CZ 527 American saga

Ike666 · July 30, 2012, 04:44 PM

Last year I bought a new CZ 527 American in .223. I was actually looking for an American M1 when the guy in the LGS showed me this particular American Lux - it had an absolutely gorgeous walnut stock and I was smitten.

I was anxious to get it set up for the range and he threw in a used Weaver K6 off of another rifle he had on consignment.

Excited, I mounted the scope and trundled off to the range. I had several boxes of factory ammo including some Hornady 55g VMAX. All day, the best group I could muster was about 2 MOA at 100 yards.

Frustrated I was sure it was the scope. Switched it to another rifle and it put them right where I pointed 'em. Put it back on the CZ.

Over the next 8 months I tried just about every combination of bullet and powder I could think of to see what the rifle liked. I must have run a hundred OCW ladders. All to no avail. Best group it ever shot was about 1.5 MOA at 100.

The I was using the Hornady case length gauge and discovered the chamber had an apparently infinite leade. Literally, I could push the bullet three inches past the case mouth without touching the lands. Freaky.

Three weeks ago I shipped it off to CZ-USA for warranty IRAN. I got a somewhat cryptic message back that the rifle had "failed the accuracy test." They were going to replace the entire barreled action. I asked them to keep the same stock (which they did) and today I got the new rifle back via FedEx.

Mounted the Weaver back on it and off to the range. I was shooting 53 gr Hndy VMAX over 25.7 of 8208XBR at a nominal 3200 fps. Got the scope on a 25 yards and then zeroed at 100. Shot a few 3-shot groups for accuracy and I was pleased, very pleased. Best 3-shot group was .458 outside to outside (.235 ctr-to-ctr)!

This is my first CZ and this is the accuracy I had always heard about. I'd love to know what the story was on the original barrel but I don't guess CZ is saying anything more about it. They did all the work under warranty and were a pleasure to deal with.

Creeper · July 30, 2012, 04:55 PM

Quote:

The I was using the Hornady case length gauge and discovered the chamber had an apparently infinite leade. Literally, I could push the bullet three inches past the case mouth without touching the lands. Freaky.

An uncharacteristic case of poor QC for CZ. Interesting... I'd love to hear how that came about.

Cheers,
C

armoredman · July 30, 2012, 04:59 PM

That's weird for certain. Glad they got it fixed fast!

10-96 · July 30, 2012, 06:06 PM

Glad it's up and running the way it should!

Welcome to the fold!

Ike666 · July 30, 2012, 06:13 PM

I understand the CZ barrels are hammer forged. I didn't really understand this process until I did some "research" (I googled cold hammer forging).

What I don't really understand is that after the barrel and chamber are formed around the mandrel, is it then reamed to get the final chamber dimensions? Could this have been a case of a reamer going too far in to the chamber? I would have assumed all this was computer controlled.

10-96, my day job is as a police psychologist - love your ten code.

Creeper · July 30, 2012, 06:22 PM

It is as you described Ike. Conventional rough and/or finish chamber reamers are used. I suppose that, somehow, a barrel made it past initial QC that was improperly formed... I just don't see how it could go through several following steps, unseen.

I've heard of cold hammer forging mandrels that include the chamber... talk about your concentricity! But I believe those are very, very rare. Technologies change quickly, so I could be wrong about that these days... but I don't think so.

C

July 30, 2012, 04:44 PM	#1
Ike666 Senior Member Join Date: October 10, 2009 Location: SW VA Posts: 491	CZ 527 American saga Last year I bought a new CZ 527 American in .223. I was actually looking for an American M1 when the guy in the LGS showed me this particular American Lux - it had an absolutely gorgeous walnut stock and I was smitten. I was anxious to get it set up for the range and he threw in a used Weaver K6 off of another rifle he had on consignment. Excited, I mounted the scope and trundled off to the range. I had several boxes of factory ammo including some Hornady 55g VMAX. All day, the best group I could muster was about 2 MOA at 100 yards. Frustrated I was sure it was the scope. Switched it to another rifle and it put them right where I pointed 'em. Put it back on the CZ. Over the next 8 months I tried just about every combination of bullet and powder I could think of to see what the rifle liked. I must have run a hundred OCW ladders. All to no avail. Best group it ever shot was about 1.5 MOA at 100. The I was using the Hornady case length gauge and discovered the chamber had an apparently infinite leade. Literally, I could push the bullet three inches past the case mouth without touching the lands. Freaky. Three weeks ago I shipped it off to CZ-USA for warranty IRAN. I got a somewhat cryptic message back that the rifle had "failed the accuracy test." They were going to replace the entire barreled action. I asked them to keep the same stock (which they did) and today I got the new rifle back via FedEx. Mounted the Weaver back on it and off to the range. I was shooting 53 gr Hndy VMAX over 25.7 of 8208XBR at a nominal 3200 fps. Got the scope on a 25 yards and then zeroed at 100. Shot a few 3-shot groups for accuracy and I was pleased, very pleased. Best 3-shot group was .458 outside to outside (.235 ctr-to-ctr)! This is my first CZ and this is the accuracy I had always heard about. I'd love to know what the story was on the original barrel but I don't guess CZ is saying anything more about it. They did all the work under warranty and were a pleasure to deal with. __________________ ___________________ "I'm your huckleberry." Last edited by Ike666; July 30, 2012 at 06:08 PM.

July 30, 2012, 06:06 PM	#4
10-96 Senior Member Join Date: October 19, 2005 Location: Tx Panhandle Territory Posts: 4,160	Glad it's up and running the way it should! Welcome to the fold! __________________ Rednecks... Keeping the woods critter-free since March 2, 1836. (TX Independence Day) I suspect a thing or two... because I've seen a thing or two.

July 30, 2012, 06:13 PM	#5
Ike666 Senior Member Join Date: October 10, 2009 Location: SW VA Posts: 491	I understand the CZ barrels are hammer forged. I didn't really understand this process until I did some "research" (I googled cold hammer forging). What I don't really understand is that after the barrel and chamber are formed around the mandrel, is it then reamed to get the final chamber dimensions? Could this have been a case of a reamer going too far in to the chamber? I would have assumed all this was computer controlled. 10-96, my day job is as a police psychologist - love your ten code. __________________ ___________________ "I'm your huckleberry."

July 30, 2012, 06:22 PM	#6
Creeper Senior Member Join Date: September 9, 2008 Location: Woooooshington Posts: 1,797	It is as you described Ike. Conventional rough and/or finish chamber reamers are used. I suppose that, somehow, a barrel made it past initial QC that was improperly formed... I just don't see how it could go through several following steps, unseen. I've heard of cold hammer forging mandrels that include the chamber... talk about your concentricity! But I believe those are very, very rare. Technologies change quickly, so I could be wrong about that these days... but I don't think so. C __________________ Shoulder Drive Nicholson Club

July 30, 2012, 04:59 PM	#3
armoredman Senior Member Join Date: May 22, 2007 Location: Arizona Posts: 5,299	That's weird for certain. Glad they got it fixed fast!