RainDodger
Member
It's been a long, long time since I've posted here! Time to make up for that I guess... I recently picked up a new rifle and thought I'd pass on some of my thoughts about it. It is a CZ-527, Varmint model, in .223 Rem. I decided on .223 because the rifle will also handle 5.56mm loads, per the CZ company. I wanted a rifle I could shoot all day and not end up with a sore shoulder, not to mention I have a few cartridges on hand already, AND I didn't need to add a different/new caliber to the hand loading process. It also has a short action, it's fairly light, and should be perfect for varmints, should I want to do that.
The rifle has what CZ calls a "heavy barrel" - it is heavier than the standard carbine, but not overly so. I like the fact that it's 26.5" long, which will provide a bit more velocity than an AR's standard 16". The twist ratio is 1:9", which should allow light bullets in the 40 grain area, up to the mid-60 grain area. Great for varmints. It also has a "set" trigger. When the rifle is cocked, the shooter can push the trigger forward until it clicks. The rifle will then fire with the lightest touch of the trigger. (You do not have to use the "set" function - the trigger will operate as any other trigger does.) CZ calls the action a "mini-Mauser", in that its design is very similar to a Mauser bolt action, with a full length extractor.
Before going further, here's what it looks like...
The wood is fairly nice, with some pretty grain, and the checkering is nice and sharp. It appears that the checkering is cut traditionally. All parts are steel - no plastic parts here. I mounted a Leupold VX-3i, 4.5-14X scope, with Warne steel rings, bore sighted it and headed off to the range.
The first notable item... the standard trigger pull out of the box was NOT pleasant. It was gritty and creepy, with a long pull, and had too much over-travel. I made a short day of it after verifying the function of the rifle. The action was tight, but the rifle worked fine. I wanted to remedy the trigger issue before proceeding. Not to mention, I forgot my glasses!
Thankfully, the CZ has a very well designed and easily adjusted trigger. There's a really fine YouTube video of how it's done, for those that want to learn more. Once the action is out of the stock, it's very easy to adjust pull weight, length of pull, and over-travel. For both the standard trigger and the "set" function! It's a really well made trigger on this little rifle. I adjusted all the slop out of both triggers, added a tiny bit of grease to the sear, and re-assembled the rifle. Now the standard trigger pull is excellent with no discernable movement before the sear breaks, very little over-travel, and the set trigger is absolutely wonderful. I would not carry the rifle in the field with the trigger in the "set" position - I would only use the set trigger when stationary.
I took four different hand loads to the range, to see what the rifle likes best. To make a long story much shorter, this rifle absolutely loves a 40 grain bullet moving along a bit over 3,000 FPS. I will chrono the loads next week to check the actual speed. It handled 60 grain loads very well also, but didn't seem to like my 55 grain loads. I did not shoot anything over 60 grains on that trip. It was a cold morning (~27 degrees F), with no wind at all... here's a group I shot, from the bench, using a Harris bipod -
The rifle was a joy to shoot. I was expecting more recoil than an AR, but I was pleasantly surprised. Perhaps the long barrel's added weight helped, but recoil felt quite soft. The standard recoil pad also works well. Muzzle blast was much less than a shorter barreled AR. The action is still stiff, but I can feel it loosening up already. Feeding is via a 5-round, single-stack magazine, inserted just ahead of the trigger guard.
There you have it. One new rifle that I'm pretty happy with. That's a 100 yard group, and granted... it's one of the better ones. All were within an inch though, except the 55 grain loads. I seemed to have one flyer out of 5, with those. I think CZ has done a great job and I'd be surprised if you can find another rifle for such reasonable money. A Tikka will probably shoot equally well, but it's more money. Remington and Winchester don't have any current rifles in .223 I don't believe. Look around and you'll find this rifle for around $655. I did!
The rifle has what CZ calls a "heavy barrel" - it is heavier than the standard carbine, but not overly so. I like the fact that it's 26.5" long, which will provide a bit more velocity than an AR's standard 16". The twist ratio is 1:9", which should allow light bullets in the 40 grain area, up to the mid-60 grain area. Great for varmints. It also has a "set" trigger. When the rifle is cocked, the shooter can push the trigger forward until it clicks. The rifle will then fire with the lightest touch of the trigger. (You do not have to use the "set" function - the trigger will operate as any other trigger does.) CZ calls the action a "mini-Mauser", in that its design is very similar to a Mauser bolt action, with a full length extractor.
Before going further, here's what it looks like...
The wood is fairly nice, with some pretty grain, and the checkering is nice and sharp. It appears that the checkering is cut traditionally. All parts are steel - no plastic parts here. I mounted a Leupold VX-3i, 4.5-14X scope, with Warne steel rings, bore sighted it and headed off to the range.
The first notable item... the standard trigger pull out of the box was NOT pleasant. It was gritty and creepy, with a long pull, and had too much over-travel. I made a short day of it after verifying the function of the rifle. The action was tight, but the rifle worked fine. I wanted to remedy the trigger issue before proceeding. Not to mention, I forgot my glasses!
Thankfully, the CZ has a very well designed and easily adjusted trigger. There's a really fine YouTube video of how it's done, for those that want to learn more. Once the action is out of the stock, it's very easy to adjust pull weight, length of pull, and over-travel. For both the standard trigger and the "set" function! It's a really well made trigger on this little rifle. I adjusted all the slop out of both triggers, added a tiny bit of grease to the sear, and re-assembled the rifle. Now the standard trigger pull is excellent with no discernable movement before the sear breaks, very little over-travel, and the set trigger is absolutely wonderful. I would not carry the rifle in the field with the trigger in the "set" position - I would only use the set trigger when stationary.
I took four different hand loads to the range, to see what the rifle likes best. To make a long story much shorter, this rifle absolutely loves a 40 grain bullet moving along a bit over 3,000 FPS. I will chrono the loads next week to check the actual speed. It handled 60 grain loads very well also, but didn't seem to like my 55 grain loads. I did not shoot anything over 60 grains on that trip. It was a cold morning (~27 degrees F), with no wind at all... here's a group I shot, from the bench, using a Harris bipod -
The rifle was a joy to shoot. I was expecting more recoil than an AR, but I was pleasantly surprised. Perhaps the long barrel's added weight helped, but recoil felt quite soft. The standard recoil pad also works well. Muzzle blast was much less than a shorter barreled AR. The action is still stiff, but I can feel it loosening up already. Feeding is via a 5-round, single-stack magazine, inserted just ahead of the trigger guard.
There you have it. One new rifle that I'm pretty happy with. That's a 100 yard group, and granted... it's one of the better ones. All were within an inch though, except the 55 grain loads. I seemed to have one flyer out of 5, with those. I think CZ has done a great job and I'd be surprised if you can find another rifle for such reasonable money. A Tikka will probably shoot equally well, but it's more money. Remington and Winchester don't have any current rifles in .223 I don't believe. Look around and you'll find this rifle for around $655. I did!
