Could owners of this rifle tell me their impressions. I am fairly well commited to buying one in .223 Remington. I have been amassing brass on EBAY. Fixation is a bette word, I have 4500 rounds so far and Dillon dies (Christmas present from the little lady)and no rifle, nor bullets, proper powder. I am definitely putting the cart before the horse here.

What loads do you find work well. Is it sensitive to bullet seating depth? I have a Dillon 550B that a good friend deposited on my door step a few weeks ago and am ready to load until I drop. He brought his magnum research .223 by a few months ago and I have never shot anything that made such tiny groups. He is lucky he was able to take it home with him. They are just more money than I want to spend on one of these at this time.

Hello,
I had the opportunity to handle a CZ 527 American at a hunt in Arizona. It had been rechambered to 17 Mach 4. I was impressed with this little rifle, it has a set trigger mechanism that is very crisp and light.

If you want to learn much more about the CZ than I can tell you, get in touch with Shaun Frame over at www.coyotegods.com

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Safety & Ethics,Accuracy, Velocity, Energy
Joe M

I own three CZ rifles and all three are fantastic shooting rifles. Bullet weight will be determined by your twist in the bore. The 223 in most cases will like powders like H-335, Rel-7, N-133. Slow twist will like the light weight bullets, fast twist will like the heavy bullets. Most accurate seating depth of the bullet must be found through testing. In many cases just touching the lands to .005 off will produce the best groups. You will find poor results from mixed lots of brass. You must stick to one brand of brass for best results. I have always had very good results using Winchester brass and Federal pirmers. The brand and weight of bullet will depend on your rifle.

I own two cz rifles and an old brno all shoot well and represent good value for money. I would be suprised to hear if you bought one and after working through a few load recipies did not find one that shoots. After some fiddling around I have found a load using the 45 gr sierra that shoots sub moa from my cz 527 hornet.

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[This message has been edited by PC (edited 12-28-2001).]

Excellenr rifle, stand up very well and shoot very well.
Between myself and friends we have 3, all very accurate.

With 4500 rds..fixation..oh yes. so sturdy is a must.LOL

I have the carbine in 7.62x39 and out of the box with factory UMC ammo it will shoot 1" all day. I think the .223 is better in that the magazine doesn't hang down so far.

I was taliking to one of the editors the other day and he showed me a nice maple stocked 527 in .22 hornet. Very nice little rifle but then he showed me the targets. VERY small little groups.

If you get some hand loads that work please let me know as I just took delivery of a cheap stevens .223 and will be trying my hand at handloading for it. My Ruger simply loves that cheap White box winchester ammo and it consistently shoots 5/8" groups at 100 yds. I've been wnating to step up from the 45 grain bullets though.

I have on in .22 Hornet. Most accurate gun right out of the box I have ever owned. My wife has shot sub 1/3 inch groups with it using my handloads (13 grains of Lil'Gun under a 35 grain V-MAX).

Picked up a slightly used carbine several years ago in .223. 50 grain Nosler and Sierra with 4198 would do in the 5s all day long. The American seems to be more accurate. Worked through some problems with the clips but nothing serious. Used the set trigger for a while but it just wasn’t for me. Replaced the spring with a little softer and slightly longer one. Don’t use the set anymore.

I really like this action. Very slick with a firm lock up.

Developed a unique problem this spring in testing. I started piercing primers. Looking at the firing pin under a magnifying glass I could see it was more bevelled than round. Rounded it slightly and haven’t pierced a primer since.

Not being able to leave much alone, I rebarreled with a 1 in 8 and restocked it with a thumbhole.

Jim

Chic: I have a CZ 527 in .223. It began life as a CZ 527 Lux. I glassbedded the action area and the first inch and one-half of the barrel. It was extremely accurate and loved 50 grain Hornady SX bullets on top of 28 grains of Winchester 748 in Remington cases with the bullet seated just .01 inch off the lands. Like I said that was its original shape. I had refinished the stock with GB Linspeed Oil, but I just could not get used to the hump in the lux stock. I was finding it difficult to find the scope quickly. So, I ordered one of the CZ aftermarket fancy grade American Walnut stocks from CZ here in Kansas City. The darn thing came and I was expecting an ordinary stock. What I got was a stick of wood which looks a lot like a chunk of chocolate fudge. Damn that thing is pretty. I had to do some minor inletting to allow for the rear sight band, then I freefloated and glassbeded the action area and first inch and one-half of the barrel. That thing will punch half-inch five shot groups with propper cooling with the above load, as well as with H335 powder too. A buddy of mine when I used to live in Grants, New Mexico wanted to pillar bed it, so I let him. It didn't improve accuracy any, but it didn't take away accuracy either, so my glassbedding job to begin with must have been good. My brother owns a CZ 527 American in .221 Fireball and it is a tackdriver too. I own a CZ 550 American in 7x57mm and it is a three-shot, half inch grouping rifle with the 162 grain Hornady SST. My brother also owns a CZ 550 Full Stock in 7x57mm and that puppy is accurate as heck with the 160 gr Nosler Partition. The only reason I bring up rifles you did not ask about is to show a trend CZ enjoys in the shooting industry ... the company manufactures accurate rifles. The barrels are supposed to be freefloated, at least that is what I was told. I also had very good luck, accuracy-wise with the 55 grain Sierra frangible bullets. The CZ 550 American has a 1x12 twist barrel. I have no problems with the magazine. Some people seem to object to them, but they do not bother me at all. One of the other posters said not to mix brass and he is right. It'll shoot okay, but you won't get your accuracy potential realized. With this little outfit I popped p-dogs with regularity out to 350 yards with regularity. I have an el-cheapo Simmons Whitetail Classic in 6.5x20x50 on top and it has done a fantastic job for me. Before I left Grants I shot a p-dog at a lasered 468 yards with it on a windless day in the Cebolla Wilderness Area south of Grants, New Mexico. It was one hell of a shot which was witnessed by a good friend. He was on the laser and I was on the rifle. When the p-dog popped my bud put the laser down and said that was the best shot he ever saw. I didn't say much, but we left that area within minutes. Why tempt truth. Hell, I already made the shot once and didn't know if I could do it again, so it was best (for me) to leave. My buddy still talks about that shot. I think you will be very pleasantly surprised by the little rifle. Tom Purdom

I have a 527 in .222 that I like a lot. In the accuracy dept. it does not compare to a good varmint rifle. It, however is a great walk around target of oportunity rifle. Had a slight feed problem as received but a little stoneing corrected that nicely.

The wood is just beautiful. Some feel the finish is too dark and detracts from the natural attractiveness of the wood itself. Mine is just fine the way it is. For what I bought it for it is a real pluse. Useing the set trigger in the field might take some getting use to. roger

Awesome rifle, I have one in 221 fireball. Will shoot 3/4" or less with 90% of the loads I have tried. Shoots the better loads into .5" or less. Great single set trigger. Very nice wood bluing is good. A well made quality rifle.
You will not be disapointed.

I have one also in 221 fireball. What a piece of shit. Accuracy in mediocore at 1.5 at a hundred yards. My biggest complaint is that the bolt travel is so rough it's hard to chamber a round. I would never buy another.

quote:

Originally posted by M16:
I have one also in 221 fireball. What a piece of shit. Accuracy in mediocore at 1.5 at a hundred yards. My biggest complaint is that the bolt travel is so rough it's hard to chamber a round. I would never buy another.

You commented about that crummy CZ a good while back; wanna sell it to another Texan? We might both be happier then!

quote:

Originally posted by Mulerider:

quote:

Originally posted by M16:
I have one also in 221 fireball. What a piece of shit. Accuracy in mediocore at 1.5 at a hundred yards. My biggest complaint is that the bolt travel is so rough it's hard to chamber a round. I would never buy another.

You commented about that crummy CZ a good while back; wanna sell it to another Texan? We might both be happier then!

Forgot to mention before but there were a few burrs and sharps also that had to be stoned. The extracter was getting gauled badly and as M16 testified, the bolt did not work freely. roger

quote:

You commented about that crummy CZ a good while back; wanna sell it to another Texan? We might both be happier then!

PM me with an offer I can't refuse and it's yours. All trades considered. I bought a Remington .221 and am happy with it.

Have one in hornet and really like it as a walkaround varminter out to 200 yards . Great wood and great trigger after a little work .
The safety took a few outings to get used to but no problem now .
MOA accuracy for 5 shots without a lot of work .
Bolt smoothed up nicely on mine after a hundred or two rounds .Was never bad to start with though .

i have a 527 in 223. it's the only rifle i've ever had that will shoot 1/2 moa right out of the box(27.5 grns win 748 and a 50 grn nosler solid base) i also have one that started as a 7.62x39 and is now a 6PPC. both guns are more accurate than i can shoot.

I agree with the crowd. I just bought one in .223 and love it. Set trigger is great!!!

I have one in .223, and it is a great shooter. I do not like the set trigger - too light! Mine likes W-748 or H-335 with 40 gr Ballistic Tips or V-Maxs and 50 gr of the same type or the Speer TNT HPs. Well under an inch groups, consistently.

I have both the .22 Hornet and the .221 and can't say enough great things about them.

Both shoot exceedingly well. To be honest I am still trying to find the optimal load for the Fireball. I have only tried 40 grain bullets to date and am thinking of moving to 50 grain pills. I have only tried LilGun and H322 for powders, so I still have a ways to go.
The Hornet loves 40 grain Sierra blitzs, CCI small rifle primers, and a case full of LilGun.
It is a pleasure to shoot. I used it this weekend to kill 9 crows, 2 cats and a big red fox. 12 shots and 12 kills, at ranges from 40 yards to 200.

Chic: I quit drinking 14 years ago, but to look at my post you wouldn't know it. You asked specific questions and I took it all over the board. Sorry! I find my little CZ 527 a real go-to rifle. It is light, about 6 pounds and 3 ounces. Add my scope with the CZ 527 rings and it brings the weight up to 7.5 pounds. I have never fired any factory ammo through my rifle, just reloads. The American has a 1x12 twist and it does an outstanding job with 50 grain projectiles and 55 grain projectiles. I have never fired, nor loaded, any other grain weight. My rifle really loves Winchester 748 and H335 powder. I can really get honest half inch five shot groups with this little rig and when I say little, I mean little. It is a petite rifle, a mini-mauser really. My scope is really a bit much for this rifle, but the price was right for the 6.5x20x50 Simmons Whitetail Classic at $99. That big 50mm lens up there looks like I mounted a television set on top of my rifle, but boy does it shoot. I did a lot of aftermarket work to mine, but that is by choice, not necessity. I like to glassbed action areas so that is what I did. The rifle comes up nice, and points nice. The rifle cycles very smoothly. If you are getting one, I would highly recommend ordering a couple extra magazine clip springs from CZ-USA in Kansas City, Kansas. I have broken two of them while putting the barreled action back into the stock when I tried to force the issue. The trigger is very easily adjustable. You can addjust for trigger pull weight, creep and overtravel. I have mine adjusted to break clean just at 2.5 pounds. The set portion of the trigger is also adjustable, although I have never messed with it, adjusting it, I mean. I only use the trigger when shooting p-dogs and I use the set trigger when punching paper. When I got my first CZ rifle, the CZ 550 American in 7x57mm I looked for the set trigger and at first thought I got screwed by the company, until I pushed the trigger forward to activate the set feature. You'd never know you have a set trigger there just by first looking at the rifle. The .223 Remington I had before was a Howa 1500 Lightning. It was a very accurate rifle too, but there was something about the CZ that drew me to it. I am very glad that I decided to buy it. All that said, as I'm sure you already know, any manufacturer mass-producing rifles can churn out one that is a lemon. It can happen to CZ as well. However, overall, take a look on these and other forums at the people who have negative comments about rifles and note the manufacturers. You'll see very, very few negative things said about CZ rifles.