[Tacoma]

I've eyeballed these but have heard mixed reviews on actual levels of improvement. I'm not sure anything is going to make my B14R cycle as smoothly as my CZ457's or Vudoo. It's not bad but... Maybe this is what i need for black Friday I wish the company had an actual website.

 

[Tacoma]

Well, doesn't look like $133, but maybe it will smooth out the old bolt, will know soon.

View attachment 345923

Agreed. Granted there is some hidden engineering and machining time in the shroud but you just know that's a 89 cent spring at McMaster Carr if you specked the wire diameter and dimensions.

 

[Tacoma]

What's interesting about the install of this kit is that they recommend filing the camming edge of the bolt body to a smoother profile . IMHO, this act should decrease that mid throw cocking bump and is likely a big piece of any smoothness gain.

 

[Tacoma]

I'm not sure I'm sold on the light firing pin spring. There is a well accepted school of thought that primer ignition inconsistencies will cause accuracy inconsistencies. While this situation is usually associated with trigger engagement drag causing a lighter/inconsistent strike, it could be argued that a lighter trigger spring could do the same. Looking at the primer strike pics posted above by @HJA8 , It looks like the imprint left from the lighter spring driven pin has some variation in it. It's particularly obvious in positions 2 and 5.

 

[Tacoma]

Neither am I. After I posted the comments above, I ran some more spent cases through the action to compare the FP hits - The factory spring set up definitely leaves a more consistent impression. I was mainly after the steel shroud but decided to try the lighter spring anyway - Nothing to lose & can easily swap back.
Re the "heavy" bolt operation on these B14R's - My wife and I shoot ours alongside our Vudoos regularly and I don't intend to do any filing on the B14R bolt. For all practical purposes, the Bergara is right there with the Vudoos when it comes to function and accuracy. Yes, the Vudoo is a nicer package overall but you get a lot of gun for the money with these Bergaras!

Agree with all said here. FWIW, I own 2 Vudoo's and a B14R. The Vudoo's certainly have an slicker bolt throw ( especially noticeable from the cheek weld position) but I'm not seeing any real advantages over that within the 100 yds I'm shooting. ( My B14R will hang with either Vudoo at 100yds) In fact, I greatly prefer the loading simplicity and feeding reliability of the B14R magazines. The B14R's are a steal at 1/3 the price of the Vudoo.

 

[Tacoma]

I polished the cam on mine last week and the bolt throw got considerably slicker. It still has the "bump" but not so bad. That process was pretty easy as all I had to do was back out the firing pin assembly to access the area in need. Everything else in my bolt has stayed the same( so far). That said, I figure the CPR spring is likely not something all that difficult to duplicate ( and is likely off the shelf anyway), so I took some measurements off a factory spring and went looking on the net. I think I have found one with similar diameter and length to factory but with a 15% reduction in wire size. Cost was $1 delivered so I'm going to give it a try. I'll post results here when I get it in and installed.

 

[Tacoma]

Mine was polished using lapping compound and manual exercise of the bolt, not actual grinding or sanding or even a stone. Perhaps that will be acceptable in the unlikely event of warranty.

As long as you stick to polishing vs changing the geometry of the ramp, you should be good to go. It would be hard to argue as polishing is just accelerated wear if done correctly. FWIW, I've also found a light treatment of a moly based grease on these surfaces adds a little extra smoothness.