Today Bergara announced a new carbon technology called “CURE”. As a part of this announcement, Bergara has debuted a new ultralight rifle called “MGLite” that features a CURE carbon barrel! In this story, we’ll get hands-on with the MG Lite chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor.
*Correction- the 20 MOA picatinny scope rail shown in this video is not included.
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About CURE
From the Bergara CURE Barrel technology page:
The experts at Bergara have found the cure to the carbon barrel problem. There’s no longer a need to compromise performance for weight. Bergara has solved the issues of getting steel and carbon working together, both mechanically and thermodynamically, by introducing CURE® Carbon Barrels.
These barrels contain a center wrap carbon weave that is designed to align directionally true to the center of the barrel’s bore. Utilizing Bergara’s proprietary ColdBore Technology (Patent-Pending), CURE Barrels weave continuous stainless-steel strands into the carbon fiber to conduct heat away from the chamber and down the barrel efficiently and consistently. This technology results in a reduction of overall barrel temperatures by an average of 50 degrees.
We’ve cured the dilemma of impact migration between cold bore and subsequent shots as barrels heat up. While controlling heat and mating proprietary carbon and steel, our focus is on the essentials of straightness and stiffness for consistent performance, round after round. CURE Barrels bring new levels of accuracy and performance to ultralight, precision rifles.
About the MG Lite
The MG Lite is an ultralight rifle platform built on Bergara’s CURE carbon barrel technology, Bergara’s Premier action, and the XLR Element Magnesium 4.0 Chassis.
From the Bergara MGLite product page:
The MGLite will be available in the following chamberings:
- 6.5 Creedmoor
- 6.5 PRC
- 308 Winchester
- 300 Win Mag
What’s In the Box
The MGLite comes with the following (as pictured above):
- Bolt (shipped not installed in rifle)
- Thread protector
- 5 round AICS magazine
- Printed materials
Borecam Inspection
For bore inspection, I used a TESLONG NGT 100H rifle borescope connected to my Windows 10 laptop. The bore looked great:
The crown was clean and crisp as shown here:
TriggerScan Analysis
I was very happy to see a TriggerTech trigger included as a part of the MGLite rifle package! I have had great results with these triggers both from a reliability perspective as well as with performance. I put the MGLite on the TriggerScan TS-11 and scanned the trigger with two configurations: as adjusted at the factory, and minimum trigger pull weight. Here’s the results:
Factory Trigger Setting
As you can see here, the trigger broke at almost exactly 3lb!
Minimum Trigger Pull Weight Setting
Look at how consistent that trigger pull is! Since I’m used to very light triggers (down to 7oz for benchrest shooting), I would run this trigger pull weight for hunting (not advised if you aren’t used to this kind of trigger pull).
Setting up my MG Lite
For initial testing, I set up my MGLite with the following:
- Athlon Midas TAC 5-25x56mm scope (see our test for that scope HERE)
- XLR carbon buttstock bag rider (for bench shooting)
- SilencerCo Hybrid suppressor (shot rifle both suppressed and unsuppressed with factory brake)
Initial Shooting Results
For initial shooting with this rifle I was focused on two things: break-in and initial 3-shot accuracy testing. Had we had more time we would have performed load development, testing with a tuner, and long-range shooting with steel (stay tuned).
I shot a few types of ammunition through this rifle at 100 yards from a bench rest as pictured here:
3-shot groups ranged from 0.480″ to 0.650″ with factory ammunition. Here are a couple highlights
Hornady 140 Grain Match (Factory, A-Max)
You can see here I had some horizontal shot dispersion. For the subsequent testing, I applied a slight “squeeze” to the rear bag, and that helped!
Gavin’s Hornady 143gr ELD-X Magic Hunting Load
Here we had better horizontal, but more vertical shot dispersion compared to the previous group. With handloading, tuning, and more shooting, I can see 5 shot groups at least as small as these groups. For these groups, the barrel seemed to stay on point of aim- more so than some other barrels we’ve tested.
Overall, I’m very impressed with this rifle- it’s light, compact, precise, and great looking. With the XLR Element magnesium 4.0 chassis you have a LOT of functionality and flexibility. Love it!
Learn More
You cam learn about all of the details for MGLite at the Bergara product page on their website:
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Thanks,
Gavin
