Now I just have to make up my mind which one . Looking at remington 700 , cz American 527 and Ruger km77vt. Anyone have an opinion?

[ 12-02-2002, 09:32: Message edited by: jim81147 ]

Jim: Go with the CZ 527 American.I have one in the Lux condition in .223 Remington and it is shaping up to be one heck of a rifle. I do not like the finish CZ puts on their firearms, so I took the Gorilla Snot off and refinished with several coats of Lindspeed Oil and I glassbedded the action. The rifle is a micro-version of the Mauser. It is one sweet little rifle and for $429 plus $18 shipping you cannot go wrong. I also have a CZ 550 American in 7x57mm Mauser. Refinished it also, glassbedded the action, free-floated the barrel, then had the bolt handle polished to its nickel color and jewelled the bolt with the small herringbone pattern. It is one drop-dead beautiful rifle and it shoots like a dream. I am still working on .223 Remington loads. Again, you'll be happy with a CZ.

Thomas, How "glossy" are the stocks on the 527 American? I'm going to be getting one in .223 next week. I like high gloss wood, so if thats the case, it's not a problem. This will be my first CZ rifle. From what I've heard, I won't be dissapointed. Everyone seems to really like them. This rifle comes with rings. How do you like them? I'm assuming they are all steel also. This is the one thing that drew me to this gun. All steel and Walnut, no Aluminum or plastic. I think a lot of gunmakers have gotten carried away with Tupperware and Aluminum. One can only hope CZ doesn't follow suit. Bill T.

Bill T_ The CZ stocks are matt finish or dull finish. I re-finished both my CZ 527 and my CZ 550 with Lindspeed Oil. I too like the gloss finish and I stand hunt because of health considerations,so it is not that big of a deal to me. Besides, one many CZs, there is really some pretty wood beneath that finish they use, but the true beauty will not be seen because it is covered with the finish. CZ uses Turkish Walnut for its stocks. The 527 is one sweet little rifle. It is a scaled-down Mauser. Even the stock feels scaled down, not to a kid's size, but scaled down to fit an adult.I have the Lux version. I would recommend you get the American version as I feel that the rifles destined for mostly the American market have just a bit better finish with the inletting. If you have further questions don't hesitate to e-mail me at the address on my profile. Good luck with your rifle. I'm sure you will really like it. Tom Purdom

I have the Ruger 77VT in 223. The barrel is a heavy weight varmit/target barrel that is fully floated and has a nice trigger to start with straight from the factory. I am going to bed the action the winter. Out of the box, it has been a great shooter without any problems. The wide forearm on the stock makes a nice stable resting point. The Rugers come with 1" rings and a good soild mounting designed right into the action. With the factory loads that I have been using it is grouping inside a nickle for 5 shots. I have yet to work up any loads for it yet, which is on the list after the action. Good luck with whichever one you choose.

I've never shot either the CZ or a Ruger 77. I have a REmington model 700 VS in 223. It is extremely accurate, in my opinion. It's completely stock and will easily shoot under 1/2 inch at 100 yards with my handloads - Win 748 under most 50-55 grain projectiles seem to work well. The fit and finish are excellent, and the stock is really cool - neat colors and texture. The only change that I would consider would be cutting the barrel to 20 inches and recrowning - just to make it a bit less unweildy. I'm afraid to wreck the accuracy, so I probably never will do this, however.

i think if you get a cz you won't be sorry. they are a great deal as far as $$$ is concerned. also, and i've said this before so i hope i'm not getting to sound like a broken record but,...my 527 american in 223 is the best shooting, out of the box rifle i've ever owned. good luck with your choice...cheers...bud

Jim, you might want to order you a bunch of cleaned and primer pocket swagged 223 brass from Midway. It's a great deal and cheap way to have all the cases you want.

I never saw a 223 that was hard to get along with or make shoot. You'll like it.

I really like that IMI brass, that has the necks annealed, it's cheap and works great, long life and I use it for my 6x45 also...