Why is the Bergara Premier Divide bolt gun called the Premier Divide? Well…the Premier part is due to the rifle’s action. The Premier Divide uses Bergara’s upgraded Premier stainless steel action as opposed to the 4140 chrome moly steel action they use in their rifles like the B14. The Premier series action is Cerakoted where most of their standard actions are blued.
The Divide part of the name is marketing speak, but that doesn’t make it meaningless. Bergara says the Divide bridges the divide between a hunting rifle and a precision rifle. After shooting it, it’s pretty clear that the Divide lives up to that part of its name.
The Bergara Premier Divide is a premium hunting rifle that’s made with first-rate components and materials that produce excellent results.
That Bergara stainless Premium action is built on the ubiquitous Remington 700 pattern. That means it’s compatible with about a bajillion stocks, rails and other accessories you may want to sub out or add. The Divide comes with a 20 MOA Pic rail pre-mounted.
I tested the Premier Divide chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor, but Bergara also offers the gun chambered in .308 and 6.5 PRC.
The Divide’s bolt is a fluted, one-piece stainless affair that can be taken apart without tools and has a two-lug floating bolt head. Bergara uses a “cone-shaped” bolt nose to ensure smooth feeding. I’ve put over 200 rounds through the gun, mostly from AICS magazines, but also single-feeding a dozen or so rounds and there hasn’t been a hiccup in feeding or extraction.
To keep the rifle’s weight down and make it more comfortable to tote for hunters trekking over large areas in search of game, Bergara used their CURE carbon fiber barrel in the Divide. Bergara is one of the biggest barrel manufacturers in the world and they apparently put a lot of time and effort into the design of the CURE barrels.
I don’t pretend to understand the engineering or the science that goes into what they’ve done here beyond the goal of creating a barrel that doesn’t produce patterns that climb or spread significantly as it heats up. If you’re interested in what Bergara puts into their CURE Carbon barrels, watch their video here.
At the end of that barrel is an very good muzzle brake…which I will literally never use. Okay, I pulled the trigger three times with the brake screwed on in the interest of producing a complete review. It works as advertised, converting recoil impulse into noise and blast in the immediate area.
The reality, however, is that the brake now lives among by spare parts, replaced by the (5/8 x 24) thread protector that Bergara also includes with the Divide. I prefer to shoot this rifle suppressed.
As for the stock, Bergara has chosen, again, carbon fiber. This one is the Chalk Branch from AG Composites. They call that finish their Erosion Rogue paint job. It’s basically an attractive sponge camo pattern with the carbon fiber peeking through.
The Chalk Branch stock is light weight (31 ounces) with some of the best ergonomics on any hunting rifle stock I’ve tried. I love the dual height bag rider design that gives you options depending on your shooting position. The adjustable cheek riser lets you set it where you need it depending on the scope and rings you’re using.
The forend of the stock begins to taper just forward of the receiver, with a sort of angled hex profile to the handguard. It feels great in the hand and also works really well when shooting from a bag. There are two sling studs for attaching a bipod.
The Divide has a TriggerTech Primary adjustable single-stage trigger. It’s adjustable from 1.5 to 4.o pounds. Mine arrived with an average pull weight of 2.4 pounds according to my Lyman trigger pull gauge, which is right where I like it. What makes the Premier trigger nice, however — in addition to its complete lack of creep and an excellent shoe — is that you don’t have to remove the stock to adjust it. That hex nut just forward of the trigger in the photo above is how you dial in the pull weight of your choice.
Unlike a lot (most?) similar rifles, the Premier Divide uses a hunter-style magazine release button that’s built in the front of the trigger guard rather than the more traditional paddle-style release positioned just forward of the trigger guard. The idea is the inside-the-guard design is far less likely to be accidentally snagged when carrying the rifle. While that’s undoubtedly true, I’m more of a fan of the paddle-style release, but your mileage may very well vary.
All of those premium components that Bergara has assembled in the Divide are advertised to produce an ideal blend for hunting and precision or long-range shooting. And that’s pretty much what the Premium Divide is.
Yeah, the Divide is a shooter. This is absolutely a sub-MOA gun, as you’d expect from a not-inexpensive rifle built from first rate components. The groups open up some as the barrel heats up, but they don’t climb like some carbon fiber barrels are prone to do.
I’ve shot the Divide at distances out to 600 yards. Once you find the load(s) it likes best, the Divide does, in fact, let you reach out and touch things at significant distances. I only wish I had access to a range where I could stretch its legs further. I don’t doubt that it’s capable of much more.
So yes, the Divide gives you a great blend of hunting and precision shooting capability. That said, you should probably take advantage of its light weight. By that I mean this is a gun that should be used for both roles and probably primarily for hunting. If you’re just going to take it to the range, you’ll probably be happier with a gun that has at least another pound or two of weight to it. That will make recoil even more tame and let you stay on the target better after each trigger pull.
Finally, given the Divide’s quality and what it can do, you have to look at its cost. At retail prices as low as $2000, the Premier Divide is actually kind of a bargain. You couldn’t build this gun yourself for anywhere near that. A good carbon fiber barrel will run you close to $1000. The AG stock is a little over $700. The trigger is $170. A stainless Remington 700 short action is another $700 to $900. Bergara sells the Premium barreled action with the CURE carbon barrel for $1600, so you could save a little there. But that’s at least $2500 in components alone, not including the muzzle brake and the magazine.
So what we have here is, all things considered, a very reasonably priced rifle that gives you top quality components and delivers truly excellent results. The Bergara Premium Divide is probably one of the best performing, most feature-rich production hunting rifles you can buy.
Specifications: Bergara Premier Divide Bolt Action Rifle
Caliber: 6.5 Creedmoor (also .308 and 6.5 PRC)
Barrel Length: 24 inches
Twist: 1:8
Overall Length: 45 inches
Weight: 7.4 pounds
Action: Stainless steel
Barrel: Carbon fiber wrapped
Stock: AG Composites carbon fiber
Magazine: 1 5-round AICS included
MSRP: $2799 (found online around $2000)