New 7mm Rem Mag Bergara

The smile on a boys face when holding their new rifle just can’t be beaten. No matter their age. No doubt he’ll get many years enjoyment from that rifle. This makes me smile, I enjoy seeing folks happy.
 
Very nice Guy. I picked up the same model in .308 a few months back and have nothing but good to say about it. Though a bit heavy I agree mine handles very nicely with a 22" barrel and brake. Action is smooth and one of the better factory triggers I've experienced. I'm sure your boy will do well with it.
 
str8meat said:
Has the young man worked up a load yet? August 1 is coming.
Click to expand...

Not yet. Only two trips to the range with the Bergara so far. On the first trip, he shot up 20 miscellaneous 7mm Rem Mag cartridges I'd loaded over the past year or so. They all shot "acceptably." Mostly he was just breaking in the barrel, getting sighted-in, and getting familiar with the rifle. Then I loaded another 20, based on the 150 grain Hornady ELD-X and IMR 8133. He shot 15 or so of those on Monday.

I do most of the handloading for his guns too, though he does occasionally use my gear to make some rifle or handgun ammo. I've got some 160 & 175 grain Nosler Partitions that I'm sure will shoot just fine when we load 'em up. :)

Regards, Guy
 
Youtube premier on this rifle, this afternoon, scheduled for 4:00 west coast time.

Look up Ultimate Reloader on YouTube and settle in for about a 15 - 18 min video.

Regards, Guy
 
Guy, your experience here is much the same as what I had, when I bought my son his first deer rifle. A couple years ago, he had just completed his EMT training course, and had mentioned that he was thinking of buying a rifle. I told him I would buy the rifle (within budget), but he could pick out what he wanted, and then buy whatever scope he wanted for it. I made a few recommendations, and he did some research and ultimately ended up with the Tikka T3x in 7 mag, and a Vortex Diamondback Tactical 4-16x44. I'm personally not crazy about the scope, but it's the one he wanted. However, I've been very impressed with the Tikka. It's a good-shooting rifle.

Next came time to learn how to reload for it. All of the ins and outs, how to select components and work up a load, etc. After developing a good load with the 140gr BT's, he took this young buck with it in the fall.

IMG_20201117_210925.jpg

It's great to enjoy passing on our knowledge and heritage to the next generation, especially when it's our kids. I know you will enjoy this as much with your son, as I have with mine.

Cheers,
Brian
 
Hey Guy, I just watched the video on gavintube while on vacation. That’s a great setup you got your son, and I’m sure it will be great for him. I enjoy that YouTube channel a lot, and it’s always great when your on there! Make sure to post some pics when he gets that first animal with it.
 
Guy, cannot beat that grin on your son's face. Good to see you both had a blast. I heard good things about Bergara from friends and other hunters. Your son picked the perfect rifle and perfect caliber to take down most North American game. Congratulations to your son.
The 7 Mag was my first bolt gun, bought it in the 1990's, a Sako M995. Same old stock, pillar bedded and a Brux pencil thin barrel topped with a NF NXS scope. Not a tackdriver, but just good enough for hunting and not to hard to lug around.
 
Man, it doesn’t get much better than that, a solid bolt gun in 7 Rem Mag. I’m sure he knows but his need for anything else went right out the window with that one.

Take a look at the Trijicons, especially since right now places like EuroOptic are selling them on sale for excellent prices. Very solid optics with excellent reticles and illumination. Might be worth having an optic that has a lot of capability to practice with at extended ranges even if he never wants to shoot long on game.

Sharp looking rifle as well. To me, a 7 Rem Mag is really one of the greats. Lotsa factory ammo out there and so versatile if you’re a handloader.
 
Guy Miner said:
My youngest son has been hunting with two rifles for a long time now, a 50 year old 6mm Remington 700 which was mine since 1974... and a 100+ year old "sporterized" Model of 1917 30-06.

Both are fine rifles and he's done well with them taking a plethora of varmints, coyotes, whitetail, mule deer and even two black bear. But... He kinda wanted something more up to date. "Dad, I want a new rifle, that I can use to take mule deer, bear and elk out to 500 yards or so." Then he hastned to add that he wouldn't likely take such a long shot on game, just that he wanted a rifle that would do the job. Well, the old 30-06 would do that just fine, but I understood the desire for a newer more up to date rifle.

He did his research and decided on a Bergara B-14 Wilderness Ridge rifle in 7mm Rem Mag.

Okay then! Why Bergara? They're known first and foremost for their quality barrels. He wanted accuracy, so starting with a good barrel seemed prudent. He also wanted an all-weather rifle, without having to worry too much about rust & such. The Bergara action & barrel is Cerakoted. It's also got a rather nice trigger and a synthetic stock. Good looking rifle, a tad on the heavy side with a barrel contour that's a little heavier than a typical sporter. Also the rifle comes with a very effective muzzle brake.

He's still shopping for a scope but we wanted to shoot the rifle so I grabbed rings & bases I had on hand, and pulled the 4.5-14x Leupold from my coyote/varmint rifle. We took it to the range yesterday for the first time. I had an assortment of 7mm Rem Mag ammo that I'd loaded over the past year or so, only 5 rounds of each, for a total of 20. We went through them all!

I say "we" because I talked him into letting me shoot the last three. He'd gone through the rest. :) Bergara urges that the barrel be broken in by cleaning, firing, cleaning again. I know that's a debatable subject, but it seemed best to follow the maker's instruction. We broke it in, while also getting it zeroed at 100 yards, and getting some chronograph data. John got familiar with his new rifle as well.

The rifle was shooting 150 gr ELD-X and 150 grain CX Hornady bullets at right about 3,200 fps. The 160 grain Noslers were accurate as all get out, but my chronograph had a melt-down and I didn't get a velocity for them. Hoping that the chronograph malfunction is just temporary. I couldn't figure it out yesterday. Haven't tailored a load for it, but Bergara promises 1 MOA, and the rifle was shooting well under that, down around 1/2 MOA... I don't think accuracy is going to be an issue. I was particularly pleased that the 160 grain Nosler Partitions grouped so well, as that's a great all-around bullet for a 7mm Magnum rifle.

The high point though was the grin on my son's face. "Dad, it kicks like my little 6mm!" Yes, I'd pretty much agree with that. The 7mm Rem Mag isn't a particularly vicious kicker anyway, but this rifle produced less recoil than any 7mm Rem Mag I've ever shot. Heavier than normal barrel, a #5 contour they call it. Heavy, well proportioned stock with a good recoil pad. And that muzzle brake... Like 'em or hate 'em, a lot of rifles have muzzle brakes these days - and wow - that thing took the sting right out of shooting a magnum rifle. We know better than to shoot it without ear protection though. I suspect that someday soon he'll get a suppressor for it.

UH8oSk9h.jpg


Yes, a fine afternoon at the rifle range indeed.

Regards, Guy
Click to expand...
Man I have a ample supply of 160gr Fail safe bullets for that 7mm for trade !
 
Guy Miner said:
My youngest son has been hunting with two rifles for a long time now, a 50 year old 6mm Remington 700 which was mine since 1974... and a 100+ year old "sporterized" Model of 1917 30-06.

Both are fine rifles and he's done well with them taking a plethora of varmints, coyotes, whitetail, mule deer and even two black bear. But... He kinda wanted something more up to date. "Dad, I want a new rifle, that I can use to take mule deer, bear and elk out to 500 yards or so." Then he hastned to add that he wouldn't likely take such a long shot on game, just that he wanted a rifle that would do the job. Well, the old 30-06 would do that just fine, but I understood the desire for a newer more up to date rifle.

He did his research and decided on a Bergara B-14 Wilderness Ridge rifle in 7mm Rem Mag.

Okay then! Why Bergara? They're known first and foremost for their quality barrels. He wanted accuracy, so starting with a good barrel seemed prudent. He also wanted an all-weather rifle, without having to worry too much about rust & such. The Bergara action & barrel is Cerakoted. It's also got a rather nice trigger and a synthetic stock. Good looking rifle, a tad on the heavy side with a barrel contour that's a little heavier than a typical sporter. Also the rifle comes with a very effective muzzle brake.

He's still shopping for a scope but we wanted to shoot the rifle so I grabbed rings & bases I had on hand, and pulled the 4.5-14x Leupold from my coyote/varmint rifle. We took it to the range yesterday for the first time. I had an assortment of 7mm Rem Mag ammo that I'd loaded over the past year or so, only 5 rounds of each, for a total of 20. We went through them all!

I say "we" because I talked him into letting me shoot the last three. He'd gone through the rest. :) Bergara urges that the barrel be broken in by cleaning, firing, cleaning again. I know that's a debatable subject, but it seemed best to follow the maker's instruction. We broke it in, while also getting it zeroed at 100 yards, and getting some chronograph data. John got familiar with his new rifle as well.

The rifle was shooting 150 gr ELD-X and 150 grain CX Hornady bullets at right about 3,200 fps. The 160 grain Noslers were accurate as all get out, but my chronograph had a melt-down and I didn't get a velocity for them. Hoping that the chronograph malfunction is just temporary. I couldn't figure it out yesterday. Haven't tailored a load for it, but Bergara promises 1 MOA, and the rifle was shooting well under that, down around 1/2 MOA... I don't think accuracy is going to be an issue. I was particularly pleased that the 160 grain Nosler Partitions grouped so well, as that's a great all-around bullet for a 7mm Magnum rifle.

The high point though was the grin on my son's face. "Dad, it kicks like my little 6mm!" Yes, I'd pretty much agree with that. The 7mm Rem Mag isn't a particularly vicious kicker anyway, but this rifle produced less recoil than any 7mm Rem Mag I've ever shot. Heavier than normal barrel, a #5 contour they call it. Heavy, well proportioned stock with a good recoil pad. And that muzzle brake... Like 'em or hate 'em, a lot of rifles have muzzle brakes these days - and wow - that thing took the sting right out of shooting a magnum rifle. We know better than to shoot it without ear protection though. I suspect that someday soon he'll get a suppressor for it.

UH8oSk9h.jpg


Yes, a fine afternoon at the rifle range indeed.

Regards, Guy
Click to expand...
Good Choice 160gr Nosler Part
IMR 4350 and RL 22 always done well for me with the 7mm Rem Mag with 160 Part
Another Vote for the 3.5x10 Leupold !
I have a Bergara Ridge in 300 WM and 308 Win it’s a shooter, they do have a good barrel as claimed.
 
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