Finally picked up a CZ 527 Varmint!

[TwinTurbskis]

Wanted to share a recent win with you all. Finally pulled the trigger on a secondhand 527 Varmint in .223 after searching for a reasonably priced one for quite some time. Slapped on a cheap vortex scope I had on hand (I will put a nicer scope on it soon) and took it out to AGC this past weekend and shot a few groups with some generic PMC bronze. Even with that ammo it shot pretty darn well. The set trigger is also pretty fantastic. I'm excited to get some match grade ammo in different weights to see what it likes and how tight I can get it to shoot.

It's sad that CZ stopped making these things, but I feel very lucky to have finally scooped one up.

 

[antco]

Good pickup. CZ really does make a fine rifle.

 

[John from MD]

Wanted to share a recent win with you all. Finally pulled the trigger on a secondhand 527 Varmint in .223 after searching for a reasonably priced one for quite some time. Slapped on a cheap vortex scope I had on hand (I will put a nicer scope on it soon) and took it out to AGC this past weekend and shot a few groups with some generic PMC bronze. Even with that ammo it shot pretty darn well. The set trigger is also pretty fantastic. I'm excited to get some match grade ammo in different weights to see what it likes and how tight I can get it to shoot.

It's sad that CZ stopped making these things, but I feel very lucky to have finally scooped one up.

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If they are still being sold, Brownells had an aftermarket sear for those that really made for a glass breaking trigger pull.

 

[K31]

I didn't know they stopped making the 527. Sad. Great rifle.

 

[Baldheaded]

CZ is quality stuff.....

 

[dontpanic]

United had one on their wall in January. I went back to buy it and it was gone. These are such nice rifles and the set trigger is great

 

[SkiPatrolDude]

Nice buy

 

[trickg]

That's a pretty rifle! How was it grouping? Do I see correctly that the scope is a 4-12x44?

Google-fu says that the twist is 1:12 - I bet that even shoots standard 55 gr AR fodder pretty well. Like Townsend Whelen said, "only accurate rifles are interesting." I bet that gun is quite interesting indeed!

 

[TwinTurbskis]

United had one on their wall in January. I went back to buy it and it was gone. These are such nice rifles and the set trigger is great

I was 2nd in line on that one. That exact same rifle (you can tell by the wood grain) popped up on Gunbroker immediately after at 2x the price, and is actually still up there right now because after the first auction he reposted it due to non-payment. Blown I missed out on that one, it was an amazing price at United.

I didn't know they stopped making the 527. Sad. Great rifle.

Very sad. I love every CZ rifle I own and they discontinued all those legacy models when the 600 was released. Lord only knows what they were thinking, the only thing I can imagine is that the accountants are running the show now. I have to imagine the margins are better on a 600 than they were on a 550. Not sure they will sell as well as the 550 though...

That's a pretty rifle! How was it grouping? Do I see correctly that the scope is a 4-12x44?

Google-fu says that the twist is 1:12 - I bet that even shoots standard 55 gr AR fodder pretty well. Like Townsend Whelen said, "only accurate rifles are interesting." I bet that gun is quite interesting indeed!

It is! However it's a pretty cheap one that I had taken off of a different rifle and had sitting around. The plan is to get better glass for this rifle at some point soon, as I don't think the current one quite does the rifle justice.

What I've learned about the twist rate is that apparently the earlier .223 527's were a 1:12 twist, however at some point they switched to a 1:9. I don't know exactly when this changed, but this one is a 2015 model and is the 1:9 twist. It shot pretty well for the ammo I gave it, but had several fliers that I attribute to the cheap ammo. I need to feed it some better stuff before I can truly pass judgment. Here's hoping it'll be a very interesting rifle!

 

[trickg]

It is! However it's a pretty cheap one that I had taken off of a different rifle and had sitting around. The plan is to get better glass for this rifle at some point soon, as I don't think the current one quite does the rifle justice.

What I've learned about the twist rate is that apparently the earlier .223 527's were a 1:12 twist, however at some point they switched to a 1:9. I don't know exactly when this changed, but this one is a 2015 model and is the 1:9 twist. It shot pretty well for the ammo I gave it, but had several fliers that I attribute to the cheap ammo. I need to feed it some better stuff before I can truly pass judgment. Here's hoping it'll be a very interesting rifle!

I think that Vortex can certainly get it done - even their less expensive models seem to boast a certain degree of quality - but I can also understand wanting to put something else on it.

Interesting stuff about the barrel twist - it seems like these days if you want a twist for 223 slower than 1:9 it almost has to be a custom thing. Older rifles seemed to have slower twists for 223 - we had a Sako Vixen - probably a late 70s or early 80s rifle - that I think was a 1:14, but things have definitely tightened up - most ARs are 1:7, although I have one with a 1:9. That barrel is going to be nice for whatever you need it to do.

Again, nice score on that beautiful rifle!

 

[bibitor]

I had my hands on a 527 in 7.62x39 at Duffy’s a few years back, seriously regret not buying that rifle. I was finally able to add the Ruger American Ranch in that caliber to my stable this year (and I’m thrilled with the Ruger), but I still think about that CZ.

 

[dontpanic]

Very sad. I love every CZ rifle I own and they discontinued all those legacy models when the 600 was released. Lord only knows what they were thinking, the only thing I can imagine is that the accountants are running the show now. I have to imagine the margins are better on a 600 than they were on a 550. Not sure they will sell as well as the 550 though...

The 600 was supposed to allow you to swap calibers. This didn't work out as planned and they took that option out of the 600. I think they were all in on the 600 before they discovered the caliber swap issues.
They nailed it with the 457 and they were trying to recreate their success with centerfire.
I fully expect a new 6xx model rufle in the next couple of years that will allow caliber swap. They are all in on that

 

[trickg]

The idea of caliber swapping is cool in theory, but I'm not sure that juice is worth the squeeze in practice.

I have a custom rifle I built on a Bighorn action and I mounted the barrel using a couple of gauges, a barrel nut and a torque wrench. I picked up the necessary tools to do all of this myself because the Bighorn action lends itself to doing this - all I'd need to do a caliber swap is another barrel, another bolt face, (which is very very simple to swap out on the bolt - you don't even need tools) and the correct caliber gauges.

I won't though - this rifle is so good, I don't want to mess with a good thing. I'd rather do a whole new build than to swap out the barrel on this one, regardless of the fact that I could swap calibers for 1/4th or 1/5th of the price of doing a whole build, and it would take about 20 minutes of work with tooling I already own.

The only way I'd ever do a caliber swap on this rifle is if I decided to move away from what I currently have altogether, and I don't see why I'd do that when what I have is bangin', and it completely fulfills the purpose of why I built it.

 

[TwinTurbskis]

I had my hands on a 527 in 7.62x39 at Duffy’s a few years back, seriously regret not buying that rifle. I was finally able to add the Ruger American Ranch in that caliber to my stable this year (and I’m thrilled with the Ruger), but I still think about that CZ.

Haha that meme was great. Ruger makes great rifles, congrats on the purchase! At some point down the road I'd love to get my hands on a 7.62x39 bolt gun too.

The 600 was supposed to allow you to swap calibers. This didn't work out as planned and they took that option out of the 600. I think they were all in on the 600 before they discovered the caliber swap issues.
They nailed it with the 457 and they were trying to recreate their success with centerfire.
I fully expect a new 6xx model rufle in the next couple of years that will allow caliber swap. They are all in on that

I will openly admit that I don't give the 600 a fair shake, as I haven't even held one much less fired one. I think I would have absolutely no problem with it if was an addition to the fleet of legacy models and not a replacement, because as far as I can tell it doesn't come close to replacing the variety of options that the legacy models gave. Not just in the major reduction of calibers but also a reduction in the amount of choices regarding stock types and barrel lengths/profiles. I think that, coupled with the recall, is why the secondhand market for 527s, 550s, and 557s has skyrocketed. I hope CZ rights this portion of the ship because I love their rifles.

The idea of caliber swapping is cool in theory, but I'm not sure that juice is worth the squeeze in practice.

My thinking is the same. If I have a rifle that shoots well I am extremely hesitant to mess with it haha.

 

[TheOriginalMexicanBob]

CZ does make a fine rifle...possibly the best value for the money in rifles today. I've owned several and let them all go for some reason. People just keep offering me enough money for them I just had to say yes to.

 

[trickg]

CZ does make a fine rifle...possibly the best value for the money in rifles today. I've owned several and let them all go for some reason. People just keep offering me enough money for them I just had to say yes to.

I've always been intrigued by CZ rifles - they just seem to offer a lot for the money. To be fair, they aren't inexpensive, but like you said, they just seem to be a really nice value for the money and you get a lot for what you pay for.

Color me jealous - if I ever have the opportunity to obtain one, I'm pretty sure it'll be a keeper!