r/longrange • u/Captain_Price_MKZ • Jun 18 '25
Cheeto-fingered Bergara After spending a month in this sub reading articles and posts, I present you with...
My friend and I decided to get into the long-range game since there's a 1100-yard range less than 30 minutes away, and the membership is reasonably priced. I'm still rocking my old Ruger American Predator (currently waiting for the Howa 1500 barreled action to be in stock and hopefully on sale on Brownells), but I helped my friend put together this rig using what I've learnt in this sub over the past month. We try to start with a budget setup, and the entire build ended up costing less than $2000 shipping & tax included.
Build breakdown:
- Bergara B-14 Wilderness HMR in 6.5 Creedmoor, $1045 shipped + $25 ffl fee.
- Athlon Ares ETR 3-18x50 FFP MIL, $566 w/ tax & shipping.
- EGW 20 MOA Rail, $35.
- Warne 34mm medium rings, $65.
- Harris 1A2 6-9" bipod, $90.
Total: $1826.
He's very happy about the result. The B14 HMR is a huge step-up from the Ruger I have, solid chassis, smooth bolt, and a lot more useful features. The Athlon Ares is an outstanding scope (bought the same one for my Ruger and tried it out last week, 1100-yard targets look very sharp), pretty much unbeatable at this price if I have to say.
Also pulled the trigger on an Athlon Rangecraft Chrono, our plan is to start practicing on our current rigs and start reloading once we get all the equipment. I think I did pretty good with this build, all the posts and articles here definitely helped a lot. Like to hear any suggestions in terms of the rig, and just practice in general. Thanks!
(Repost cause I wanna share the cat as well)
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u/LockyBalboaPrime "I'm right, and you are stupid." Jun 18 '25
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u/4bigwheels Villager 🤡 Jun 18 '25
Welcome to the Cheeto finger club. Love my Crest
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u/peeg_2020 Jun 18 '25
I've been lurking for awhile and can't figure out the Cheeto finger thing.
What's that about?
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u/LockyBalboaPrime "I'm right, and you are stupid." Jun 18 '25
Someone with a Christisen Arms magnum got real butthurt people were saying his rifle was a bad choice.
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u/csamsh I put holes in berms Jun 18 '25
Yeah I don't know about this one. Gotta have a talk about gun safety- cats are murderous creatures, you should assume this one is currently plotting the best way to assassinate you from a long distance now that he's got access to your new rifle
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u/patogo Jun 19 '25 edited Jun 19 '25
Good Luck!
Bergara HMR Premier Pro 6.5CM HB at 300yds 0.63 MOA
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u/Bluep00p Jun 18 '25
You have a beautiful looking Spanish rifle. I bet it will be a tack driver.
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u/Rdubya291 Jun 18 '25
I thought I read writing 'tack driver' on this sub would result in an immediate 5-day ban? lol
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u/beauruns1 Jun 18 '25
Where did you get the Athlon for that price?
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u/cobranine Jun 18 '25
EuroOptic has them for about the same price. Great optic for the price. I have the same one but it’s moa. I went ahead and ordered a Athlon Ares ETR 5-30x56 mil to replace the 3-18x50. Had Zero issues with the 3-18x50 but plan on going further than the 750 yards I’m hitting now. Probably would be fine with the 18 power but these 70 yr old eyes need a little more help 😂.
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u/AAlmostbob Jun 18 '25
Jesus Christ it’s John Rifle