20 Vartarg Conversion

[Ferris Wheels]

First post but I have been lurking for a couple months.

I am wanting to do a 20 Vartarg conversion using a CZ527 Varmint action which comes in 17 Hornet, 17 Rem., 204 Ruger and 223 Rem. What I am a little confused on is which cartridge would be the best candidate for a donor rifle. The 204 and the 20 Vartarg have almost the same OAL. The 223 Rem and 204 Ruger use the same bolt face I assume and are from the same parent cartridge the .222 Rem.

So my questions are:

Should/can I go with a 204 donor gun or would a 223 Rem. be better?

Will this conversion require more than a barrel swap? (I would prefer to not get into messing with the bolt face)

 

[Preacher]

If your going to do a barrel swap, either one you mentioned will work just fine..

 

[VaniB]

Welcome! You can save yourself some headache by seeking out your CZ rifle in the 221 Fireball cartridge only. I can tell you for certain that the magazine box in the Remington 700 has a special block in it to accomodate the shorter cartridge so it feeds properly. The follower is also shorter. As well, the ejector in the Remington bolt face is milled into a different position then the 204 or 17 so that the shorter Fireball case will be dragged out of the chamber to be thrown clear of the rifle properly. I would not doubt if the CZ rifle, like the Remington, has special differences also designed into it, to accomodate the shorter Fireball case. People that already have a 204 or 17 will go ahead and do the conversion anyway. But, if you are going out of your way to buy a donor rifle, you might as well go for the proper action to start with.

Because the CZ 527 uses a detachable magazine, I would research that particuler rifle carefully to confirm if any or all of the concerns that I mentioned above with the Remington 700 would still apply to the CZ rifle as well. When in doubt, consult with a gunsmith who has actually done these conversions. (Somebody like Bob Green or Greg Tannel who are fine smiths for this job.)

 

[Ferris Wheels]

Great information and I will seek out some additional advice from the two gunsmiths noted. I really appreciate the details response VaniB.

 

[BigDMT]

I am wanting to do a 20 Vartarg conversion using a CZ527 Varmint action which comes in 17 Hornet, 17 Rem., 204 Ruger and 223 Rem. What I am a little confused on is which cartridge would be the best candidate for a donor rifle. The 204 and the 20 Vartarg have almost the same OAL. The 223 Rem and 204 Ruger use the same bolt face I assume and are from the same parent cartridge the .222 Rem.

.....

Will this conversion require more than a barrel swap? (I would prefer to not get into messing with the bolt face)

Just for clarification;
First of all, the 204 Ruger has a much longer OAL than the 20 VarTarg. Secondly, the 223 and 204 are NOT from the same parent case. The 223 does indeed stem from the 222 Remington. BUT, the 204 Ruger was based on the 222 Remington "Magnum" case. Big difference between the standard 222 and the 222 Magnum.

If you want to keep things as simple and as inexpensive as possible, I would suggest you get a .204 Ruger rifle and just cut the chamber back until you have a 20 VarTarg. It would be quite simple for a skilled gunsmith to do. Otherwise I would recommend just re-barreling any action with a .378" bolt face.

Magazine feeding will be a whole different issue. I prefer to just shoot that caliber with a single shot follower and no ejector in the bolt so I can just grab the case from my bolt face and place it back in the ammo box for reloading. It can be fed from a magazine with some feed ramp and magazine mods, but the toughest part is getting the bullet tip to enter the chamber area of the barrel before it springs free from the grip of the magazine. Many times if the magazine lets the case body go before the bullet enters the chamber, the bullet tip will jam up against the front side of the barrel.

If you just bought a 221 Fireball rifle and re-barreled it, the feeding issue would already be solved, but then you would have the cost of re-barreling the rifle.

 

[NorCalMikie]

Ask the folks at Saubier.com. Lost of them live and breath the 20 VT and the CZ rifles.

 

[th82457]

I have a CZ 527 that was a .221 Fireball I had re-barreled with a Douglas premium barrel in 20 VT. My favorite gun - very accurate and feeds flawlessly. The 20VT will need a CZ .221 clip if you decide to use anything other than a .221 donor rifle as the OAL cartridge length is much shorter that any .222, .223 or .204, and the .221 clip and follower are made for this shorter length. Good Luck, you will not be sorry.