Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Bergara B14 Woodsman

Since I booked a pronghorn hunt for Oct., I figured it gave me an excuse to purchase a new firearm. ...as if I needed an excuse. I have at least 6 rifles in the safe right now perfectly suited for goats and muleys .

Anyway, I've been looking at the Bergara B14 Woodsman in 7-08. It meets my criteria for blued steel and walnut, and weighs in at 6.6 Lbs with a 22" bbl. With a VX2 2-7x33, it should be all in right at, or under, 7 1/4 lbs.They hype 1 moa accuracy guarantee, and lots of reviews seem to support it, though some do not.

If anyone here on the forum has any experience or opinions, I'd be interested in your impressions. Also, would be interested in alternatives at the same price point, as long as they're blued steel and walnut. And, not the least interested in Tikka. Thanks.

Where have I seen this before.............hmm.

Stock fit is an important box to check for me and since the Bergara stocks don't fit me very well, they are a nonstarter.

Model seven ?

Already have one in 7-08 since '84. Great rifle. Bang flopped two caribou bulls with it in 2000. Lost count of the deer it's put in the freezer. My daughter kind of commandeered it. All I know is, it lives at her house now.

Could have been a few places. I listed it in several subs and forums.

You better get Big Stick the guru,s opinon on it.....

He has "shot it all and then some".

Hint....

My opinion is Buy a Tikka...........don't ask me why my Bergara is at the factory now.. maybe it's because of accuracy issues..... Hint.

I have a Bergara Hunter in 6.5 CM. It is accurate and no real complaints. I got it for $550 OTD, but they normally sell for about $700. At $700 I'd have bought a Tikka.

I reckon just get it and find out once and for all. They are a nice looking rifle if’n you ask me. If it comes to the shoulder and feels nicely, grab it!

If you do so, please post your observations and pictures so we can all hear first hand...

I have a B-14 Ridge in 6.5 Creed that I dropped in a Grayboe Terrain. It is consistently around 1/2" @ 100 with ELD's and H4350. Prior to it, I had a B-14 Hunter in 6.5 Creed. It was a consistent 3/4" @ 100 with 120 BT's and RL16. My brother has the Woodsman in 6.5 Creed. It shoots 1/2" with 120 BT's & RL17, and also likes 143 ELDX over RL26.

All that to say that, while Bergara may not have the twist rate or mag length in some calibers to shoot the high BC bullets, my experience is that they are well made and accurate.

One other piece of info, the factory trigger in my Ridge was a clean and consistent 2 lbs 12.

I've got a B-14 Ridge in 300WM and its 1/2" at 100 yards. Don't have a lot of rounds down it yet but has gotten a bit better with each range trip. Mine is a bit picky about brass, I've found it like Federal the best, so that's what it gets.

If you have to do a belly crawl through the sage, rabbit brush and prickly pear to get on to your goat, it is helpful to have a rifle that is capable of locking the bolt down. But then again, I am just a Tikka and Kimber guy when it comes to lightweight hunting rifles. CP.

I'm not bashing Bergara but a $800 rifle should shoot at least 1 in groups every time I take it to the range. My woodsman will not shoot a similar group with the same ammo from day to day. I beded the recoil lug, installed a Timney ( adjusted to 2 lbs) tried 4-5 different factory loads, tried 4-5 different hand loads with various powders, bullets and finally found a great load I thought. The next day that same load shot like crap so I thought it was me. Off to the range again, keep in mind this all is over a time span of around 4 months and I'm still not happy with it... called Bergara and it's at Bergara now being checked out.
Also keep in mind it arrived to me NIB missing the bolt extractor, I took a picture and emailed to Nate Treadway ( CEO of BPI outdoors) , they took care of it right away, very good customer service. We'll see how they handle the accuracy issue.

My sample of one, Bergara hunter is 1/2” at 200 with factory stuff. Haven’t even felt like working up a load when it shoots like that. It’s better made than any 700 or model seven I’ve ever had. Again, that’s just one..... but it’s one I’ll keep.

I swapped for a Bergara in 6.5 CM. Fiddled with loads for a bit and found the sweet spot. It’s a terrific shooter. Sold it to my brother. He was thrilled with the rifle and loads after shooting it for a bit. The rifle impressed me.

I have pretty much switched up and I'm giving the Kimber Classic Select a good hard look in either 7-08 or 257 Roberts. It's a bit more money, but they are Made In America, have a Mauser style controlled round feed, 3 pos safety, also known for great accuracy, weigh just 5.10 and boy, are they pretty.

For reasons I won't get into, I'll never own a Tikka. For those that have em and love em, I'm happy for you . Enjoy them.

No comment on the rifle, but I’d want more scope than 2-7x

I disagree. 7X is plenty for my self imposed limit of 300 yds. However, I have a Leuy VX3i 3.5-10x 40 in the mail, heading towards me, right now.