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I have seen and handled a few now. Overall they seem like good rifles. My friend Randy bought one in 308 and we have shot it here at my range. We shot it side by side with my Mossberg MVP 308. Accuracy was about the same between the 2 rifles.

Speaking for myself alone, I don't think they come up to the level of the Japanese Howa. They cost more, and have no features that I can say are better then the Howa except for the use of the Mag-Pull AR10 magazine. That is one thing that Howa should have paid attention to. So should Ruger. That's an outstanding feature that will become quite popular with Americans I think.

I have nothing bad to say about Bergara, but for them to become a driving force in the push-feed bolt action market in the USA they will have to compete head to head with the Howa offerings, and they are not out-shooting the Howas as a rule. I have many customers and friends that have Howas in various calibers and the worst of them shoot about 1 MOA or a little bigger, but most shoot about 3/4 MOA and a few shoot ragged hole groups. And the Howa costs less in most cases.

My Mossberg and Randy's Bergara shoot about MOA, which is just fine for 98% of all hunting, but is not anything to brag about these days. Neither shoot near as well as the 2 Ruger Precision Rifles he has, one in 308 and one is a 243. I have 10 rifles I made myself on Mauser actions 8 of which out-shoot my Mossberg, some by a wide margin. Bergara likes to bost they have outstanding accuracy, but so far I have seen nothing from them that suggests they are going to be the company to "set the bar". I hope I see them come up to that level in the future, but as of today it's not so. Rugers, TCs, Winchesters, Brownings, Weatherbys, Remingtons and Howas all shoot well and many of them shoot REALLY well. So Bergara has a steep hill to climb if they want to take the lead.

Time will tell if they can grab and hold onto the market in the USA.

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