One Rifle – Multiple Purposes – The B-14 Wilderness Ridge in .308 Win
I’m by no means an expert on rifles, in fact, until recently my hands had barely touched a rifle due to state hunting regulations, so take this B-14 Wilderness Ridge Rifle Review for what it is…pure honesty from a hunter with plenty of time behind the scope.
Within the last decade Indiana had made a few changes to its rules and regulations, and up until graduating from college my hobbies and interests expanded into a few more disciplines instead of just whitetail bow hunting. These interests were stationed home and abroad, specifically focusing on harvesting way more meat at home with antlerless harvest, way more winter coyote hunting, and a few sights set out west for elk, mule deer, and bear. The realization of a needed rifle that could handle it all was clear and in focus.
Without much knowledge on the subject, I hit YouTube, Google, and the local sporting goods shops with questions. Until this point, I had only ever had a .300 Blackout AR-15 from Palmetto State Armory, so I wanted to add to my collection something with a little more range. Having personally watched a few less-than-adequate 6.5 Creedmoor performances, and knowing I wanted some western application, I knew .308 Win was a hard to argue with choice. It was now time to just find the rifle.
With a buy-once mentality, I wanted this rifle to last a lifetime without looking over the fence within a few years at what would be the next upgrade. I was stuck with a budget-minded rifle, with precision wants…not the easiest thing to find. The budget searches turned up great .308 bolt action rifles such as Remington, Tikka, Mossberg, Ruger, Savage, and Browning but at the slightly elevated price, the Bergara B14 Wilderness Ridge .308 Win kept standing out.
Bergara B-14 Wilderness Ridge Woodland Camo Bolt Action Rifle – 308 Winchester
The Bergara B-14 Wilderness Ridge rifle features an American-style synthetic stock with Soft-Touch finish. This rifle is also outfitted with a Bergara Performance Trigger and a hinged floor plate. The world-renowned (#5) Bergara barrel is finished in Sniper Grey Cerakote and features a seamless, omnidirectional, and multi-ported muzzle brake that reduces felt recoil by up to 35-percent.
Price: $929.99
•World Renowned #5 Bergara Barrel
• Performance Trigger
•Cerakoted Barrel
Instant Draw To the B-14 Over Other Rifles
The major hits of the rifle besides its devastatingly good looks were honestly some of the hype and marketing behind the rugged/tough stance of the rifle in the market. The sniper gray cerakote barrel, tan/gray soft touch stock, and sub-moa guarantee were instant draws over the budget-minded rifles below it in price range, and the rifles level to it in price. The name Bergara and the heavy No.5 barrel were an instant want for me to purchase the B-14 Wilderness ridge rifle, but the hardest part was finding one! The price – around $900 in late 2021 was ideal for my budget and perhaps unique for my situation already being gifted a scope to slap on!
This rifle was incredibly hard to find, from combing numerous sites to stopping in the local shop. I was specifically looking for a slightly newer model – I think late in 2021 – early 22, they made the switch to the fluted bolt, making the rifle that much more handsome. I also was looking for an 18 or 20-inch barrel. Knowing my limitations to keep ethical shots in the 5-600 yard range, I knew it wasn’t going to be an issue going short, but bring some major advantages to my hunting style. This style could have this rifle coyote hunting with a suppressor at night, up in a saddle whitetail hunting, or swinging inside a blind with a suppressor… So the search was on for a B-14 Wilderness Ridge rifle .308 Win in an 18” or 20” barrel.
B-14 Wilderness Ridge Rifle .308 Win in an 18” Barrel Specifications
- Caliber: .308 Winchester
- Cartridge Capacity: 4 rounds
- Magazine: hinged floor plate
- Barrel Length: 18 inches
- Barrel Finish: Sniper Gray Cerakote
- Barrel: 4140 CrMo Steel No. 5 Taper
- Rate of Twist: 1:10
- Muzzle: Threaded 5/8-24 w/thread protector
- Sights: none supplied
- Overall Length: 37.5 in.
- Weight: 7.2 lbs.
- Stock: synthetic
Once I had found the rifle and it arrived I put on a gifted Athlon Ares ETR 4.5-30 X 56 Scope and started playing with some ammo. I finally found one in October, so I didn’t have much time before deer season to get things laid out for the hunt. I immediately picked up 3 boxes to test want the B-14 WIlderness wanted to shoot. These were:
- Sierra 308 Win 168gr HPBT – MatchKing
- 308 Win 150 gr InterLock SP American Whitetail
- 308 Win 178 gr ELD-X Precision Hunter – Hornady
I immediately sighted in for 200 yards using the cheaper American Whitetail, then the next weekend got going on groups. I shot next to a Tikka Tx3 light in .308 as well, I feel like this is important to mention considering it was one of my choices. Instantly the Sierra Matchkings were dominating both the other ammo types and the Tikka, with barrel-cutting new holes outside of the first shot at both 200 and 300 yards. I was dialed for deer season!
Check out our .308 Hunting Ammo Test to learn which .308 ammo shoots the best.
PROS:
CONS:
First Blood and The Latest Harvest
This is where the real “rifle review” comes into play. The rifle’s first blood was actually my wife – go figure! I spend all this time setting up the rifle and the rifle barks at a dandy 3.5-year-old buck. She made a 200-yard shot from inside a blind into a food plot, perfect hear shot and it obliterated and dropped the buck in it’s tracks. This was exactly it’s intended purpose and the rifle had instantly paid for itself in our eyes for the first hunting season. After this the rifle dropped 2 or 3 does and a coyote!
The latest hunting season in 2022 the rifle really showed it’s use. It was packed deep into the timber, slung up in a saddle 18 ft in the air, and had numerous ground sits/blind hunts. Besides harvesting 3 does this past season, the rifle brought down my biggest buck to date, a low 150s Kentucky buck that I had been hunting all season. The rifle brought this buck down after taking a shot and running up a massive hill nearly off the property. The accuracy and dexterity of the short no. 5 barrel made it a breeze for follow-up shots and run/gun style hunting.
In terms of this B-14 Wilderness Ridge Rifle Review in .308 Win.. this rifle is a 10/10 in my book, and I cannot wait to put on its intended suppressor on and see what the performance is like coyote hunting, deer hunting, and hopefully bear hunting in Montana soon!
Ready to buy? Bergara B-14s are sold in many areas/shops, including Palmetto State Armory, Cabela’s, Scheel’s, and Sportsman’s Warehouse.
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AUTHOR BIO
Weston Schrank is a hunting industry professional with years of whitetail management and hunting experience in the Midwest. He is currently expanding that experience in the mobile hunting world, and the world of western hunting.
Instagram- @wes.schrank
