absolutely no confusion, this bolt had never been taken apart while I owned the gun. This is not a gas operated weapon or a blow back design and there is no need to service the firing pin or spring IMHO. The only reason I took the bolt apart was because the two bolt halves no longer rotated freely. So anyone saying too big of hammer or misalignment while assembly it has nothing to do with what transpired on this bolt. You can see from the photos above that even after 15,000 rounds the firing pin looked clean and like new.

 

I have two B14r rifles. The first I bought was made in 2019 and it's a tack driver with the right cartridge. The second was made in 2023 and I bought it as a barreled action. It's not quite as accurate as the 2019. The 2019's bolt was a little rough to cycle at first but is now as smooth as I could ask for. The 2023 bolt was pretty smooth from the beginning. I'm happy with them and think they are a solid value. The only other rifles available now that are in the general price range and competitive with the B14r are the CZ-457 MTR, Tikka T1X and maybe the Steyr Zephyr II. There may be others that I'm unaware of.

 

Max, I have seen enough of your posts to know you’re not that guy. But we have also seen enough negative posts here on all kinds of firearms to know that it happens. I was not implying that you had done anything improperly on your rifle quite to the contrary. I have no doubt that you are a very capable guy and would have no problem with such a task.

I have always enjoyed your posts and as a fellow Bergara owner with multiple copies, considered them both resourceful and positive in regard to the product. 👍😎