CZ 527 American

[Alex Wheeler]

Looking at one of these in .223. I think it may be better suited for my use than the varmint. Question is, for you guys that own one, how light is the barrel? How may shots can I take before accuracy suffers? I know some of those pencil barrels get hot really fast. I have a heavy barreled rig already, but dont want a gun that can only take a few shots and the barrel starts walking.
Thanks

 

[BigDMT]

Send a PM with questions to "L.Sherm" he has a couple of them and really likes em. Though he has custom heavy varmint barrels on both rifles so he might not be able to comment on the sustained accuracy of the factory barrels. One is chambered in 17 PeeWee, the other 20 Practical. His brother's 20 Vartarg might be on that action too, cant remember.

I do know that the one thing he doesnt like, and I agree as well, is how the magazine sticks down from the stock and can catch on things. Just a matter of personal preference though Im sure.

The factory barrels on them are about the same as any other normal sporter rifle. about a #3 contour or so. Never know how any barrel will shoot til you try it though. if you use a very temp stable powder that ladder tests well with your best load, a barrel would probably have to get pretty hot before it starts walking badly on you.

 

[fredhorace77]

ive owned 3 so far...things i like ...set trigger,detachable mag, micro action, the barrels are hand lapped from factory or at least as far as a bore scope told me, light weight, very very accurate, quailty built, free floated cold hammered forged barrels, gun comes with rings from factory


things i dont like, mag hangs out to far, very very hard to find any replacement parts, hardly no aftermarket parts, have to keep scope mounted high to clear bolt handle, only come in blued wish they had stainless. top cap screws for rings are slotted head that strip easily. safety is backwards compared to other American firearms (forawrd is safe/ back is fire)

stick with 3-4 shot groups as with any pencil barrel 5 consecutive shots is going to warm it up

 

[th82457]

I own (3) 527 American's and (1) 527 Varmint. (.20 VT, .223, .204, .222 Mag.) I have owned and sold two other American's (.204, .222) that were also very accurate. One of the American's is a .223. As stated above backward's safety and clip are a nuisance, otherwise excellent guns. My American's will all hold very good 5+ shot strings or more without any significant loss of accuracy. The one thing to watch on these is to make sure the bedding is clean and there are no tight spots in barrel channel. If barrel is floated properly - you should be very happy. Set trigger is nice for precision bench work. With hand loads that each gun likes - I can get .5" or smaller 5 shot groups on a consistent basis. The varmint model does hold up slightly better for an extended string - but is a lot more to haul around for hunting.

 

[Ed333]

MIne is a Mannlicher stock, very handy, accuracy seems to hold up well for five round strings (unlike my Tikka T3 Stainless Lite in .223, amazingly accurate for 3 rounds, rounds 4 and 5 are flyers, but it has thin pencil barrel). Unlike others, i do not mind the magazine, for shooting offhand it provides a nice little palm platform for me.
But for a varmint gun, I would be looking at one of the single shot Savages, I love my model 12 LRPV with left hand port.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Thanks guys,
I am going to use it as a walking rock chuck and gopher gun. But sometimes you set up on a good field and shoot a lot. I will have a varmint barreled rifle for that though. The varmint is, I think, 1.3 lb heavier. thats a lot. Could the bolt handle be ground and cold blued to clear the scope or is it too much interference?
Alex

 

[Bangs OH]

I had one in .221. Agree with everything re. them posted above. Would add that the report/muzzle blast from that barrel seemed loud for the round shot through it. Thought it might have been the steel as much as the contour; got so annoying I traded it for a Cooper which isn't as bad. Seems like I worked around the mostly-vertical stringing as the barrel warmed by switching between the regular and set triggers, as one's poi was consistently 1 1/2" directly above/below the other. Was good enough for <200 yard groundhog work at the time, but wouldn't guarantee it for a different 527 rifle or load.
My next CZ - a .204 - will be in the Varmint configuration, btw.
Rather than grinding and blueing the bolt handle, I'd instead spend less time and labor on a James Calhoon re-bend. Not that much $, and will look nicer.

 

[fredhorace77]

i think calhoon grinds them...not bend. but to verify check his website. he may have changed his technique since i last looked into it

just checked it again. he uses the word "sculptured".
http://www.jamescalhoon.com/

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Just checked his site. Definitely looks like a grind job. Should take about 5 minutes and a little cold blue. What rings do you guys like?

Bangs, how many shot before POI changed? Is that why you are going to the varmint model?

 

[fredhorace77]

IMO if your going to do the bolt handle conversion id go with calhoons hugger mounts for the rings...otherwise theres no need to do the bolt handle conversion...i may be wrong about this but i dont think anyone else makes lower mount rings for the cz 527 (lower than factory i mean)...like i mentioned before thats one of the things that was so frustrating about the cz is that there is very little to choose from when it comes to customizing the gun...sometimes items can be found but you usually pay alot for it..when i last looked into customizing my cz to get it setup like i wanted it ...i could have set up a short barreled remington for half the cost..just my 2 cents...but the cz's are still very very good accurate rifles but very hard to customize for various personal like ings.

for a pencil barreled rifle the cz will surprise you...these little barrels are wicked accurate. sometimes more accurate than some of my heavier barreled guns. Remember a smaller tapered barrel does heat up faster but it also cools quicker.. if your going to be doing strings of 8 shots or more go with the heavier barrel...less than that and this cz should do everything u need it to do

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Thanks. For now I may leave it alone. If it comes with rings, I will save my $85 those other rings cost. They only drop it .125''. I'll throw a cheek pad on if it needs one. I keep going back and forth between the two models. I am sure either will do fine. 8 shots would be a lot but it may happen. In the gopher field it will happen, shooting rock chucks or coyotes, probably not. Wish I could get my hands on both to see how they feel.

 

[th82457]

Warne makes a very nice set of rings for a 527. They run about $50. The American version is a very handy, great pointing rifle for hunting. The Varmint version is a bit steadier on a bench - but more cumbersome in the field. I think you will be very happy with a 527 American - hard to beat for the money.

 

[fredhorace77]

+1 on the above post...ive got one kevlar varmint in 204 and the other 2 are 223 527 americans. sadly the kevlar varm. stays in the safe most of time. i dont know if its age or what it is but i find myself going for shorter lighter guns all the time. in my early 20's i thought i needed a 28" varm. barrel for one shot on a deer. boy has my thinking changed over time

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Thanks, I needed to hear that. I will go with the American, what is the heaviest bullet the 12 twist shoots well? What bullets do you guys prefer? I picked up some 40 gr nosler varmagedin bullets, as it was all that was in stock. I have rl 7 and 10 as well.

 

[fredhorace77]

so far the heaviest ive tried is the factory load winchester 64gr. power point for deer hunting...stabelizes fine...biggest problem with the heavies is getting them to load in the magazine...i never have understood why they promote a 1:9 twist barrel so much when you cant get a 75gr. bullet to fit into the magazine with out taking up half of the cart's powder space...my go to load for hog, coyote, is 60 hornady v-max, 60gr. Sierra HP Varm. with varget....Also run the 40gr. vmax with benchmark with very good results

One of the nicest things about my cz's is its hard to find a load that will not shoot...i have yet to see a group over .750" out of mine...even the crazy reduce loads made with trailboss and a 55gr. blitzking hold .500" at 50 yards and they are only doing about 1650fps

 

[th82457]

I load my CZ .223 with 40 to 53 grain varmint bullets. Seems to handle most of them very well. I have had good results with H4198, H322, IMR8208XBR & CFE223 powders.

 

[sbranden]

The CZ 527 Americans are GREAT walking varminters. I have one in 22 hornet, and the accuracy -- even on that old round, is pretty unbelievable. I would highly recommend this packaging to anyone serious about hunting. The set trigger is a real plus also I find when taking off-hand shots. If you don't like the mag, get a Calhoon "single shot follower". Nice quality piece that makes your magazine fit flush with the stock, and works great at the bench! I wouldn't worry about scopes/cheek weld too much either. I changed out the mounts that came standard for another set that were just slightly higher, and in gloss to match the gun better, and that actually bumped me up just enough to mount a Nikon Monarch UCC 4.5-16.5x44mm scope but kept it nice a low still, with just enough bolt clearance in the back. I couldn't be more pleased with this setup.

 

[onelastshot]

I have the rifle in 223. All in all, it's quality workmanship and my groupings have been surprising better than most factory guns I have owned. The only problem I've had and to date have not resolved is the damn bolt starts to stick in the action. I disassembled the bolt twice, used heavy cleaning solvents, oiled and reassembled. I've also used heavy cleaning solvents in the chamber to make certain there is no build up.

After 45-50 shots, the problem begins once again.

 

[tjtjwdad]

I have one in 204 and after the barrel channel was free floated and bedded it is a real hammer, with several different loads. Some are 5-shot groups smaller 1/2' @ 200 yards. Having said that, it would not by my only 204 I'd use in a hot rat-patch because the barrel would heat up very quickly. I do use it for that with a couple of other 204's but these days it is my walk about varmint rig.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Well, I picked up a 527. What a neat gun! One question. I found that the rear corner of the bolt handle rides against the action just in front of the safety, when closing the bolt. The bolt handle kind of acts like a closing cam. It does not touch when the bolt is closed. Is this normal?