There was a previous post regarding the CZ 512 but it was too old so I'm staring a new thread.
I've got mixed feelings about my CZ 512. I got it about two years ago after reading a review. The review was all good. However, I haven't been so lucky. I'm starting to think maybe I got a lemon.
As many people have mentioned, the trigger was terrible. I honed the surfaces with a ceramic stone. Then used lapping compound to smooth it out even more. It's much better, but not fantastic.
I've had several other issues related to quality. After my second trip to the range the front sight fell off. I was using a scope so I didn't notice it until I got home and was cleaning it. CZ replaced it without question.
My second issue was more serious. The barrel came loose, which resulted in three or four shots being fired without a fully chambered round. These blew out the back side of the casing. It wasn't consistent so it took me three or four times to figure out what was going on. Basically the barrel would slide forward. The fix was to retighten the screws and apply loctite.
More recently I've been getting more and more stove pipes. One of them resulted in a round not being fully chambered yet was allowed to fire. This again blew out the side of the casing and resulted in a squib about 4" down the barrel. I'm not sure how the design could be changed, but if the bolt isn't all the way forward I would prefer that the firing pin could not be struck.
Regarding the firing pin, this past weekend my firing pin failed. I broke the rifle down to see why it wasn't firing. When I discovered the firing pin was broken I looked in the trigger housing to see if I could locate the piece that was broken off. I didn't find it, but I did find a loose spring lying down in there. I assume it fell in there during assembly and the assembler failed to take it out. I'm hoping CZ will send me a replacement firing pin without cost.
I'm not sure what to say about the stove pipes. I generally shoot CCI Blazer ammo. It's not premium stuff but is generally pretty good quality. I did try some other ammo and got similar results. So I'm not sure if the extractor or something else needs some work.
I consider all of those to be quality issues.
From a design standpoint I've only got three complaints. The first is that the counter bore in the front stalk that accepts the screw where it attaches to the barrel is too deep. If you try to use a quarter to loosen it you will scratch the wood. This is a minor detail but does require you to have a screwdriver in the field if you want to take the rifle down to clean it. The second issue is that the stalk is attached to the barrel. That means when you are using a sling in prone position you are pulling down on the barrel and could be affecting your shots. Anyone who is serious about shooting with their sling would not appreciate this. My last design complaint is that you cannot put the safety on if you have the bolt locked back. This is somewhat of an issue when you are shooting with a group of guys and everyone wants to make their rifles safe before going down range (mags out, bolt back, safety on, chamber flag in). You can't do step three.
As far as shooting, it does shoot pretty consistent. Generally speaking I'd say it's me or my ammo that is my limiting factor now that I've got the trigger smoothed out a bit. But I have to be careful and not get my sling too tight or I'll start to see it affecting my groups.
So I'm not sure how I feel about this gun. I like it and I like how it feels and shoots. However, I'm concerned about the quality and safety issues.
I've got mixed feelings about my CZ 512. I got it about two years ago after reading a review. The review was all good. However, I haven't been so lucky. I'm starting to think maybe I got a lemon.
As many people have mentioned, the trigger was terrible. I honed the surfaces with a ceramic stone. Then used lapping compound to smooth it out even more. It's much better, but not fantastic.
I've had several other issues related to quality. After my second trip to the range the front sight fell off. I was using a scope so I didn't notice it until I got home and was cleaning it. CZ replaced it without question.
My second issue was more serious. The barrel came loose, which resulted in three or four shots being fired without a fully chambered round. These blew out the back side of the casing. It wasn't consistent so it took me three or four times to figure out what was going on. Basically the barrel would slide forward. The fix was to retighten the screws and apply loctite.
More recently I've been getting more and more stove pipes. One of them resulted in a round not being fully chambered yet was allowed to fire. This again blew out the side of the casing and resulted in a squib about 4" down the barrel. I'm not sure how the design could be changed, but if the bolt isn't all the way forward I would prefer that the firing pin could not be struck.
Regarding the firing pin, this past weekend my firing pin failed. I broke the rifle down to see why it wasn't firing. When I discovered the firing pin was broken I looked in the trigger housing to see if I could locate the piece that was broken off. I didn't find it, but I did find a loose spring lying down in there. I assume it fell in there during assembly and the assembler failed to take it out. I'm hoping CZ will send me a replacement firing pin without cost.
I'm not sure what to say about the stove pipes. I generally shoot CCI Blazer ammo. It's not premium stuff but is generally pretty good quality. I did try some other ammo and got similar results. So I'm not sure if the extractor or something else needs some work.
I consider all of those to be quality issues.
From a design standpoint I've only got three complaints. The first is that the counter bore in the front stalk that accepts the screw where it attaches to the barrel is too deep. If you try to use a quarter to loosen it you will scratch the wood. This is a minor detail but does require you to have a screwdriver in the field if you want to take the rifle down to clean it. The second issue is that the stalk is attached to the barrel. That means when you are using a sling in prone position you are pulling down on the barrel and could be affecting your shots. Anyone who is serious about shooting with their sling would not appreciate this. My last design complaint is that you cannot put the safety on if you have the bolt locked back. This is somewhat of an issue when you are shooting with a group of guys and everyone wants to make their rifles safe before going down range (mags out, bolt back, safety on, chamber flag in). You can't do step three.
As far as shooting, it does shoot pretty consistent. Generally speaking I'd say it's me or my ammo that is my limiting factor now that I've got the trigger smoothed out a bit. But I have to be careful and not get my sling too tight or I'll start to see it affecting my groups.
So I'm not sure how I feel about this gun. I like it and I like how it feels and shoots. However, I'm concerned about the quality and safety issues.
