Bergara’s Premier Competition Rifle — all set up for PRS/NRL right out of the box — is now offered in 6 GT!
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About the Bergara Premier Competition Rifle
We’ve featured a number of Bergara hunting rifles on the channel including the B-14 Squared Crest and Ridge Carbon Wilderness. This time it’s something different, a Bergara factory precision rifle in 6 GT — a caliber you don’t find many factory rifles chambered in.
This rifle is based around the Bergara Premier action with a stainless steel No. 7 taper 1:7.5 twist threaded barrel, set in an MPA BA chassis.
MPA’s BA chassis is made of 6061 aluminum with V-bedding, integral ARCA, integral bubble level and a front night vision bridge + V4 spigot mount. It has an adjustable cheek riser, recoil pad with cant and height adjustment, and its length of pull is adjustable from 12.75” to 14”. MPA chose a vertical grip with a thumb shelf and added a bag rider. The chassis is finished in Cerakote and compatible with AICS mags.
The Premier action has a Remington 700 footprint, and is compatible with Rem 700 triggers and scope bases/rails (8×40 screws). It has a swappable floating bolt head, two lug bolt system, and cone-shaped bolt nose. I’ve shown this action in Bergara’s MG Lite and my full-custom 7mm PRC build, among others. This action has custom action features but for a more affordable price. Bergara’s use of the Rem 700 footprint makes their rifles extremely versatile. You can swap out the trigger, stock and even the barreled action quite easily if you so chose. Switching to .22LR for training is quite popular, and the Bergara B-14 R is an ideal fit.
Bergara has been offering the Premier Competition in 6.5 Creedmoor and 6mm Creedmoor, but has just added 6 GT to the mix. I’m a big fan of this caliber, which has very manageable recoil. Note that this isn’t a test of “strength” but rather a point of efficiency. Milder recoil means you can see your trace/impacts and get back on target faster.
6 GT has taken the PRS world by storm as an alternative to the 6 Dasher. The SAAMI-certified 6 GT solves the feed/magazine issues with the wildcat 6 Dasher and has slightly more velocity. 6 GT’s shoulder is approximately 0.108” longer than 6 Dasher, but you can use a 6 GT reamer to convert a 6 Dasher chamber to a 6 GT chamber.
Pre-installed is a TriggerTech Special trigger, which I’ve previously tested on TriggerScan and had great results with. It is extremely consistent and adjustable.
The rifle comes with a 10 round magazine and starts at 12.7 lbs. MSRP begins at $2750.
From Bergara:
With Bergara’s reputation for accuracy, we expected customers to immediately build guns for the competition circuit, and over the years they have performed well. You don’t have to build your own custom Bergara precision rifle anymore. The Bergara Premier Competition Rifle is the most accurate and highest-performing production class PRS style Bergara rifle that exists. Paired with your optic of choice, the Bergara Competition Rifle is competition-ready right out of the box.
Barrel: Stainless Steel No. 7 Taper
Finish: Polished Clear Cerakote
Stock: MPA BA Chassis
Calibers: 6.5 Creedmoor, 6mm Creedmoor, 6 GT
Bergara Heavy Profile Barrel – The heavier diameter stainless steel competition barrel is stiffer, more stable, and doesn’t walk as fast after it gets heated up and takes longer to heat up.
TriggerTech SPECIAL Trigger – Our partnership with TriggerTech was to create a world-class experience for every user of any Bergara Rifle, whether in the field or on the competition bench. Our partnership makes use of TriggerTech’s patented Frictionless Release Technology to increase performance and accuracy for the end-user by eliminating creep and heavy pull weights. Even in the most rugged conditions, it maintains its premium performance, delivering greater precision and safety with every shot. The Competition Rifle comes with the TriggerTech Special Trigger.
MPA BA Chassis – The MPA BA Chassis is specifically designed to give shooters a competitive advantage when shooting in long-range tactical rifle competitions, such as the PRS. It’s also a great option for a variety of other applications in which accuracy, versatility, adjustable fit, and durability are desired.
ARCA Swiss Rail – The Arca Swiss rail allows for easy and fast adjustments. This 3-in-1 rail has a screw hole for your common camera tripod adapter. The Arca Swiss rail allows you to easily slide your gun back and forth, and if you have a Picatinny bipod, mounting and adjusting are seamless.
What’s in the Box
We’re very fortunate to have one of the first 6 GT rifles shipped and thrilled to see Bergara offering this cartridge. This allows shooters to buy an off-the-shelf 6 GT rather than have to get an expensive custom build.
Included is the rifle itself, AICS 10-round mag, instructions, two-round holder for the side of the chassis and mounting hardware.
Set-Up, Loading, and Shooting
Though the gun really just needs an optic and rail out of the box, I also added a bipod and EC Tuner V2 Brake.
I decided to mount the Athlon Ares ETR 4.5-30 x 56 FFP rifle scope, the same scope we used during the Rifle ELR stage of the Rock Chuck Olympics.
Before heading to the ridgeline to shoot, I loaded some Berger 105 grain Hybrid Target bullets over 32.0 grains of Varget on the Dillon RL-550C. (Hodgdon’s reloading data center set max at 33.1 grains.) This yielded 2,733 fps average velocity with a less than ideal SD, so more load development is definitely needed. Cartridge overall length was 2.500”
I started with bench shooting at 100 yards, using a MDT Gen 2 CKYE-pod triple pull bipod and Armageddon Gear Game Changer.
bag The first three rounds on paper measured .510” (0.487 MOA).
After resetting the turrets, I headed up the ridgeline to shoot rock chuck targets. For all spotting we used the Longshot Hawk Spotting Scope Camera mounted on a Leupold spotting scope.
The Hawk works similarly to the LR-3, but films through the scope so you don’t have to physically go out to the target. This is super handy for us at UR as some targets take an almost day’s hike to reach. I hit steel at 325 yards before moving to 706 yards.
The 706 yard hits were late in the day in low-light on an unpainted gong, so I was thrilled with the results. I was unable to see trace, so having the data from the Hawk was crucial. I rounded out the evening by getting on target at 1,000 yards. I couldn’t see trace, so I made some guesses and held off, hitting the target the third shot.
Conclusion
I really enjoyed shooting the Bergara Premier Competition and look forward to doing more load development with it. It was very comfortable, balanced well, and was especially stable with the CKYE-POD triple pull. I did make some adjustments to the length of pull and cheek riser after the unboxing. (The cheek riser comes out completely for easy cleaning!)
I haven’t mounted the two-round side holder but I look forward to using it. The versatility of this rifle and cartridge combination is impressive.
Get the Gear
Bergara Premier Competition Rifle
Athlon Ares ETR 4.5-30 x 56 FFP rifle scope
Hodgdon Varget at Midsouth Shooters Supply
Berger 6mm 105 Grain Hybrid Target Bullets at Midsouth Shooters Supply and Creedmoor Sports
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Thanks,
Gavin Gear
