CZ 527 Input Needed

[Mike in Oregon]

I would like to hear about this action, as I'm considering adding a varmint model to my list of must haves. The 17 Hornet and 222 are what I would want. Weigh-ins appreciated.

Mike...

 

[Oso]

CZ527 is a fantastic action with quality metal magazines, and a factory single set trigger. I’ve had the rifle in 223, 300BO, and 7.62x39.

I don’t have specifics on the 17 Hornet or 222. What I can tell you is that the 222 Rem. magazine is shorter than the 223 Rem. magazine.

 

[FoxTales]

I built a semi custom 223 on a 527 action and I've never regretted it .
Spares are no longer readily available over here or at least not easy to come by . I suspect that would be different on your side of the pond . On our last visit to Prague I visited the factory shop and bought action bolts , extractor collars and an extractor just in case . Though there's very few reliability issues that I'm aware of .
I couldn't get on with the factory trigger and had it replaced with a Timney . The 550 uses the same trigger , be aware the 550 magnum trigger blade is longer and will foul the guard .
Picatinny rails can be bought and slide onto the dovetail .

 

[titus123]

My Wife has one in 17 Hornet. It shoots very well with CFE BLK and the 20gr VMax. It shoots even better with a single shot follower ( can find on eBay for $20 or so). The magazines are a bit restrictive on loaded cartridge length, but the single shot follower allows for a longer seating length. The hard part is finding one that runs less than $1200 now.

 

[Mike in Oregon]

My Wife has one in 17 Hornet. It shoots very well with CFE BLK and the 20gr VMax. It shoots even better with a single shot follower ( can find on eBay for $20 or so). The magazines are a bit restrictive on loaded cartridge length, but the single shot follower allows for a longer seating length. The hard part is finding one that runs less than $1200 now.

No kidding, I was finding them, but all are 4-didget figures. Then I thought, maybe doing a build using a Howa mini. Hum............

 

[titus123]

No kidding, I was finding them, but all are 4-didget figures. Then I thought, maybe doing a build using a Howa mini. Hum...........

 

[titus123]

I bought hers in late 2021 right before CZ decided to discontinue the 527 actions. If I remember correctly I bought it, and 400 rounds of the Federal Predator 20gr. ammo for around $900 and some change

 

[SD guy]

Before the CZ 527 was discontinued this had been a sweet light weight action to build a number of short action chambering light weight walk about. Though guy that does not care for the action could easily find reason to go a different rout.

Personally I have had a quit a few of the CZ527 chambering ranging from the 17 Hornet to the 7.62 x39. My favorite may be the 221 Fireball as factory chambering went. Rebarreling the 221 Fireball to 20 vartarg makes for a super linght rifle that outperforms most expectations.

Today My favorite CZ527 has been re-barreled to 6mm ARC. This one started off as a 7.62 x 39. Today they are generally selling for more than I would care to give for one. That being said I do not feel that any other rifle currently offered fills the void left behind, when CZ discontinued the 527 lineup.

 

[SD guy]

Personally I have done the Howa 6mm Arc as well as the CZ 527 in 6mm ARC. Hands down, I prefer the CZ527. That is me personally. A few others seem to prefer the Howa over the CZ 527. Only you can decide. Without a doubt the price point & availability of the Howa, tends to make it easier to favor the Howa.

 

[rayh]

My Wife has one in 17 Hornet. It shoots very well with CFE BLK and the 20gr VMax. It shoots even better with a single shot follower ( can find on eBay for $20 or so). The magazines are a bit restrictive on loaded cartridge length, but the single shot follower allows for a longer seating length. The hard part is finding one that runs less than $1200 now.

The single shot follower really helps with feeding. Roy B. used to shorten the CZ magazine and did a great job which improve the looks. The trigger guard needs modified and he did both. Short cases are a bear to feed even with single shot follower. Spend a day shooting 4-500 gophers and your figures will let you know. The trigger is easy to get to 1 lb single stage and clean. They are good strong actions. I went so far and made stock patterns for varmint and sporter stocks for my guns. But parts would worry me. The last I got from CZ took almost a year and that was when they were making the guns. I have a new Hornet action and can't decide what to do with it just because of parts. I'm a big CZ fan but I wouldn't spend big money on one today.

 

[B23]

Before CZ discontinued their 527 line they were a good value and appropriately priced with a new one costing 6-650 bucks. Like many of these other guys I've a number of them in 17 Rem, 204 Ruger and two 17 Hornady Hornets. All of mine were the "Varmint" models and shot about as good as any factory rifle can.

The only 527's I still have are the two 17 Hornets. The little 17HH in a CZ 527 is a really sweet and fun little gun to shoot ground squirrels with. Screw a suppressor on one and you'll giggle like a little girl every time you pull the trigger. They aren't very loud to start with but with a suppressor they are just crazy quiet and sound about like a pellet gun. A lot of rimfire suppressor are 17HH rated so no need for a much bigger CF can. The rimfire cans I use on my 17HH's only weighs 4 oz.

Unfortunately, CZ in all their wisdom discontinued the 527's a few years ago which has made them go from being a good value to IMO a grossly overpriced factory rifle that is no where near worth the price they are fetching. The 17 Hornets tend to command some of the highest prices of any 527 I've seen often going for 1500-1500++ depending on condition. It's always nice to see something you have substantially go up in value but IMHO they are nowhere near worth that kind of price tag.

The CZ 527's chambered in 17HH can be a little quirky with regard to feeding and until you figure out how to cycle the bolt they can frustrate the hell out of you but once you figure it out or someone tells/shows you the trick it makes everything all better. FYI, the trick is when cycling the bolt forward to load another round let go of the bolt handle and just push the bolt forward with your thumb. You can also lift up on the bolt handle as you cycle it forward helps a lot too. The actions are fairly crude and the bolt has a lot of movement in the raceways. The 17 Rem and 204 Ruger I had didn't have any feeding issues but the little Hornet case isn't without its quirks.

I got my single shot followers for my two 17HH from James Calhoon but I actually prefer to use the magazines better.

The factory Hornady/Federal/American Eagle 17HH ammo generally shoots really well in the CZ 527's. I'm not a big fan of loading for the 17's because those damn bullets are so tiny but when I do 12.2gr AA1680 w/20gr Vmax and Rem 7 1/2 shoots really well in both of mine.

 

[Mark W]

As a 527 owner, I agree with most of the sentiments above. They were great little rifles for the price, but nowhere near what they sell for these days. Of course, I won’t be selling mine anything soon…..lol. I have thought about offloading a 550 Varmint Kevlar in 22-250 though.

 

[titus123]

As a 527 owner, I agree with most of the sentiments above. They were great little rifles for the price, but nowhere near what they sell for these days. Of course, I won’t be selling mine anything soon…..lol. I have thought about offloading a 550 Varmint Kevlar in 22-250 though.

Would make a good donor for a fast twist 22BR

 

[Oso]

A couple of weeks ago my brother in Alaska walked into LGS and finds a CZ527 Carbine (7.62x39) that may not have been shot or so little that it’s undetectable. He called me to see if he should buy it for $650?! He is a happy camper.

I own a few of the Howa Mini’s, and they are slightly larger than the CZ527. I prefer the CZ527, but I can live with the Howa Mini. If you are patient then you can buy the Howa Mini barreled action on sale for $40o and then double down with a 15% discount coupon … $340. The 20” barrel is a little heavier and comes threaded, whereas the 22” barrel is a lighter profile with no threaded muzzle. Plan to upgrade the trigger and perhaps also the by upgrading the bottom metal. The Howa factory polymer mags are the Achilles Hill with well documented history of questionable reliability. I expect reliability…

1) Jefferson Outdoors offers a bottom metal conversion kit that utilizes CZ527 magazine
2) Oregunsmith offers a replacement internal box magazine with hinged floor plate.

I have both of these upgrades in rifles and can’t complain.

 

[Mike in Oregon]

Before CZ discontinued their 527 line they were a good value and appropriately priced with a new one costing 6-650 bucks. Like many of these other guys I've a number of them in 17 Rem, 204 Ruger and two 17 Hornady Hornets. All of mine were the "Varmint" models and shot about as good as any factory rifle can.

The only 527's I still have are the two 17 Hornets. The little 17HH in a CZ 527 is a really sweet and fun little gun to shoot ground squirrels with. Screw a suppressor on one and you'll giggle like a little girl every time you pull the trigger. They aren't very loud to start with but with a suppressor they are just crazy quiet and sound about like a pellet gun. A lot of rimfire suppressor are 17HH rated so no need for a much bigger CF can. The rimfire cans I use on my 17HH's only weighs 4 oz.

Unfortunately, CZ in all their wisdom discontinued the 527's a few years ago which has made them go from being a good value to IMO a grossly overpriced factory rifle that is no where near worth the price they are fetching. The 17 Hornets tend to command some of the highest prices of any 527 I've seen often going for 1500-1500++ depending on condition. It's always nice to see something you have substantially go up in value but IMHO they are nowhere near worth that kind of price tag.

The CZ 527's chambered in 17HH can be a little quirky with regard to feeding and until you figure out how to cycle the bolt they can frustrate the hell out of you but once you figure it out or someone tells/shows you the trick it makes everything all better. FYI, the trick is when cycling the bolt forward to load another round let go of the bolt handle and just push the bolt forward with your thumb. You can also lift up on the bolt handle as you cycle it forward helps a lot too. The actions are fairly crude and the bolt has a lot of movement in the raceways. The 17 Rem and 204 Ruger I had didn't have any feeding issues but the little Hornet case isn't without its quirks.

I got my single shot followers for my two 17HH from James Calhoon but I actually prefer to use the magazines better.

The factory Hornady/Federal/American Eagle 17HH ammo generally shoots really well in the CZ 527's. I'm not a big fan of loading for the 17's because those damn bullets are so tiny but when I do 12.2gr AA1680 w/20gr Vmax and Rem 7 1/2 shoots really well in both of mine.

Do you really need two 17 Hornets

 

[SD guy]

Need

 

[White Eagle]

I have one in 22 k hornet it is a sweet rifle
you can't go wrong if you like to have one buy it you won't regret that decision

 

[danny]

Do you really need two 17 Hornets

If it's anything like me with regular Hornets, the answer is NO. He needs three......at least.

Danny

 

[FoxTales]

It's interesting reading the prices the 527 demands over there and I expected parts to be more readily available . I'm beginning to wish I'd bought more in the way of spares when I visited their shop .

I think it's worth mentioning the bottom metal and action are paired , for instance the Hornet bottom metal won't fit the action for a 223 Rem . The magazine well inlet varies to accommodate the appropriate bottom metal although the footprint remains constant . Worth noting if planning a build on a 527 action .

 

[B23]

Do you really need two 17 Hornets

Hmmm, "need"?? Ohh me so sorry I no comprende.

I learned long ago that when it comes to any and all things firearms related "need" aint got nuttin to do wit it because if "need" were a prerequisite before any kind of firearms related purchase I would have a lot more empty space in my gun room and a hell of a lot more money in my wallet and my guess is I'm in good company with that because I think there are a whole bunch of you the same way.

These are my two CZ 527 17HH's. They're both solid little guns with decent wood but as you can see unlike some of you I didn't hit the wood lottery with mine in fact I've never hit the wood lottery with any 527 I've had. All mine have just had ok wood but I've sure seen some factory 527's with really nice wood on them it's just none of them were mine.