r/canadaguns • u/looloopklopm • Aug 04 '26
Buy recommendations Bergara Premier HMR Pro
Talk me out of buying this rifle in 6.5 creedmoor with a 24 inch barrel. It's nearly $3k.
Looking for something 99% range use that I can take hunting maybe one or two times. I've never been hunting before but want to try it out. Main use will be as a target gun at 300 yards or less. I have another range nearby that goes out to 800, but I am not a member. I want to print holes in paper close together. My other guns are an sks, MRA renegade, shotgun, and 22s.
I want to get into reloading but have no setup yet. I will put some sort of $1k-$1.5k ffp optic on this.
My main concerns are:
- price. I wanted the regular hmr, but it's out of stock everywhere and has been for over 2 months. I know I get more for my money with the pro, but is it worth it?
- calibre. Given I want to reload, won't likely go past 300 yards, and might hunt, do I get a 308 instead? These only come in 20 inch barrels. Seems like a waste also to put a 308 into a target rifle chassis, etc like the pro provides. A regular hmr in 308 might make sense.
- What about tikka? I know their actions are smooth, but I've also heard great things about the Bergara hmr pro's. Rem 700 vs tikka systems, mag compatibility, etc. Not like the t3x CTR is in stock anywhere either.
You are me. What do you do?
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u/Iokua_CDN Aug 04 '26
G4c has one
"Bergara B-14 HMR 6.5 Creedmoor 24″ Tan"
It's tan and it's a 24 inch barrel, but it's $1500
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u/Icy6521 Aug 04 '26
Buy a Tikka and put the rest of your budget toward a quality scope and rings, that would be my recommendation. As a general rule, you should expect to spend about 1.5–2× the cost of the rifle on your optic and mounting system if you want to get the most out of it.
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u/Icy6521 Aug 04 '26
Also for the range you are talking about i would choose 308 but if you want to eventually work up to the 800m target then go with 6.5
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u/LumberjackCDN Gold'n Loan Outfitters & Pawn Aug 04 '26
What this guy said. A 1k rifle (tikka), plus a 3k scope will take you further than a 3k rifle and a 1k scope
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u/looloopklopm Aug 04 '26
Further in what way? Distance? Haha
The extra ~$1000 as far as I can tell between the b14 hmr and the hmr pro goes to a smoother action, freefloating bolt head, cerekote, stainless steel barrel and triggertech trigger. All of this is stuff I'd either appreciate from a day to day use perspective, improves accuracy, or improves the life of the rifle.
I'm not really budget limited. If I need to spend $7k to be able to shoot the dick off a hummingbird at 300 yards then so be it. It will just take me longer to build it out. I'm just tired of huge groups and using bulk ammo and am looking for something different.
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u/LumberjackCDN Gold'n Loan Outfitters & Pawn Aug 04 '26
If thats the goal then yes spend the 7k. Get a high end scope to go with the high end rifle and dont waste money on bulk ammo anymore. Get the reloading kit like you said and spend the time developing a load for the rifle
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u/iatekane Aug 04 '26
G4C has a 6.5cm regular HMR in stock for $1570 if that’s what’s you’re looking for.
The pro is a better gun but if you don’t need what it has to over get the regular HMR
Personally, I’d go for a tikka over the Bergara, either a CTR or ACE target/game or the UPR. 6.5cm is a good chambering stick with that.
1
u/looloopklopm Aug 04 '26
Thank you so much. This is the first one in stock that I've seen in months.
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u/National_Review7168 Aug 12 '26
Same. I'd take the Tikka T3X Ace Target just in case I wanted to do some PRS matches. It looks like a very well thought out rifle. Only gripe for me was the stock not being able to fold. Doesn't matter for shooting, but does matter for transporting, at least for me.
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u/Acc4Wtf Aug 04 '26
Bullseye just recently listed a bunch of Bergara's, check there to find a cheaper model. Can't go wrong with Tikka either, you're honestly better off with an Ace Target in 6.5cm.
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u/looloopklopm Aug 04 '26
Thank you everyone for the notes and advice. I found a 24 inch b14 hmr in 308 that I jumped on. Special thanks to those who mentioned G4C!
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u/groggygirl Aug 05 '26
My HMR with a scope and bipod on it weighs 15-ish pounds and is insanely long. Precision rifles and hunting rifles have opposing goals - one is huge, heavy, and stable, the other is short and mobile (depends on your style of hunting but a generalization).
Look up local hunting regulations - there are some calibre restrictions in certain places.
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u/looloopklopm Aug 05 '26
I've never been hunting. Just need something physically capable. Weight is what it is. I'll get something more specialized if I get more into it.
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u/giraffevomitfacts Aug 06 '26
That's way too much gun. If you want something to shoot targets at 300 yards and hunt once in a while, why not just get a Tikka 308, or hell, a CZ600 Alpha for 900 bucks? They'll do both those things just as well as a Bergara Premier HMR Pro in 6.5 Creedmoor. Barrel length makes no meaningful difference at that range.
1
u/conanap Aug 06 '26
Tbh look up ammo price of 308 vs 6.5, that’s pretty much the biggest argument against 65.
If that doesnt bother you, id echo the others on getting a tikka instead. Their action is tremendously smooth.
1
u/looloopklopm Aug 06 '26
$230 mags sent me to a rem 700 platform, but I'll keep an eye out for tikka in the future
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u/conanap Aug 06 '26
Fair lol. FWIW I think only the CTR have crazy mag prices, and I 3D print them anyways (not sure how it holds up hunting tho)
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u/waitwhatnothing Aug 10 '26
What difference in ammo price? I have a 6.5 and a lot of the ammo I’ve bought has been in the $28-34 a box range. The only .308 that’s cheaper than that is surplus. Comparable quality ammo is basically the same price.
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u/conanap Aug 10 '26
Right, 6.5 doesn’t have surplus available though. If they’re just hunting, surplus is probably enough no?
1
u/waitwhatnothing Aug 10 '26
You can’t hunt with surplus, or at least you shouldn’t. Military ammunition is non-expanding and isn’t considered ethical for hunting.
OP wants to shoot targets mainly and wants as much accuracy as possible. Surplus ammo is not great for accuracy. Decent ammo for target/long range shooting is about the same price for .308 and 6.5 creed. If the only thing you care about is the cheapest possible ammo then .308 has a slight edge.
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u/Iokua_CDN Aug 04 '26
Let me talk you out of it.
Buy a cheaper gun.
Under 1k, you can have a 1moa gun that can shoot better than you.
For 1.5k, half the price, you can have an excellent sub moa gun that will most definitely shoot better than you can.
Why spend 3k? For a gun that will only shoot out to 300 meters? Sounds like a massive waste of money
As far as caliber? 6.5 creedmoor is only slightly more expensive than 308, is better at long ranges, is very available and has less recoil. The only advantage to 308 in my books is that it has more stopping power for hunting, and you can get some Surplus ammo for a bit cheaper. For what you describe, 6.5 creedmoor sounds great.
Just buy a cheaper gun though. No need to spend 3k on that thing
1
u/looloopklopm Aug 04 '26
I can't find any of the cheaper guns in stock. I've been looking for 2 months.
I enjoy money almost as much as guns, so I'm not exactly looking to waste it. There are features that have some merit that the cheaper ones don't offer, but yes I'd much rather spend $1500 on a b14hmr or t3x CTR (24"). But they don't exist.
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u/Iokua_CDN Aug 04 '26
G4c gunstore has one! I can't post links but my other comment had the title of it, it was a tan 24 inch b14hmr
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u/looloopklopm Aug 04 '26
Omg thank you!! Literally the first one I've seen in months.
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u/Iokua_CDN Aug 04 '26
Glad I can help!!! I love searching for cheapo prices and hunting for guns!
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u/looloopklopm Aug 04 '26
Seriously. Thank you.
I picked up the 24 inch 308. Those are basically unicorns and I never thought I'd find one!
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u/Iokua_CDN Aug 04 '26
Oh sweet!! You'll enjoy 308. Still have some norinco cheapo ammo available on the market for when you just want to blast it (great for learning how to deal with the recoil) and then plenty of good priced better quality ammo for actually getting good groupings
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u/looloopklopm 9d ago
Just stopping by to say I love my new rifle. Perfect for what I needed! Thank you again.
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u/He4vyD00dy Aug 04 '26
I recently bought an Sig Cross in 6.5 Creedmore and I own a gen 1 Ruger Gunsite Scout in .308. If you want to shoot all day 6.5 Creedmore has significantly better recoil. .308 is going to be a lot cheaper to shoot, and the ballistics should be not too different inside of 300 if you know your dope.
That’s going to be a heavy rifle for hunting and expensive at the range. Because you are shooting max 300yds, I would personally buy a .223 wylde rifle for the range this will be more fun/challenging/beneficial skills wise than the Creedmore , and a dedicated .308 rifle for hunting.
Actually that’s not what I would do, what I would do is buy all 3 rifles, .223 wylde target gun, tacticool 6.5 Creedmore, .308