CZ bolt actions, best for the buck?

[timbertoes]

I have had 3 Centerfire CZ's.
All of them very very nice rifles.

I have 2 CZ's Currently. A 452 and a 550.
So overall 5 CZ's.

I use the set trigger a lot.
On the bench and when the coyote or bobcat is spotted, the trigger gets set.
The set trigger alone beats all others. People say get a timney for the remington...well, a timney is junk comapred to a CZ set trigger. Can that timney go to a few+ ounces ?? lets face it, for a lot of us, shooting paper targets is a lot of fun, and a sweet trigger makes it happen.

compared to Savage, Rem : beats them by a mile.
I have sent back two brand new Savages, becase they would not shoot for diddly. really crap rifles IMHO. a 3rd savage refused to feed rounds from the magazine, it fits so poorly.
And I like a true-blued rifle. Not this looks-like-a-frying-pan-surface stuff thats out there.
but my CZ550 varmint is dissapointing in that respect.

Howa seem very nice. I only own a 1980's howa. trigger is excellent, absolutly excellent. Metal is flawless. feeds smooth.

Seems to me , Rem is only good to get the action, and then spend about $1000 to build on it. Having said that, I am waiting on a Rem., 1982 Classic in .257 to arrive.
Rem is the same price range or more, than a CZ when you step up in Rem to get the CZ build and looks.

For myself, the only rifle I feel gives out of the box performance at a lower cost than CZ is a Tikka. I would not turn down a Howa, but too many of the easily available ones are shorter barrels in a stock I personally dont care for.

I am not a brand snob, and really dont mean to insult others on thier choices. These are just the things that I have found to be true. For that matter I have an expensive leupold scope, that the quality of reminds me of a cheap tasco. So.....

 

[timbertoes]

cz cant win ?
a lot of shooters cant shoot

 

[Cosmoline]

a CZ rifle winning anything anywhere.

They're not for competition shooting, they're for hunting. The CZ 550 and its BRNO forebear are considered among the very best hunting rifles ever made. They're tough, well balanced and powerful with positive extraction, no breakable parts and a proven design.

 

[HOOfan_1]

And I like a true-blued rifle. Not this looks-like-a-frying-pan-surface stuff thats out there.
but my CZ550 varmint is dissapointing in that respect.

Mine too. I looked at it on their website, and it looked like the barrel was a high polished blue. That was one reason I decided on the CZ. I had to order it because no one in my aread carried the CZ 550 Varmint with the laminated stock which I wanted. Then I opened it and found the barrel was more of a dull blue.

My Remington 700 BDL has a high polished blue, but the ones I see in stores nwo are not as polished. The only ones I have seen that have that nice shiny blue are the Winchester M70 Supergrade and a few Sakos.

I still love the look of my CZ and it shoots better than any rifle I have ever owned, but I was dissappointed in the bluing on the barrel.

 

[timbertoes]

If I had any newer Rem, I would like to have a LVSF model.

IIRC BRNO's have long been used in competition in europe.

 

[wsm]

1/8" moa

Benzy2.

Re-read post #12. You will see that he said 1/8" MOA, not 1/8 MOA.

 

[JoelSteinbach]

I own a CZ527 Varmit in 223 with a laminated stock, besides having the action bedded, it is a stock rifle. With the set trigger and handloads this little beauty is a one holer at 100 yards. It is one of my very favorite out of ther box rifles.

 

[chrome_austex]

Ole Joe made me do it. Just picked up a CZ 452 FS in 22lr. Heres my living room review:

The tolerances on all the parts are all very good. I was a bit disappointed it isn't blued on the receiver (just the barrel), looks like parkerizing or something on the receiver. Magazines and mag well are plastic, meh, thats fine as they all seem to fit and function well. Plastic endcap (I understand a metal one is available). The ergonomics are good, the FS stock is really cool and the checkering is a nice touch. The stock and the 20" barrel length are what sold me on the FS model. That, and backup irons are nice to have.

The trigger is ... wierd. I can see how people would quickly replace it. I'm going to give it a try, but its quite different feel from the 2 stage NM trigger on my AR.

I'm glad to see two extractors on the bolt. Walnut stock is nice enough. People say they like the sights, I don't think they're for me, and might have to be relegated to backup duty.

I do appreciate the tangent sight design, as they're marked for distance up to 200m. How reliable are those factory marks once you've zeroed the front sight? I'm wondering what the torque specs on the bedding screws, anyone know?

The sling swivels are getting replaced asap with some standard ones, perhaps flush cups. Glad to see they just screw out and the stock is thick enough up front to probably accept a flush cup.

So, it seems to be well done in the places where it counts, and CZ has clearly cut some costs in materials and finishes where they felt that they could. Not entirely unexpected. This one is probably $100 more than the cheapest 452, and so less of a value than a very similarly equipped lux, but I think she's more of a looker, and extremely practical.

Tomorrow we see how she shoots...

 

[NELSONs02]

For the price point that the CZ 550's and 527's fill YES I feel they offer the most value.

There are many, more expensive rifles however, that hold they're value better.

 

[benzy2]

Benzy2.

Re-read post #12. You will see that he said 1/8" MOA, not 1/8 MOA.

1/8" MOA isn't a real value. MOA is minute of angle, or 1/60 of a degree. At 100 yards it would be 1.047". At 1000 yards it would be 10.47". At 50 yards it would be .524". As such, at the 50 yards stated, 1/8" and 1/8 MOA are different values, roughly 0.125" and 0.066" respectively. I can't tell if he meant MOA or just inches based on his "MOA units. I figured he meant inches but talked about both in the post. It's a big difference, and honestly, not knowing that difference is a big red flag on my BS meter. Maybe everything he says it true and I'm just a skeptic.

He can claim CZ's rimfires won't come close to winning at his local range, that's fine. If you check out Rimfirecentral (specifically here http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=300393 ), you'll see that in the games they play there, a lot of CZ's qualify and typically a fewer amount of Savage's qualify. Not always, and maybe more a sign of what the members there shoot more than anything. That said, neither really looks to pull away from the other in absolute performance. Maybe one guy on a given day gets a better group out of one rifle than the other, but not consistently. I feel the CZ rimfire line offers a lot more than pure accuracy. If group size per dollar spent is the only goal, the Savage is probably a better deal. If you want to hold a bit of craftsmanship, the CZ goes a long way.

The trigger is ... wierd. I can see how people would quickly replace it. I'm going to give it a try, but its quite different feel from the 2 stage NM trigger on my AR.

Go check the CZ forum on rimfirecentral. Look at their poorman trigger job and the offered shim kits. The trigger has the potential in it to be great, but it often needs a little push to get there. I worked over 2 of mine for about $10 total. One needed shimmed and a spring, the other just a spring. After that they both are very crisp and have a pull of about 10oz. A heavier spring can raise that all the way up to about 5 lbs. You won't get the 2 stage feel, but you will greatly improve the trigger.

 

[CH47gunner]

If you're buying a new rifle, I believe the CZ's the best bang for the buck.
I own three - one 452 Special in .22lr, one 452 Varmint .17HMR, and one 527 Varmint in .223.

All shoot as advertised out of the box - no new triggers, no aftermarket stocks, I just did a bit of cleaning, adjusting & stoning on the triggers, and the rifles were good to go.

All three rifles are part of the battery that travels to Montana with me every year for the annual prairie dog & groundsquirrel shoot.

If I saw a good deal on a quality "used" rifle that'd probably the way I'd go but, if I were to buy new, I'd buy the CZ's.

I do own a couple of newer Savage rifles (10FP .308 & 93R17-BV .17HMR), don't care for the Accutrigger. I've replaced the Accutrigger on the .17 w/ Rifle Basix trigger & will probably do the same to the .308. The .308 has been restocked with an B&C Medalist aftermarket stock.


Good luck with your choice,

Bruce

 

[CB900F]

Fella's;

I have several CZ rimfire 452's. If you don't like the trigger, buy a YoDave kit. With shipping it's under $20.00. Don't know where to get one from? Go to Rimfire Central. And while you're there, as has been mentioned here, check out the results of the contests, CZ/BRNO does quite nicely.

If CZ would import a left handed 550, I'd buy them. As it is, Tikka gets my money. CZ could, but apparantly chooses not to.

Had a Savage, don't need another one.

900F

 

[Onmilo]

I just bought a CZ 452 ZKM.
Fit and finish are uniformly excellent and on par with a quality CENTERFIRE rifle.
Plain and simple, there are very few American made bolt rifles that approach this level of fit and finish and the ones I know of are either foreign made guns playing under the U.S. manufacturers tradename or are super expensive domestic products.

Savage .22s are nothing more than product upgraded Canadian Lakefield rifles, no wounderblaster by any means.

I know a little bit about how things are done over on the game fields of Africa and I can tell you very few guides carry American made rifles but CZ rifles can be found in just about any camp on that continent.
That is one heck of a sound testement in my book!

 

[DukeNukem]

The CZ452 dominates in these championships in the open sights class. http://clubs.odcmp.com/cgi-bin/report_eventAward.cgi?matchID=4687&eventID=1&awardID=1

 

[earlthegoat2]

I have always been impressed with the Savage out of the box accuracy. Unless you are in stock rifle competitions, the marginal increase in accuracy from the CZ is not worth the price. If it is styling or the iron sights you are looking for on the CZ then it is worth the price because they are quite attractive rifles.

 

[teetertotter]

Ya, I always wondered if the Savage Mark II - BV was any more accurate than the CZ 452/455 American, .22LR. Two+ months ago I had to buy the CZ American as Savage does not make left handed. Savage was my first choice. For me, it is what's on the inside that counts. I had to support the Chek's. I wonder if we can find some top benchrest guys to compare the Savage to the CZ and post results at 100 yards using SV only? 50 yards is nothing to compare accuracy. I shoot off hand SB Metallic Silhouette, hunter and heavy with my 7-1/2 lb American with scope. The trigger on my new American after adjusting factory trigger to lowest spring setting is 2-1/2 lbs and is clean and crisp. Savage or CZ .22LR.....Does any one really know?
Proof?

 

[armoredman]

I am not a rifleman. I like shooting, preferrably hitting the target, but I don't shoot benchrest, have no idea what the heck "F" class is, (used to think getting an F meant failing), been working on my little 527M carbine because everyone said 7.62x39mm is such a terribly inaccurate round. Perhaps I am a poor example of what CZ rifles can do, don't know. I can say that the one thing I wanted to change was the rear sight - the fixed rear sight on the 527M was not very well fixed, and it was recently replaced with a Marble adjustable folding rear sight, sliver soldered onto a custom base by a local gunsmith.



It does alright by me, but I am not a rifleman, not capable of shooting 4 inches at 440 yards, aka 1/4 mile, (odd distance, why 440?), or anything like that, but I sure love shooting this thing and reloading for it. I works like a champ, and will make a perfect camp/escapers/backpacking carbine for me. This is what I did with iron sights off a front rest only.



See? Pathetic for the Internet champions, but it works for me, and I know that little light carbine will go bang for me when I need it. If you like CZ rifles, get one. If you want a Savage, Tikka, Weatherby, Ruger, Remington, go for it, as I have not one jot or tittle of experiance with them - my bolts were Mosins, Mausers and Enfields.
Soon I will remount the scope, so I can do this again. Still pretty horrible compared to the incredible shots here.



BTW, try the Berrys plated bullet in this caliber - awesome bullet.

 

[OKcarburetor]

You can compare accuracy all you want, but if a rifle fails to function it doesn't matter. This is why I have sold both savage rifles I owned. My 12 FVSS .223, which was absurdly accurate, would not extract cartridges and the trigger started to malfunction after 500 rounds. My BVSS .17hmr had such poor build quality and design I just couldn't stand to own it.(foward action screw to stock interface design was particularly poorly executed) It wasn't what I'd call an accurate rifle anyway.

A CZ 527 replaced my model 12, and while I like it, I certainly don't think it's the best bang for the buck rifle. Once again however, I like it so that's all that matters to me.

I'm not sure what the best bang for the buck rifle is really. Too many choices, and it really depends on your taste. I'd say the used rifles I've bought have always given me more satisfaction for the money spent than any new rifle though.

 

[benzy2]

Jeff, calm down. First, it's the internet. Lots of people make big claims, yours being one of them. When people make such big claims, and the can't get the unit right, it tends to be BS. That's what I said and I'll stick to it because most of the time, when someone doesn't get the units right, it's because they are making it up. If you aren't that person, cool, but when I see the claim, it raises a flag. Again, it's the internet, people exaggerate. I've seen it more than once. If you are the exception, then enjoy shooting the small groups.

 

[Water-Man]

Take a look at a TIKKA T3 Varmint.

 

[451 Detonics]

To also say that Savage puts out most of the high-accuracy rifles is another big stretch. Short of a few F class matches, not many national level competitions (where the real high-accuracy rifles show up) are won by a Savage action.

Team Savage set the world record for 1000 yards at the 2010 F T/R Nationals shooting Savage rifles complete with the factory barrels and Accutrigger...seems like that is the type of match where "the real high-accuracy rifles show up".

Much of what rifle to pick is going to stem from what you expect to do with the rifle, toting a 10 pound rifle around for a full day of hunting is kinda tough but at the same time I would run a lighter weight Savage hunting rifle against the field and be confident in it doing very well against all comers. They do not win the beauty portion of the competition but you don't have to pay for the good looks either. The CZ shoot well also and if you are willing to pay for pretty then the CZ might be what you want. It all comes down to personal preference on looks.

 

[teetertotter]

The Tikka T3 Hunter/Varmit for lot more $$$$ than the CZ American and Savage with same accuracy at 100 meters? For the ocassional shooter, would not need to spend that much as a Savage or CZ would be more accurate than the shooter to begin with.....off hand shooting that is. Tikka is another rifle to consider like so many out there. The Savage and CZ selections will be more accurate than I until I get serious off hand target practicing 2 times a week with dry firing in between 1/2 hour per day. Until I become a serious competitor, then I would move up to the $1500+ range. Hunters/plinkers go crazy with what they can do off SB or benchrest for sighting in, but when it comes to real off hand shooting, they will miss a 4 inch target every time at 50 yards. You know what I mean?? If not intending to be a competition shooter, buy a less expensive rifle as it will always be better than you off hand. Do I make sense?

 

[Smaug]

IMO - Marlin is the best deal going in 22s, and Savage in larger-than-22. Accuracy, price, and a decent level of finish.

 

[OKcarburetor]

Never replaced the extractor in my model 12 because there are plenty of other rifles that will function, shoot accurately, and look good doing it. Life is too short to own an ugly unreliable rifle.

 

[JoelSteinbach]

With a little action bedding handload and it's set trigger I feel the CZ527Varmit in 223 is the best bang for the buck, one hole groups at 100 yards a little more jagged at 200 yards