Bergara Premier MgMicro Lite, Tested and Reviewed

The Bergara Premier MgMicro Lite is one of the latest in the arms race of production mountain hunting rifles. It sports carbon-fiber components, a short and foldable chassis, and other features intended to aid the high country hunter. As we continue to raise our expectations for precision hunting rifles, it’s not enough for a backcountry rifle to just be light. We’ve come to recognize the importance of shootability and the value of a compact package. Because of this, some of our criteria for grading the next sheep or mountain goat rifle has evolved. The Bergara MgMicro Lite checks a lot of the boxes for an appealing modern mountain gun, so we put two of them to the test.

Bergara MgMicro Lite Specs

• Action: Two-lug bolt action, with floating bolt head
• Stock: XLR Atom Mg chassis with carbon folding stock, carbon grip
• Cartridge: 6.5 Creedmoor (tested), .308 Win., 6.5 PRC
• Capacity: 5+1
• Weight: 6 pounds, 4 ounces (measured)
• Trigger: Triggertech, adjustable, 3 pounds 5 ounces (measured)
• Barrel: Cure carbon fiber, 18 inches; 1:8 twist, threaded 5/8-24
• Length: 38 inches,  (28.5 inches folded)
• Price: $3,000

Key Features

• Magnesium chassis with lightweight folding stock
• Adjustable carbon-fiber comb
• Bubble level behind bolt shroud
• Carbon-wrapped barrel
• Integral ARCA rail
• Adjustable Triggertech trigger

Review Highlights

• Lightweight and compact
• Ideal for shooting with ARCA tripod support
• Knurled bolt handle is easy to manipulate and action is smooth
• Great accuracy for a light rifle
• Not ideal for use with most bipods

Bergara Premier MgMicro Lite Accuracy

I had the opportunity to use and shoot two of these rifles. The first was at Outdoor Life’s 2024 Gun Test, and the second was at my home in Alaska. The rifle we had in our gun test delivered impressive accuracy. The second sample was less astounding, but accurate enough for any hunter who would field it.

Since we have begun utilizing larger sample sizes and plotting aggregate groups, Shooting Editor John Snow and I have observed many interesting things about hunting rifle accuracy. As demonstrated here, you cannot usually expect uniform sub-MOA performance from a rifle that averages sub-MOA group sizes. In fact, a lightweight hunting rifle that can group an aggregate of 20 shots under 1.5 inches is a good shooter. More meaningful, a mean radius (which takes every shot into account) of less than .5 inches at 100 yards means that your average shot is only missing the average point of impact by less than half an inch.

Both test rifles were perfectly accurate enough to tackle any shooting scenario for which an 18-inch-barreled 6.5 Creedmoor would be appropriate.

Bergara MgMicro Lite: A New Cut at the Production Mountain Rifle

In recent years, drop-in chassis, in conjunction with CNC and other precision production methods, have created a shooter’s market. By that, I mean that hunters and shooters are no longer bottlenecked by a gunsmith or custom shop to upgrade their hunting rifle. It’s now more feasible to order a new stock, chassis, or pre-fit barrel for your favorite shooting iron. Precise manufacturing of these components makes it realistic for anyone with a few tools to assemble an accurate rifle system.

Rifle companies recognize the customer’s appetite for some of these upgrades and are making it easier by adding them into the production lineup. Rather than trying to develop a proprietary chassis, many gun makers are simply putting their popular production actions and barrels into aftermarket stocks and chassis. Three of the most popular third-party folding-stock hunting chassis are the MDT HNT 26, XLR Element, and Atom Mg. We see factory rifles like the Savage M110 Ultralite Elite and Weatherby 307 Alpine MDT come dressed in the HNT 26, but the Bergara MgMicro Lite sits in the Atom Mg.

Combined with a shorter 18-inch barrel (6.5 Creedmoor version), the package is set up to be light, easy to strap into a backpack, and compact — even when used with a suppressor. It boasts some adjustability you won’t find in a normal rifle stock, as well as compatibility with modern shooting support systems.

Action and Barrel

The core of the Bergara Premier MgMicro Lite is, of course, the two-lug M700-pattern Bergara Premier action. The rifle has a floating bolt head similar to a Savage M110 and uses a sliding claw extractor. The bolt face uses two plunger ejectors, which flip brass effortlessly from the action — even when drawing the bolt to the rear slowly. The bolt body is fluted and polished, and the nicely-sized bolt knob is knurled on the sides but smoothly rounded on the outer edges. This allows your index finger to slide around it as you lift and lower the bolt, but provides sure traction when moving it rearward or forward. 

The bolt release is slightly exaggerated, protruding past the outer edge of the chassis, which makes it easy to remove the bolt. However, since the bolt does not lock closed when on safe, it could fall free if it were accidentally pulled open (by brush) when strapped to a pack.This is somewhat negated though, because in the folded position, the stock generally blocks it from being pushed.

The Cure carbon barrel delivered good accuracy and the muzzle end has a steel collar similar to those on the BSF barrels used by Springfield — though Bergara doesn’t specify if the carbon wrap is held under compression. Rather than a simple machined shoulder, the front of this collar appears to be threaded onto the muzzle and has grooves which are presumably for a tightening tool to engage.

The Bergara Premier MgMicro Lite Fills A Specific Role

The MgMicro Lite isn’t a rifle that is going to fit everyone’s needs. Rather, the specific design elements of its chassis are focused for a hunter who wants a light, compact rifle to carry in their backpack and use primarily an ARCA-topped tripod for support. 

The Buttstock

The XLR Atom Mg chassis is made of lightweight magnesium, and one of its most prominent features is the carbon-fiber buttstock. The buttstock is minimalist in nature, with a carbon-fiber plate and rubber recoil pad capping off a carbon-fiber tube. The front portion of the buttstock has two M-Lok slots for installing a QD sling cup or other accessory. There is a carbon-fiber shell comb piece that straddles the stock and is secured with four screws. I like that the shooter can adjust comb angle with this design, and I set it with a slight reverse comb to help maintain a sight picture through recoil.

The buttstock folds easily when unlocked by the release button on the right side of the chassis, but is quite stable when in the locked position. There is nothing that locks the stock in the folded position, so it can be a bit floppy. Also, because the folding mechanism is sized for an AR buffer tube, the chassis is pretty thick when folded — nearly five inches at the bolt handle. Compared to other folders we had in the gun test, this stock was most difficult to strap onto a backpack. Additionally, the castle nut — which appears to be a standard parkerized steel AR buffer tube nut — is showing some rust where it butts against the hinge.

Magnesium Chassis

A good portion of the weight savings of the MgMicro Lite is in its magnesium chassis — magnesium is around 33 percent lighter than aluminum, and 75 percent lighter than steel. The Atom Mg chassis itself is fairly blocky and, because it’s literally a generic M700-pattern drop-in chassis, there is some excessive space around the tang, the safety, and with this model, the bolt doesn’t sit in the center of the oversized bolt-handle cutout. The bottom of the trigger guard has a hole — presumably for trigger adjustment — but the Triggertech adjustment screw is too far forward to use it on this rifle. At the gun test, our team didn’t care for the thrown-together look and, from a practical standpoint, dust and debris are more likely to accumulate in the chassis around the trigger while dragging this rifle through the brush.

The MgMicro Lite comes with an AICS-pattern polymer five-round magazine that extends to the bottom of the trigger guard. It’s also compatible with flush-fitting MDT three-round magazines. The magazine release paddle isn’t as easy to manipulate as on a competition chassis, but it is protected from accidental release.

Another notable feature of the chassis on the MgMicro Lite as opposed to the Element chassis on the Mg Lite is the much shorter fore-end. This rectangular fore-end is 6.25 inches long, and features a built-in Swiss ARCA rail on the bottom. Both sides have two M-LOK slots, and the bottom has two slots plus a hole that’s tapped for a sling swivel stud. The chassis itself has no sling mounting hardware — perhaps assuming that most hunters who buy this will be either carrying the rifle in-hand or have it strapped to a backpack.

Shooting the MgMicro Lite

The short little fore-end cuts weight, but it makes the rifle challenging to shoot accurately in some positions. It’s perfect for mounting into an ARCA shooting tripod, and it works well with both heavy-duty and lightweight hunting tripods. The front of the stubby fore-end easily slides into the ARCA mount without having to loosen it enough to drop in from the top. It’s removed just as simply.

With a large, wide bipod like the MDT CKYE Pod, the rifle is very stable in the prone position. With popular lightweight bipods like the Spartan Precision Javelin mounted on the short fore-end, however, it’s more challenging. Because of the shorter distance between front and rear support, the system is generally more shaky and the rifle jumps a lot more under recoil. Also, with adapters for other bipods installed, it’s not as easy to get the rifle into an ARCA tripod. The MgMicro Lite is really nice to shoot using a small Game Changer bag from a tripod, rock, etc, but becomes a little problematic when trying to use a backpack as a rest because it’s easy to accidentally allow your barrel to contact the backpack itself. 

One addition that I would recommend is a thumb rest from XLR, which bolts to the side of the receiver, to aid in a modern-style grip. The carbon-fiber grip is ergonomically comfortable, but it’s tough to run the bolt quickly while shooting in a more traditional style with your thumb wrapped around the pistol grip. I rested my thumb atop the edge of the chassis, behind the bolt shroud while shooting. But incidentally, I would regularly press the hinge lock button with my palm while in position to shoot, unlocking the stock.

Where the Bergara Premier MgMicro Lite Shines

When inspecting the MgMicro Lite, most will think of high alpine valleys and long hikes with heavy packs. This rifle is well-suited for that, but you’ll get the most out of it by using your glassing tripod for support when it comes time to shoot. If you prefer a bipod or to rest on your backpack, another stock option is probably the best choice for you. A mindful backpack hunter who already has a tripod will be able to ditch their bipod and do more with less gear. 

Because this doesn’t fit the mold for a classic walking rifle doesn’t mean that backpack hunting is all it’s good for, though. Any hunter, really, who prefers to use tripod support will find the shorter fore-end handy for clipping in. A nimble little rifle like this is also a good option for hunting from a blind where you can set up a tripod or a bag for support.

Final Thoughts

What all the testing and analysis boils down to for any rifle is a value judgement. Are you getting a good gun for your money? The answer to this is always two parts — objective and subjective. We must examine a rifle’s components, the performance it’s objectively capable of, and the market. Second, we have to define and consider our personal priorities and expectations for a rifle. The more expensive the rifle, the more precise our scrutiny must be.

At $3,000, the Bergara Premier MgMicro Lite is a premium-priced rifle. Objectively, the sum of the components is reasonably priced, and it competed well with other expensive rifles in the same category that we have tested. Subjectively, I’d like to see a little more refinement and versatility out of a rifle that costs three grand. But for the hunter who wants a light, packable rifle to shoot off a tripod, the Mg Micro Lite is a solid choice.