Bergara’s Rimfire Wonders

Bergara’s BMR and BXR rimfires make a big argument for a little cartridge

by Bob Campbell

I have a friend who is a precision rifle shooter. His rifles weigh a lot, and he lugs them to the range and fires tiny groups at long distances.

When I mentioned I would be interested in a precision .22 rifle, he pointed out several options. I replied, “No, those are way too large.”

“Oh,” he says, “you want an accurate hunting rifle.”

Sure, I wanted a rifle with more precision than what I was used to. (Good to define the quest.) Never mind that the types on hand had served well for many years. I had heard the siren song of superb accuracy. A .22 rimfire is amazingly inexpensive to feed and very accurate in the right rifle. So, the essence was I wanted a rifle more accurate than what I was used to and yet not any larger, if at all, than my usual hunting rifles

It all worked out better than I would have imagined. When I think about precision and reliability, I think bolt-action. There are several very reliable .22 rimfire self-loading rifles. But there are none that feed a mix of .22 Short, .22 CB caps, Quiet-22, or .22 rat shot well. Sure, rat shot isn’t a chosen load in a precision rifle — just making a point. A .22 Short hollow point is the classic squirrel load. A standard velocity .22 Long Rifle is about the same and perhaps more accurate in general, but tradition may mean as much as utility to some shooters.

It was not without expectation I found a Bergara Micro Rimfire (BMR) Steel in stock at a local shop. Already owning a Bergara BXR Steel semi-auto, I wanted to run the BMR against a known quantity.

Bergara BMR 22LR

The Bergara rifle is not a design reduced to the trim essentials without good features and performance. It is an interesting rifle and a worthy addition to a type of rifle that is the ne plus ultra of small game rifles. Yet the BMR is devoid of the non-essential. This isn’t a contradiction. This isn’t a tactical rifle, and while it would be a fine training rifle for marksmanship maintenance, this isn’t a beginner’s rifle. The Bergara is a rifle to compliment a trained shooter.

The Bergara BMR is well suited to taking rabbit and squirrel in season, dusting off pests and, perhaps… just perhaps…with precision shooting, some predators.

Let’s outline the Bergara’s particulars before I continue:

• Caliber: .22 LR
• Action: bolt
• Capacity: 5+1 or 10+1, detachable polymer box magazine
• Stock: splatter pattern, injection molded
• Barrel: 18 in., 4140 CrMo steel, 1:16 twist
• Finish: black
• Length: 36 in.
• Length of Pull: 13.5 in.
• Weight: 5.5 lbs.
• Trigger: user-adjustable, 2 lbs., 7 oz.
• Safety: two-position
• MSRP: $619

The rifle is similar in outline to the highly successful B-14 centerfire rifle. The BMR is strong on ergonomics. It comes to the shoulder quickly and swings on targets effortlessly. It is fast handling — very fast — and offers a solid feel superior to most rimfire rifles.

The wrist of the semi-pistol grip stock is fairly thin, making it fast and solidly grasped for good control in offhand fire. The safety falls under the thumb easily. This rifle is among the few rimfire rifles accurate enough to deploy a bipod and fire at long range with a high expectation of success.

Firing a .22 at longer distance requires attention to wind and drop and can be challenging. This type of shooting is a great learning experience and brings us back to the utility of the .22 Long Rifle as a training resource. A run-of-the-mill rifle is fine for most pursuits, but the Bergara will challenge a shooter at long range and absolutely spoil a trained shooter at modest range.

The BMR closely resembles the B-14 action, which means it is more robust than needed — a good place to be. The bolt features a short lift, and with the tiny .22 Long Rifle cartridge, bolt throw isn’t difficult, and the travel is short. If you need a fast-operating .22 bolt-action rifle, this is the one. The bolt and bolt shroud fit into a robust receiver and the bolt release is a nice touch on a rimfire rifle.

Some .22 rifles represent a challenge in mounting a credible scope. The Bergara features a Picatinny base. In common with the Springfield 2020 and a few high-end rimfire rifles, the Bergara rail allows mounting an optic with a large objective bell.

I did not push the issue by removing the trigger group, but it appears similar to the Remington 700. Factory adjustment is for spring tension, and you will be able to get the trigger press compression to below two pounds. That is fine for bench rest shooting, but it takes some time and acclimation to use such a trigger in a small game hunting situation. Two pounds is plenty light, and when the breath is smooth and the trigger digit nimble, it makes for an excellent shooting experience.

Feed reliability is excellent. The rifle is supplied with two magazines — one five- and one ten-round. There is some concern in .22 rifles that rotary box-type magazines allow bullet nose deformation. A tubular magazine probably isn’t best suited for .22 rimfires and wiggly bullet noses if you want true top-notch accuracy. The Bergara’s polymer magazines are well-suited to feed reliably without bullet nose deformation. I check things like this in a precision rifle. (There I go again…you know the kind of rifle I mean.) The magazines are quick to change, and the release is secure and easily manipulated.

The Bergara never failed to chamber, feed, fire, or eject in firing what it to date is nearly 2,000 cartridges over the past few months. Some .22 caliber firearms work reliably to a point when powder ash and even lead shavings eventually collect and interfere. I clean my firearms, but not as often as I should.

The BMR features a sharper, more robust extractor than most rimfire rifles, making for increased reliability. The trigger guard is one piece and accommodating to most hand sizes. The barrel is a medium weight sporter with a nice finish.

For accuracy testing, I mounted an optic that has given good results on several other rifles. The TRUGLO Intercept may be over-powered for the average rimfire rifle, but it wasn’t too much for the BMR’s accuracy potential.

Firing the rifle was a pleasure. I would have been well-pleased with the initial firing test but as I explored the rifle’s accuracy and acclimated to the trigger action, I was more impressed. At 25 yards, most all ammunition will put five rounds into less than an inch in the case of a decent-quality rifle. The Bergara would put five bullets into less than .50 inches on average with good ammunition.

Moving to 50 yards, there was a considerable difference in loads. Bulk ammunition from Federal, as one example, would consistently put five shots into 2.0 inches at 50 yards. Inexpensive CCI Blazer was similar. A 2.0-inch group at 50 yards is acceptable. It was when I introduced other types of ammunition that things became very interesting.

I practiced breath control and trigger press and nestled the BMR into an MTM Case-Gard shooting rest. Using my stash of Federal’s now discontinued Hunter Match loads, I fired a 1-inch group on the first try. I then loaded the ten-round magazine with Hunter Match and fired for 50-yard groups with two different points of aim. One group went into 0.7 inches and one 0.8 inches.

Continuing, I shot the CCI Velociter loading with good results. CCI Mini-Mag also did well with a 1.0-inch group but nothing else turned in groups equal to the Federal Hunter Match load. I am tempted to obtain a dedicated target load such as CCI Green Tag and try it in the Bergara.

Overall, I am more than pleased with the Bergara BMR. Pride of ownership, superb accuracy, and real utility are a big plus.

 Bergara BXR 22LR

I have owned the BXR 22 longer than the BMR 22. I ran across this rifle completely by chance and it was a lucky day. It was sitting on the shelf of a local shop at a fair price. The gun was lightly used as someone had traded it in on an AR.

The BXR 22 is a functional rifle with good features. It is perhaps a classier rifle than most .22 self-loaders in a modern way. This rifle, like the BMR, is the standard barrel version. The slightly more expensive carbon fiber barrel rifle enjoys a good reputation and is lighter than my rifle. It costs a little more. I cannot comment further as I have no personal experience. I certainly don’t feel limited by my rifles and neither do I feel like the rifles are overly heavy.

The BXR 22 is similar to the Ruger 10/22 in outline and design — a smart choice since the Ruger is a proven entity. The Bergara does not accept Ruger barrels, though, and it isn’t interchangeable with most Ruger parts.

This rifle is a little heavier than the BMR, as expected. The stock is nicely contoured and offers a good fit for adults. Trigger reach is good. The stock is nicely textured exactly in the right places for adhesion when firing. The length-of-pull may be adjusted by shortening or lengthening LOP with stock spacers. This makes the BXR well-suited to both younger shooters and adults. While the barrel is not interchangeable with Ruger 10/22 rifles, the trigger group is. Bergara wisely chose to design their semi-automatic to take Ruger’s famously reliable rotary magazine. Ruger ten-shot magazines work well and so do the X-type 15-, 20-, and 25-round magazines.

The manual of arms is the same as most semi-automatics. Insert the magazine, making certain it is seated, pull back and release the bolt and you are ready to fire. The crossbolt magazine is positive in manipulation. The rifle handles well even if it is slightly heavier than the BMR. If you prefer a semi-automatic rimfire, this rifle is as good as it gets in the price range — perhaps at any price.

The trigger is consistent with a good, sharp reset. It feels lighter than it registers on the RCBS trigger pull gauge, breaking at 3.2 pounds.

With a semi-auto rifle trigger, there is some concern of a “bounce back” or a “trigger doubling” from the fall of a heavy bolt during the firing cycle (not a concern with a bolt-action rifle). The Bergara trigger is about as light as possible in a factory trigger action when applied to a semi-auto. It is smooth and easy to learn.

The BXR is an attractive rifle with a nicely speckled stock and a catchy fluted steel barrel. An even Cerakote finish makes for a rugged and attractive coating. The specifications:

• Caliber: .22LR
• Action: semi-auto
• Capacity: 10-round rotary magazine
• Stock: synthetic tactical w/splatter pattern
• Barrel: 16.5 in., 4140 CrMo steel, 1:16 twist
• Finish: black
• Length: 34.5 in.
• Length of Pull: adjustable
• Weight: 5.2 lbs.
• Trigger: 10/22 compatible, 3.5 lbs. pull
• Safety: two-position
• MSRP: $619

The BXR’s receiver differs from the Ruger 10/22. It features a monolithic optics rail, which is so superior, in my mind, to fiddling around with rings and bases. And it makes for a secure mount.

The Nikon I used for this test has ridden on several rifles. A good “test optic” is essential for a writer. Each application may not be ideal, but the optic is removed from the equation once it has been proven reliable. In this instance, I opted for the classic Nikon ProStaff. (SIG now offers comparable scopes in their optics line.) At 3-9×40, this rifle scope is over-powered for most rimfire use but not for 50-yard testing of a superbly accurate rifle.

Here’s what Bergara has to say about passing factory standards:

Passing standard for rimfire shot groups is 1″ at 50 yards for the B-14R and BMR, and 1.5″ @ 50 yards for the BXR (a total of [3] 5–shot groups). Gun will be boresighted, zeroed, then allowed to cool. Gunsmith will fire up to (3) 5–shot groups, each from a cold bore. Supported by a front and rear bag only (no lead sled, no fixtures) using ONE of OUR recommended loads. If the first 2 groups fired pass, the gun passes. If neither do, the gun fails. If only one passes, a third group will be shot. If 2/3 groups are passing, the gun passes. The best target will be labeled and sent to the customer if it passes.

Recommended Loads

BXR .22 – CCI Standard, Blazer 40gr LRN, Federal Gold Medal Target, Eley Match OSP. Avoid bulk ammo with coated projectiles.

It is their gun after all. Please note that the recommended loads are normal types without using esoteric and expensive .22 LR loadings.

A note on the BXR. Using the supplied magazine and a half-dozen Ruger magazines, I experienced no malfunctions at all in the course of 1,400 cartridges fired over the past two years. That is to be expected of the design but, on the other hand, the rifle is tightened up considerably from the 10/22 standard. I also found that the rifle will feed some standard velocity ammunition.

I like to go beyond recommendations, and, on a lark, I tried a 100-round box of CCI standard velocity. A clean and lubricated .22 semi-automatic will often feed, chamber, fire, and eject just fine with standard velocity, but you can’t count on it. While accurate enough, this load’s elevation drop is greater than high velocity and since standard velocity loads are usually more expensive, I don’t bother. I hear dedicated target shooters hugging their Eley ammunition, crying in despair, but it works for me.

I took every advantage for accuracy and carefully pressed the trigger, using the same loads I applied to the BMR. Interestingly, CCI Blazer and Federal bulk ammunition went into 2.0- to 2.2-inch groups similar to the BMR.

CCI Mini-Mag consistently cut a 1.5-inch group at 50 yards. The segmented bullet version of the Mini-Mag is designed to break up in a pest or small game and creates a complex wound. I wondered if the process affects accuracy. No, it does not, as this formidable loading also delivered 1.5-inch groups. Federal Hunter Match was also consistent for 1.5-inch groups and sometimes a little smaller, providing the single best group of my efforts with the BXR. A 1.4-inch group is literally splitting hairs compared to the Mini-Mag at 1.5 inches, but there you go.

What I Like: BMR

• Everything! The rifle is light, smooth-handling, and very precise.

What I Like: BXR

• In the semi-automatic rimfire world, few have the combination of looks, reliability, and accuracy of this rifle.

What I Don’t Like: BMR

• Nothing not to like.

What I Don’t Like: BXR

• The only complaint is that the extended magazine release sometimes strikes the firing bench and drops the magazine. This is a handy device, but I would prefer a shorter magazine release.

Compare To:

• The BMR is comparable to the Springfield 2020. The standard stock 2020 costs less but it is as accurate. The more expensive Springfield 2020 AA walnut rifle is gorgeous. The Bergara bolt gun is slightly smoother. The Springfield uses 10/22 magazines. Optics mounting on the Bergara and Springfield are comparable and way ahead of the Ruger American model.
• The BX 22 costs more than the Ruger 10/22 but has it all over the 10/22 in every regard save price — and you get a lot with the Bergara rifle.