Bolt action .223/5.56 opinions

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echo6mike

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Situation: I've got a desire to pick up a bolt-action gun for target shooting and general plinking, out to 200-300 yards at most, in .223/5.56 since I have plenty of that ammo on hand anyway.

I like wood and steel with iron sights, and have a CZ452 which I love for my good .22, so the CZ527 is in the lead, but it doesn't hurt to ask for other ideas/opinions.

In the CZ, for example, there's the carbine, the standard 20", the 527LS, all a little different, so anyone with experience comparing some of those would be great to hear from.

More as it comes, thanks!
 
The only thing I don't like about the CZ 527 in .223/5.56mm is that for that caliber I'd prefer it use AR mags. Both because I already have a ton of them & because they are readily available in every capacity from 5 to 100 rounds or more. I have a Ruger American bolt action in .223 and it uses AR mags. I'm still considering adding a 527 just because it is such a nice rifle.
 
The only thing I don't like about the CZ 527 in .223/5.56mm is that for that caliber I'd prefer it use AR mags. Both because I already have a ton of them & because they are readily available in every capacity from 5 to 100 rounds or more. I have a Ruger American bolt action in .223 and it uses AR mags. I'm still considering adding a 527 just because it is such a nice rifle.
the cz is a classic rifle a ar mag would take away from them.
 
I have a Mossberg MVP thunder Ranch that I really enjoy. MVP's are also available with laminated stocks. They take AR mags. Mine functions best with the plastic P mags. I also have a Ruger American Ranch in 300 BLK. I think the newer models of them in 223 and 300 BLK also take AR mags. At the moment, Boyds only has stocks for the original Ruger American.
My Thunder Ranch MVP, 223
MVP turkey.jpg

My RAR in 300 BLK (Also available in 223)
300 B-O fox.jpg
 
My brother has a Remington 700 VLS (varmint laminate stock) with 26" heavy barrel. It's a great target rifle, wicked accurate and nice looking finish, but may not be the "plinker" you are looking for. i have a Remington 700 VSF (varmint synthetic fluted) 26" barrel...again, it's wicked accurate, but not really a plinker....as in not light enough to carry around and not wood.. It is my go-to rifle for varmints and easy to reload for. My brother and I routinely compete with each other and these two rifles are very hard to beat.
 
I see no reason to have a bolt rifle with AR mags. IMO bolt rifles should be sleek and easy to handle. That’s NOT an AR

My suggestion would also be a CZ. I’ve got two and looking at #3
 
I like the concept. My choice was the Ruger Ranch rifle that takes AR magazines. I doubt if I'll ever use it with mags larger than the 10 round magpuls and those don't protrude far enough to be an issue. My brother had the CZ for a while, it is a good rifle. Just more than I wanted spend. I got the Ruger for $389 OTD and I like being able to share magazines with the AR's.

I see no reason to have a bolt rifle with AR mags. IMO bolt rifles should be sleek and easy to handle. That’s NOT an AR

My suggestion would also be a CZ.

The CZ has a detachable mag that extends almost as far as the Ruger so that wouldn't be an issue with either rifle.
 
I handled the new CZ 527 Varmint MTR yesterday. It’s a big heavy rifle that I expect will shoot very well off a bench. I prefer the American (which I have). CZs are classic firearms and I enjoy mine.
 
Good morning
Been shooting a .223 Interarms (Birmingham) for some years now. Bought it used and we are very happy with it. Short action with a 22 inch barrel in real wood.
 
I'm very happy with my CZ 527M Carbine. It is light,very accurate and just fine to look at with the Turkish walnut stock...I think it would look weird with with a Pmag sticking out of the bottom. I put a 1x4-20 Leupold on it,but the iron sights work well too. I think this rifles are made by craftsmen who still care about what they make.
 
For a target gun, valuing accuracy over light weight, looking at potential upgrading. . . Rem700 all day.
 
The only thing I don't like about the CZ 527 in .223/5.56mm is that for that caliber I'd prefer it use AR mags. Both because I already have a ton of them & because they are readily available in every capacity from 5 to 100 rounds or more. I have a Ruger American bolt action in .223 and it uses AR mags. I'm still considering adding a 527 just because it is such a nice rifle.

No....no...a thousand times no. AR mags would ruin the look and feel of the rifle. I would not look twice if it had the ugly tacticool mags.

I ageag the mags for it are stupid expensive...but the rifle is a thing of beauty as it is.
 
Has anybody else mentioned the CZ527 yet? ;)

I picked up a 527FS in .223 back in January. It's quite an attractive rifle, in my eyes, and seems to be a decent shooter. Granted I'm not expecting a 6-pound rifle with a spotter barrel to shoot sub-MOA, but it looks like it'll do MOA easily enough with no fussing. It has a perfectly usable single stage trigger and on set mode it's probably around 1.5 pounds.

My only gripe is that my particular rifle feeds very stiffly from the magazine. It's gotten better since new but even after a couple hundred rounds it still feels like the magazine wants to hold on to the cartridges instead of letting them slip out.

Set up with a fixed 4x Leupold scope this might be at the top of the pack for "one good rifle" out of my collection.

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I always had a thing for the full stock CZ rifles :)

CZ527 owner here. I have the varmint one in a kevlar stock. A very nice rifle which I found used at two thirds the price of retail. It will shoot anything from 52gr-69gr handloads and 62gr 5.56mm milsurp just fine, although the handloads are more accurate!

Mine has a 24" barrel and will shoot 69gr Scenar's at just under 3,000fps. The bolt is a little clunky but I've never had any misfeeds in the two thousand rounds I've put through it. If screw threaded, it will take moderators with a 1/2" UNF thread. I'm using a UK made Wildcat Moderator which is an over barrel moderator (the muzzle is actually half way up the height of the moderator).

Second picture shows a typical 5 round group at 100m with 69gr Scenar's (typical because I always pull a shot :rofl:).

Edit:
I've managed to shoot out to 900m with somewhat decent accuracy (hitting a 4' x 2' tall silhouette), so I reckon it will work very well for your prescribed distances. There are many different types of CZ 527, some have irons some don't, and some have wood stocks and some don't. Personally, I like mine just the way it is as I have enough wooden stocked rifles as it is.

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I recently picked up a Howa Mini-Action in .223. So far I like it quite a bit but do want to change out the factory stock. Still working on getting in tuned in, limited shooting time due to 3rd shift life and a 2 year old.
 
I have an older Howa 1500 (not the new mini action). It is a very good shooter, especially with 55gr bullets.

DD8DB889-B22E-453F-B09C-7D7D174DCEE2.jpeg

Next to my DPMS Bull 24
292004CD-CF5A-4662-890C-1C2146F847CF.jpeg

Top pic is how it looks now with detachable mag kit installed.
 
Mine started life with a Bush
Has anybody else mentioned the CZ527 yet? ;)

I picked up a 527FS in .223 back in January. It's quite an attractive rifle, in my eyes, and seems to be a decent shooter. Granted I'm not expecting a 6-pound rifle with a spotter barrel to shoot sub-MOA, but it looks like it'll do MOA easily enough with no fussing. It has a perfectly usable single stage trigger and on set mode it's probably around 1.5 pounds.

My only gripe is that my particular rifle feeds very stiffly from the magazine. It's gotten better since new but even after a couple hundred rounds it still feels like the magazine wants to hold on to the cartridges instead of letting them slip out.

Set up with a fixed 4x Leupold scope this might be at the top of the pack for "one good rifle" out of my collection.

View attachment 830589

Now imagine that with some idiot AR mag hanging out the bottom of it.

You want an AR....you have tons of choices....You want a tacticool plastic fantastic go get yourself any of the current crop of rifles that look like the RPR....otherwise just leave us folk that like good ole guns alone.
 
I'm a Remington 700 fan. To me, the 700 is the small block Chevy motor of the gun world. After market options are unlimited, from mild to wild. CZ, Savage and Tika all have good potential.
 
I have a full stock carbine .223 , and an american model , maple stock .204.
.223 shoots speer 50 gr. about 5/8 to 3/4 " . sighted in an 1 1/2" high at 100 yards, and 65 gr. gamekings about 7/8 " in a 5 shot group about 2 1/2" high , same zero. pretty handy.
.204 shoots hornady factory 40 gr vmax about 3/4" , and a load w/same bullet and cfe223 or benchmark , about the same . took a while to find a load that shot as good as factory from that rifle ,though.
a good friend has a 223 varmint , the older one with a kevlar stock and 1-12" barrel , that shot a tiny about 1/10'" group with .
i wish they had flush magazines , and the scope rings are a little to tall , but i think you can get lower ones now . but , oh well . nice easy handling , pretty rifles that shoot extremely well, factory bedded , makes them a bargain in my book.
 
CZ527223.jpg ChassisRightSide.jpg
As I've droned on elsewhere in Rifle Country recently, I eff'n love the CZ 527 and own three. My .223 is the fullstock version retrofitted with the factory TG for the 3-shot magazine and a set of NECG metal sights. Shoots well -- hardly a true target gun but it shoots up lots of paper.

For a real target rig, MDT offers a chassis for the 527 in .223. I currently have my .300 Blackout set up in one -- the opposite of wood and steel, of course, but this rifle came in factory synthetic stock I didn't really care for. It wears a Nikon P-300 scope in the factory rings that came with the rifle.

My third 527 is in 7.62x39 and has a very handsome walnut stock, with a Weaver 1-4x scope mounted in Warne QD rings. It's basically unaltered.

On the subject of magazines, I've bought several spares and occasionally had problems with sticky followers and sharp edges on the feed lips. Usually the one that comes with the rifle works fine, but run any new magazine several times with dummy rounds and anticipate a little tweaking.
 
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Another issue to think about if it takes AR mags (and your in a restrictive state) is that rifle will be on the naughty list before long. Total poop but there it is.
 
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