Guns & Outdoors Forum

Its been a while since I picked up something new, and the local place kinda got me. I had been debating getting a "magnum" for a while, and was going back and forth between 7mm RM and 7 PRC. The difference between them didnt seem to be great enough to pick one over the other. The deciding factor came down to what could be had easily.

All that being said, I ended up with a Bergara B-14 Ridge in 7mm RM. I picked up a set of bases, some PPU brass, and some 150gr CX bullets. Now I need to see if I have a scope, rings, and dies. Probably load up some book loads to shoot for initial shots and getting a scope on paper, and then play with Quick Load. Not sure when that will happen though. Still a bit chilly here. The muzzle break has already been removed and I need to find a thread protector to put on it.
Still not sure the ultimate use for this rifle. I am hoping to get another pronghorn hunt with my dad this year. This rifle might be an option. I have used .300 WM, .30-06, and 6.5-06 on past trips. This trip would be a toss up between 6.5-06 again, maybe this 7mm RM, or maybe a 6mm-06.

Congrats

Damn those are sweet. Lord knows I have too many bolt action hunting guns and yet every time I see a Bergara I want one.

I have never fired a Bergara, but I have heard many good things about them.


7 RM 150gr CX (twist rate might be marginal for this bullet) to 6mm-06 90gr CX. If I push the 7 RM I might be able to push it to 3100 fps with the 150gr (Rem 700 .30-06 does that with a 150gr Interlock and book load, but that's not really a 1:1 comparison) and the 6mm-06 should be able to push the 90gr to 3500-3600 fps based on Quick Load. I still need to run the 6.5-06 through Quick Load with 120 and 130gr CX bullets.

I have the B-14 HMR in .308. It was accurate out of the box. Removing the paint from the pillars (not scrape) tightened the group even more. You picked a good one, Congrats

I love my Bergara. Good choice!

The 7 RM is one of my favorites. Always has been. Handloading lets it excel. I’m pushing 162gr A-Max to STW velocities with Retumbo.

I need to run things through Quick Load once I have fired brass to measure, but im thinking Retumbo, H1000, RL-22, or N560 should be decent options. I dont know if I will be able to run 160gr CX or some of the heavier .284" bullets due to the twist rate though. Even the 150gr CX comes up as marginal stability using the calculator from Berger.

Hodgdon does list a load with Ramshot Grand pushing a 139gr CX to almost 3300 fps and sub 60k PSI, but it is already a compressed load.