22 Rimfire
I never got to shoot a large amount of 22’s when I was younger, I kind of skipped towards centerfire stuff. So it has been very refreshing in the last year or so to revisit a good spread of rimfire rifles, and today I’m here to tell you about yet another one; the Bergara BMR.
The BMR
The Bergara Micro Rimfire (BMR) is a bolt action rifle in a synthetic stock, it utilizes either a five or ten-round detachable box magazine. The model I tested here is all steel, but there is also a carbon fiber barreled version. The BMR seems to have been designed with the competitive rimfire shooter in mind, and as such competitions rage across the countryside it should come as no surprise. It features an eighteen-inch barrel, threaded 1/2-28 at the muzzle and came with a steel thread protector installed. The magazine is released by a paddle-type lever at the front of the trigger-guard, very reminiscent of centerfire competition rifles. It also utilizes a bolt-release similar to many centerfire competition rifles, built into the left rear of the bolt raceway.
The trigger on the BMR was outstanding, I was surprised at how clean and free the sear dropped. There was little left to do other than get this handsome little rifle to the range.
Optics Selection
If this BMR shot as good as I’d hoped, I wanted to give myself an edge with a great scope to go on top of it. I have a bunch of good scopes, but was torn as which one to use. I would feel almost silly mounting a two or three thousand dollar scope on a rimfire rifle with a street price between five and six-hundred fifty dollars (depending on what features you order). I ended up using my Vortex Gen2 PST 3-15X44, and I’m glad I did because they are a perfect match for each other.
I mounted up the Vortex into a one-piece mount and leveled it up on the BMR’s 30 MOA scope mount. A quick and dirty boresight job was all that was left before heading to the range. I also added a bipod to aid in steady shooting while I zeroed the rifle.
Time to burn some powder
With a fine selection of ammo from Federal, Winchester, and CCi in hand, I made my way out to the dry desert where I intended to shoot. My boresight had put my point of impact a foot or so high, so after making a few adjustments the rifle was hitting right where I wanted it to. Within the first few shots after confirming my zero, I was absolutely in love with this rifle. I was picking out smudges on my steel target, and covering them up with shiny lead circles. I could quite literally aim for the previous impact, and hit the same spot with amazing consistency. After leading up the steel at fifty-yards, I decided to take it out a bit further.
I know that there are plenty of people who shoot their 22’s to some incredible distances, but I figured that for my purposes a 22 would not really be utilized much beyond a hundred or so yards, and certainly not beyond two-hundred.
Shooting targets at two-hundred yards quickly made me reconsider my envelope. Even with some wind on the range, I found hitting pop-can sized targets pretty repeatable at the two hundred yard line. I knew that I was going to need to try some additional tasks with this little rifle, there were definitely some varmints that could use some diet pills.
SHOOTING SUPPRESSED
The threaded muzzle begged to be suppressed. In general, .22s are amazing fun when they are suppressed, with bullet impacts often making more noise than the shot itself. I installed my Yankee Hill Machine Phantom 22 suppressor on the rifle, and just like that, I knew this rifle was never going to leave my collection. The subdued report of the rifle was so soft and insignificant that I couldn’t help but smile every time I pulled the trigger. The minuscule amount of added weight from the 4-ounce YHM ensured it would likely never leave this rifle’s muzzle.
Shop Bergara Rifles
Firearms Depot also has a good selection
After burning through a couple hundred rounds out in the desert, I decided it was time to brave the winter snow that remained up at 8,000 feet in search of rodents. My favorite varmint species was waiting there for me, like they do every spring anticipating the latest guns available from Guns.com. They weren’t happy to see this little Bergara, though.
UNHAPPY VARMINT
After goofing around for a bit picking little pebbles off of the hillside, I went for a hike into a deep Rocky Mountain alpine canyon. After a modest hike and some quick glassing, I spotted one of the rusty-colored critters soaking up some sunshine on top of a flat rock. My rangefinder put him just shy of 200 yards, which was a bit further than I would have liked, but there was no doubt I could hit him.
I laid down on the warm sunny ground. It had been covered in snow only a week or so prior. I spotted my prey through the scope. His keen eye seemed to be aware of me, yet he laid still obviously unaware of how crisp that Vortex is.
I evaluated the breeze, and the shallow declined angle, and decided to favor a few inches left and just below his vitals. Then, when all seemed right, I pressed the trigger and sent the 36-grain Winchester hollow-point bullet his way.
My shot drifted slightly downwind, impacting slightly further south than I would have liked, but it did the job just fine. My furry little prize rolled over and fell about 12 feet to the bottom of the snowy draw. I extended my hike a few hundred yards more to make a recovery and inspect the damage. As I suspected, it was nothing too fancy, other than a completely predictable impact on my target.
ALL DAY LONG
My wife and I spent the rest of the afternoon plinking away with the little BMR. It was obvious how addicting this little rifle was, and my wife didn’t want to put it down either. She made some similar comments about shooting the Bergara and mentioned it was smooth and easily operated. I couldn’t agree more. I frequently feel a slight bind in rimfire bolts due to their short travel. She also mentioned how nice it was to watch the bullets impact with nearly zero recoil.
These are just a couple of the pros. For me, the number one positive aspect for this rifle is the accuracy. The confidence that comes from extremely consistent shooting is perhaps the greatest aspect of any rifle. The flawless function of both five and 10-round magazines, immaculate trigger, and the other operational features of this rifle are just icing on the cake.
CONCLUSION
-CBM
