Your Privacy Choices
The world of firearms is constantly evolving with new trends and fresh popular styles. While shooting guns long distances is not something new, the popularity of it quite possibly has never been stronger. Being able to push technology and an individual shooter’s prowess out to extreme distances can be supremely gratifying. Such leagues as the Precision Rifle Series are soaring in popularity where shooters are not only challenged in the distances they fire, but also the positions. Because of this growing love for long-range, I have also been eyeing a specific rifle: the Bergara HMR Pro in 6.5 Creedmoor. For that reason, we will take a look at one in this TFB Review!
specifications: Bergara HMR Pro 6.5 Creedmoor
The Bergara HMR Pro (Hunting and Match Rifle) is meant to blend some of the best properties of a pure match rifle and one used for hunting as well. It also boasts a lot of customization so you can set it up to personally fit you. The specifications for this rifle can be read below as presented by Bergara:
- 5 Round, AICS style Detachable Magazine
- TriggerTech® Frictionless Release Technology™ Trigger
- No. 5.5 Barrel Taper w/ Cerakote Tactical Gray Finish
- 5/8” x 24 TPI Muzzle w/ Knurled Thread Protector
- Accepts Remington 700 Mounts w/ 8 X 40 Screws
- Integrated QD Flush Cup Sling Mounts & Swivel Mounts
- Adjustable Cheek Piece & Length-of-Pull
- Bergara HMR Molded Stock w/ Full-Length Integrated Mini-Chassis for Repeatable Bedding & supports Fully Free-Floated Barrel
- Weight: 9.5 Lbs. | Overall Length: 44” | Barrel Length: 24”
- MSRP $1,715
All Premier Series rifles are guaranteed to produce groups of 1.0 MOA or less at 100 yards with quality factory match grade ammunition. If you happen to handload your own ammunition you could see groups significantly better than that! The test target that came with this rifle measured out to be 0.161″ at 100 yards. A short quote from Bergara that further explains some of the different features of the HMR Pro can be read below as well:
Think of our Premier Series as custom quality, but with standardized features for greater efficiencies in parts production and assembly – providing near custom performance at prices that are affordable to serious shooters. Bergara’s Premium 416 stainless steel barrels receive a proprietary honing process at our barrel-making facility in Bergara, Spain. Then, at the Bergara USA factory, the barrel receives a Cerakote finish and is coupled with our proprietary Bergara PREMIER action, featuring a nonrotating gas shield, coned bolt nose, and sliding plate extractor.
unboxing: Bergara HMR Pro 6.5 Creedmoor
The first thing I did upon taking the rifle out of the box and admiring it was to assess its quality and safety to be able to shoot it. Starting from front to back, the thread protector was on snug, but could be removed by hand; no tools necessary. The barrel was free-floated from the stock and it had no play in it at all; very rigid with no wiggle. The action felt very firm in the stock and the bottom metal as well as the magazine and trigger were crisply in place. Working the bolt in the action was buttery smooth. The adjustable comb slid up and down with relative ease. By all assessments, there was no slop or play in this rifle that would draw concern for someone (like me) wanting to shoot it. It was good to go!
mounting: Bergara HMR Pro 6.5 Creedmoor
In order to get this rifle mounted up and ready to shoot, I used an EGW (Evolution Gun Works) 20 MOA mount. If you are contemplating purchasing one of these rifles and follow through, be sure your mounts have 8 X 40 screws which this Bergara takes. This screw type is less common but is not impossible to find.
To test the accuracy of this rifle, I mounted the Bergara HMR Pro with two different optics. The first one was a SIG Sauer Tango6 5-30x56mm FFP MRAD scope which TFB also reviewed HERE. Some SIG Sauer Alpha 2 – 34mm Scope Rings (Item #SOA20004) were used in conjunction with that scope.
A second optic that was married to this Bergara for testing was a Bushnell Nitro 6-24x50mm FFP with a Deploy MOA reticle. A set of Burris P.E.P.R. (Proper Eye Position Ready) rings were used with this scope when tested. A TFB Review was performed on this optic as well for a closer look at the performance of the Bushnell scope.
Since this is the “Hunting and Match Rifle” after all, a final deciding test for the rifle and my chosen cartridge of the 6.5 Creedmoor was to see how it performed on a hunt. I brought the Bergara while mounted up with the Bushnell Nitro scope to a game farm in Iowa and went on a Rambouillet sheep hunt. An article deep-diving into that entire hunt can be found on AllOutdoor.
accuracy with Bushnell nitro: Bergara HMR pro 6.5 Creedmoor
The first scope we will look at for accuracy’s sake is the Bushnell Nitro, but before we even dive into that we would like to thank Federal Premium for providing us with A LOT of quality ammunition where we had the opportunity to review the Bushnell Nitro, Sig Sauer Tango6, Bergara HMR Pro, and go hunting for sheep. That is a lot of ammunition so we are incredibly thankful for Federal Premium’s support!
The 3 different varieties we had available to us for testing varied from 120 Grain up to 140 Grain which is a good spread for the 6.5 Creedmoor cartridge. Those specific flavors from Federal Premium were as follows:
- American Eagle 120 Grain Open Tip Match
- Federal Premium Gold Medal 130 Grain Berger Hybrid Open Tip Match
- Federal Premium Gold Medal 140 Grain Sierra Matchking
I spent roughly 5 hours shooting the Bergara with the Bushnell Nitro on top of it. This included an initial sight-in with the American Eagle 120 Grain Open Tip Match, and then shooting a lot of 3-Shot groups to see how well each flavor of ammo performed. With the sunlight waning, I wrapped up my range day with these final groups:
- American Eagle 120 Grain OTM – 2.304″ | 1.266″ | 1.196″
- Gold Medal 130 Grain Berger – 0.949″ | 0.926″ | 0.729″
- Gold Medal 140 Grain Sierra – 0.927″ | 0.686″ | 0.294″
The results do not surprise me that much, but maybe they do for you. Most rifles chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor tend to prefer heavier grain weight bullets (depending on individual twist rates). My 1st groups with the American Eagle 120 Grain Open Tip Match were by far the worst because I was settling into the rifle, its trigger, and still shaking the dust off my own shooting abilities. After a long day of shooting and becoming familiar with the tactile feel of the Bergara trigger, I wrapped up the day by popping off a pretty impressive group of 0.294″ with the Federal Premium Gold Medal 140 Grain Sierra Matchkings.
Shooting only 100 yards might seem pretty easy for the 6.5 Creedmoor cartridge and this Bergara rifle, so after establishing a good zero and laying down some solid groups I pushed it a little further. The next day I received permission from a local farmer to set out some gongs in his field which had not been planted yet and see what I could do out to 600 yards. While shooting the Federal Premium Gold Medal 140 Grain Sierra Matchking this turned out to be an easier exercise than I thought. With gongs that were roughly 1 MOA for every 100 yards out to 600, I made successful hits all the way out to 600 yards no problem.
accuracy with sig Sauer tango6: Bergara HMR pro 6.5 Creedmoor
On a separate day, I switched out the Bushnell to the SIG Sauer Tango6 5-30x56mm FFP MRAD scope with the SIG Sauer Alpha 2 – 34mm Rings to shoot some 3-Shot groups for accuracy again. The Sig Sauer Tango6 optic is truly incredible and not surprisingly has a $2,999 MSRP to match it. Once again, using Federal Premium ammunition, these were the groups I was able to achieve:
- American Eagle 120 Grain OTM – 1.100″ | 0.845″ | 0.545″
- Gold Medal 130 Grain Berger – 1.139″ | 0.704″ | 0.673″
- Gold Medal 140 Grain Sierra – 0.900″ | 0.846″ | 0.115″
These groups were a lot tighter than the ones I could shoot with the Bushnell scope, but the obvious problem in this scenario is not the rifle, scope, or ammunition… it was the shooter. When shooting my worst, I was a hair over one inch. When shooting my best, I actually beat the test target the rifle shipped with. I also performed the similar gong exercise out to 600 yards using Federal Premium Gold Medal 140 Grain Sierra Matchkings and had 1st shot hits on every gong. This is a tip of the hat to the rifle and optic, but also me getting more used to using the rifle after 10+ cumulative hours of shooting it.
final thoughts: Bergara HMR Pro 6.5 Creedmoor
In sum, the rifle is very well put together. Everything is crisp, tight, and as clean as one could ever hope. Putting optics on this rifle was no problem at all being it is a Rem 700 screw hole pattern, but it would be nice if it took something other than 8 X 40 screws that were more common. This is not the end of the world though.
The accuracy I achieved with the Bushnell Nitro scope I was very pleased with. For a $700 MSRP optic and good boxed ammo, the Bergara pushed out some really good groups. The Bergara also gave me a stellar shot on a Rambouillet sheep at Big Oak Elk Ranch tipping over a sheep with no problems. A quick, humane harvest. If you are interested in how that hunt exactly turned out feel free to visit our sister-blog AllOutdoor where that article is Live.
While shooting the Bergara with the Sig Sauer Tango6, the rifle was absolutely lights out! I beat the test target the rifle shipped with by throwing down a 0.115″ group and it walked out to 600 yards on gongs with ease. If you reloaded your own ammunition or put a better shooter behind the gun than myself, I would not be surprised to see this rifle shooting 1/2 MOA all day long.
Another simple, but nice feature is the threaded barrel for a silencer or a muzzle brake of your choosing. For states that it is legal, having a silencer in hunting scenarios can be very beneficial in protecting your ears, taming recoil, and not scaring every living animal out of the woods.
All in all, I believe the Bergara HMR Pro 6.5 Creedmoor is a terrific rifle at an MSRP of $1,715 with a 1 MOA guarantee. It can effectively hunt, is customizable in its length-of-pull and comb height, and it delivers on its accuracy promise. If anyone is entertaining the idea of joining the burgeoning sport of long-range shooting this is a great rifle to get your feet wet with.
In closing, I would like to once again say THANK YOU to Federal Premium for their ammunition to accomplish so much testing between this rifle, different optics, and the sheep hunt. Also, a tremendous THANK YOU to Bergara for allowing us to use one of their rifles!
So what do you guys think? Are those the kind of accuracy results you expected to come from the different optics, this rifle, and the ammunition we used? Do you think you could shoot better than the groups we achieved? What about the Bergara rifle? Would you buy one? Let us know all of your thoughts in the Comments below! We always appreciate your feedback!
