CZ-452 Varmint - problem feeding from mag.

[TEC]

Last week I ran about 100 rounds of ballistic tip 17g HMR through the new rifle without problems. I have lightened the trigger spring and had planned to see how the rifle would shoot off the bench with the 20 grain HMR and had nothing but problems. More often than not, the round won't feed. The bolt jams the soft nose tip into a ridge on the throat of the barrel. What the heck??! The magazine is a bit loose, but even holding the mag more firmly in place, the round still won't feed. I did find that with a sharp slap to the bottom of the mag, I could sometimes get the round to feed, and I found that if I only load one or two rounds in the mag, they feed. If the 20 grain pellet chambers without incident, it shoots better than the 17 grain. I did manage one group right at 1 inch at 100 yards. But if the round hangs even a bit, and certainly if it doesn't chamber the first push, then chambers after a slap to the mag, the tip gets deformed and the round is a flyer. Grrrr. I first thought it might be, at least in part, a sloppy fit of the mag, or perhaps that the retaining flanges on the back end of the mag were too wide, letting the rear end of the cartridge ride too high and dropping the nose. Maybe so, but even if this is the case, why is there a clearly visible groove or ridge right across the throat of the breech end of the chamber. Can this possibly be right? Pics attached, showing the groove or ridge on the throat of the barrel and the way the 20 grain tips sits too low with a full 5-rounds in the mag. Anyone have this experience with the CZ before?

 

[Ol` Joe]

The was a cure for this posted at one time on the CZ forum at Rimfire central. The magazine follower is the problem as recall.

 

[marineman]

Try pushing up on the magazine as you rack the bolt forward. This happens on my CZ452 ocassionally when I use hollow points. It usually only happens on the first round though.

 

[stubbicatt]

Photo #1 looks to me like *perhaps* the firing pin peened the chamber. But I'm not positive.

 

[tjj]

Had that happen on one of my CZ 17HMR's. There is a sticky at rimfirecentral on this.
I fixed mine by taking the mag apart and bending the follower ever so slightly and opened the lips of the mags with a wedge (or chisel used as a wedge) so that the top round would point upwards enough to feed without the tip of the projectile touching the barrel face when feeding. Very little adjustment will make a big change in the top round's attitude so make small adjustments. Never had the problem again.