Field Test: Bergara Premier Stalker

Editor's Note: Author Joe Arterburn recently had the chance to put the Premier Series Stalker to use on a pronghorn hunt in Alberta. You can read that story here.

My pronghorn was the first big game taken with a Bergara Premier Series Stalker rifle, according to Chad Schearer, director of advertising and media relations for Bergara USA. With the new line, Bergara bridges the gap between custom rifles and standardized production rifles. The Stalker lands closer to the custom-hunting-rifle side of the gap, thanks to custom-like features such as a lightweight, rigid, one-piece carbon-fiber stock designed and built by a craftsman Bergara hired from the aerospace industry.

Also immediately evident is the crisp Timney trigger, as are Bergara’s barrels, which have a reputation for accuracy that grows with every shot. The tapered, stainless steel barrels go through Bergara’s proprietary honing process and additional production stages, which, they say, produces the most accurate production rifle they can make. To give you an idea of Bergara’s confidence in the line, they come with a reassuring sub-MOA guarantee.

A product of Bergara’s Lawrenceville, Ga., facility, the Stalker series features the Bergara Premier action, a two-lug system with a floating bolt head, a cone-shaped bolt nose for smooth feeding and other custom-rifle-like features at every turn. Another nice touch is the protective Cerakote finish. Most importantly, in the field it handles and operates smoothly.

Mine was topped with a precise Konus 3X-10X-44mm scope that delivered a clear, confident view. I was thankful the KonusRex 10x42 binocular delivered similar quality. We spent a lot of time behind our binoculars, but with easy, comfortable handling and clear, crisp, steady performance, I never experienced strain. Once set for my vision, it stayed set, providing clear viewing of close-up coyotes all the way out to distant herds of pronghorns and elk.

Hornady 6.5 Creedmoor 143-grain ELD-X Precision Hunter ammo proved a good match for the Bergara, grouping nicely on paper and delivering devastating results in the field.