Have you ever heard the saying, “Nothing good ever comes easy?” Imagine this: The weather is calling for a high of 65 degrees, meaning you won’t break a sweat while hiking to your stand. There is no risk of rain in the foreseeable future, and there’s no wind to speak of. Your trophy buck appears just as you get settled in and stops no more than 50 yards away, standing broadside for as long as you need to shake off buck fever and place a well-aimed shot just behind his shoulder. With little more than a stumble, he drops immediately, and you are home before noon with the deer fully processed and a backstrap in the smoker. Chances are this has never and will never happen, but one can dream, right?

Shooting the Bergara Wilderness Sierra

Snapping back into reality, it’s time to put in some serious work and equip ourselves with what’s needed for a successful hunt. For those who hold durability and performance at utmost importance in their hunting rifles, the Bergara Wilderness Sierra 6.5 Creedmoor stands out as a top choice amongst bolt-action rifles during hunting season and beyond. Carefully engineered and designed to include everything you need and nothing you don’t, this rifle delivers top-notch accuracy and reliability amid harsh, real-world conditions.

One of the first things to jump out visually upon unboxing is its modern sporter stock design. Equipped with an adjustable comb, this rifle allows the shooter to adjust the height of the cheek rest, allowing for proper alignment of the shooter to the riflescope mounted up top without straining their neck. Another feature of note is the design of the grip, which is more vertical, thus allowing for a more natural hold on the gun and being more comfortable during extended practice or glassing sessions.

To provide an optimal shooting experience for those of all ages and statures, Bergara has included several spacers that can be used to adjust the rifle’s length of pull. A properly fitting gun can mean the difference between a new shooter enjoying their time on the range or perhaps having a poor experience and forgoing trying again in the future, so the fact that these are included free of charge is nice to see.

Sub-MOA System

Moving past the stock, we come to the Wilderness Sierra’s barrel. Built with a 20-inch fluted barrel, this gun strikes a delicate balance between portability and precision, making it ideal for various hunting scenarios. Added protection is provided by its Sniper Grey Cerakote finish, keeping it safe from harsh conditions one may find themselves in afield. Topping off the threaded barrel is an Omni Muzzle Break, which minimizes recoil, allowing for quicker follow-up shots should a second one be required. This rifle and all those that make up the entire Wilderness series carry Bergara’s sub-MOA accuracy guarantee… as long as you do your part as the shooter, of course!  

Bringing things back to the meat and potatoes of this gun, we come to Bergara’s tried and true B-14 action. Simply put, this thing runs smoothly. For those who prefer a more technical description and explanation, the smooth-running action is partly thanks to its two-lug system, which engineers combined with a sliding plate extractor and coned bolt nose for snag-free feeding and extraction. Whether working the bolt in slow motion or frantically working it to get a fresh round chambered, the action remains very fluid, allowing you to focus on your intended target. Like the barrel, the bolt features a Sniper Grey Cerakote finish, protecting it from corrosion and enhancing durability.

Tract Optic Toric UHD

Before range day, we needed to top off this fine rifle with glass to match. Since this rifle’s primary purpose is hunting, it made it the perfect host for Tract Optic’s Toric UHD 4-25×50 Eagleman Long Range Hunting Scope. This scope is ripe with features to enhance your next hunt, such as its Eagleman Long-Range reticle with foolproof markings for windage holdovers, a large 34mm tube that permits a whopping 160 MOA worth of adjustments for elevation, and glass so clear you could glass all day long without experiencing the eye strain caused by substandard glass used by some other brands. Other nice features include the enlarged number markings on the elevation turret and a capped windage turret, acknowledging most shooters hold over instead of dialing wind corrections.

Range day came with temperatures in the mid-70s with no wind, although a problematic dark sky loomed over the valley. For this test, we fed the following loads through the Wilderness Sierra: Black Hills 143-grain ELD-X, Lehigh Defense 130-grain CC, and Hornady Precision Hunter 143-grain ELD-X. While we opted to use the rifle as is with its hinged floor plate and four-round internal capacity, it’s also compatible with AICS-style magazines for those requiring a higher round count. As noted before, our test gun was chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor, but if this isn’t your round-of-choice, you can also choose from the following: .223 Rem, 6.5 PRC, .270 Win, 7 PRC, 7mm Rem Mag, .30-06 Springfield, 300 PRC, .308 Win, and 300 Win Mag.

Rounds Downrange

While setting up for testing, we got everything aligned with the help of the Alpha Tactical Shooting Rest from Allen. Favorited by many for its portability, this rest folds down flat, allowing you to carry it in your range bag without taking up much space. Its slip-free base kept things put during set up while offering additional storage to keep a few rounds of ammunition close at hand once it was go time. 

Utilizing a Caldwell Ballistic Precision Chronograph, we obtained average muzzle velocity with each of our three loads and average group size at our test distance of 100 yards. Working the bolt in between each shot fired downrange was like running a hot knife through butter, with my cheek remaining on the stock and sights on target. There were no feeding or extraction issues, regardless of how slowly or hurried the bolt was cycled. Hornady’s Precision Hunter rose to the top of the three options tested with an average group size of 0.79 MOA, with Black Hills and Lehigh Defense following closely behind with 0.86 and 1.02 MOA, respectively.  

All in all, our experience with Bergara’s Wilderness Sierra was an enjoyable one. This rifle delivers everything you need to start hunting on the right foot. The rifle hits its marks, both in terms of accuracy and the value it brings. The Wilderness Sierra takes no shortcuts or compromises, a rifle well-suited for veterans and newcomers alike.

For more info, visit bergara.online.

Bergara Wilderness Sierra Specifications

• Caliber: 6.5 Creedmoor
• Weight: 7.4 pounds
• Overall Length: 41 inches
• Action: Bolt
• Trigger: Single-Stage Trigger
• Safety: Thumb Safety
• Barrel Length: 20 inches
• Barrel Twist: 1:8
• Barrel Thread Pitch: 5/8-24″
• Rifle Stock: Synthetic
• Magazine: 4-Round Fixed Magazine

Accuracy Results