CZ527 .22 Hornet -- Better in K Hornet?

Vangky

New member
Just discovered this forum. You folks might have the answers I need.
I grew up packing a .22 Hornet (Savage) all over the woods. When I went to the other side of the globe some 30 years ago, I gave it to a good friend. (The only guns in that quadrant of the world belong to men in camo green who are tasked with keeping their own populace in fear and trembling!) Now I'm back, fatter and blinder. Wife says I'm in my second childhood. I'll agree since I recently got sentimental about those long slender cartridges I got in trouble for packing in my pockets at school.
Couldn't find a .22 Hornet rifle for a whole year. Finally discovered one--new, but covered in dust in the back side of a store. Brought that CZ527 American home a month ago.
Problem is it doesn't think I can shoot as well as my .223 says I can. Punches holes all over the general "center" of a piece of paper a hundred yards away.
I"m looking for a way to get the CZ to believe what my cheap .223 Stevens is saying about my shooting. I'm old & blind, but it still should put holes close to each other. I re-load, and have tried different pills & powders, but haven't got the new Hornet to tighten up yet.
I've recently been reading about K Hornets. I don't care about the increased velocity from the K (I have a .223 for that), but I sure would like to be able to make my old Dad (dead now) proud of my ability to knock a rabbit in the head instead of just blowing him apart.
Does anybody have any good knowledge on CZ 527 Hornets turning into K Hornets?
Vangky.
 
BUnch of people have this gun in .22 hornet on here. Everyone is getting great groups.

I don't reload and i'm not a hornet guy either. However, the word is that lil' gun is the powder to use.

CZ's are notorious for their barrels to be touching when they should be floating. Make sure you can get atleast a dollar under the barrel all the back to chamber. If not sand it out stain and seal it back up. Make sure to use a torque screwdriver and set it to 25lbs on the action screws. After I did these two things my .223 527 was submoa.
 
Vangky,

I had a cz 527 in 22 hornet, and it was a tackdriver, Unfortunately, I traded it off. SOOOOOO I got a Ruger 77/22 hornet, and it shot ok with 13 gr lil gun and 35 vmax seated to 1.800" or 1.830" Stupidly, I had it rechambered to K-hornet. Went from minute of angle to minute of buffalo.

Stay with the hornet as is and enjoy. I got another ruger 77/22 hornet and it shoots pretty good but is picky on what it likes. I also have an H&R topper in 22 hornet and with a 30-30 barrel also. They both shoot good.


Dave
 
Personally, I like the K due to head spacing off of the shoulder instead of the rim, but either should shoot far better in that rifle.
Sounds like a bedding issue and/or barrel contact as mentioned above.
Might even be a bad scope. Stranger things have been known to happen.

Luck

ETA,,,, WW760 behind Calhoons 37gr DHP's was the only load that ever shot well in the one Hornet I had.
Some claim that small pistol primers help but I never saw proof of it. Every guns different though.
 
Last edited:
Despite my screen name, my Hornet is a standard Hornet, in a Ruger M77 sporter.

I use a Lee Collet Die to neck size only.

I use small pistol primers, though I have good loads with Rem 71/2 primers also.

I use Lilgun powder.

When working up powder charges, do so in very small incremements, say .2gr. In this small case, changes show up very quickly.

Stick with it. I hear/read nothing but good things about the CZ in a Hornet.
 
Some good advice you guys gave--
* check floating barrel
* check scope out
* increase powder in tiny increments
* stay with the CZ527 until I find the solution
* try bedding it
* 35 vmax

Each one of those is worth working on. The scope suggestion really might have something of merit. My scope might not be a good one. A cheap Bushnell Banner that I had on my .223 until I got a Vortex Viper. And I wasn't getting good groups with that Bushnell on the .223 either, now that I think about it.

Sure do appreciate the perspectives offered by all of you. Thanks!
Vangky.
 
Originally Posted By: Vangky I wasn't getting good groups with that Bushnell on the .223 either, now that I think about it.


I think you just answered your own question right there.
grin.gif

Sometimes it's so easy to overlook the obvious eah?

Now,,, put a good scope on her, make sure there's no pressure on the barrel, and then post some pix of those itty bitty groups once you get your load sorted out.
Luck
 
I have a CZ 527 full stock in 22 hornet, I use Sierra 40 grain hornet bullets, Hornady 35 grain V-max, and Calhoon 30 grain hollow points with good accuracy. I use Lil Gun with the 40s and H110 with the light bullets. Like the hornet.
 
I've had odd rings/bases that just apparently didn't hold zero under recoil - changed them, and not the scope, and back to good groups. Had a few scopes go bad too.
 
Just wanted to add that warne MED rings clear most scopes and beat the pants off the factory ones and a leupold vx3 or bushnell elite would be sweet. That rifle deserves a quality scope.

CZ has fantastic warranty service. If it comes down to it send it in to cz and they will probably fix it for free.
 
Interesting! You fellas bring up some interesting thoughts.

I'll have to start in with that scope and see what happens.
I'm also going to load some 35 vmax tonight. But all I've got is AA1680 & Lil'gun. Don't have any 30gr Calhoons, and have never seen any in my gun shops.

Let's see what happens this weekend when I put that Vortex Viper on the Hornet and put some 35gr vmax into it.
I'll take the advice of upping the charge by only 2 grains at a time. But I'll have to also measure the throat length. Not quite sure where to start on that. I guess I'll just back the seating up by about .015 from the lands and go from there. Not sure if the bullet length is long enough to seat and still sit that far forward. Depends upon what I find out about the throat of this CZ I guess.

This is starting to look like fun.
Vangky.
 
Originally Posted By: Blackhawk43I have a CZ 527 full stock in 22 hornet, I use Sierra 40 grain hornet bullets, Hornady 35 grain V-max, and Calhoon 30 grain hollow points with good accuracy. I use Lil Gun with the 40s and H110 with the light bullets. Like the hornet.
Blackhawk,
What OAL cartridge length does your CZ like for the 35gr vmax?
 
Originally Posted By: TripleDeuce660Just wanted to add that warne MED rings clear most scopes and beat the pants off the factory ones and a leupold vx3 or bushnell elite would be sweet. That rifle deserves a quality scope.

CZ has fantastic warranty service. If it comes down to it send it in to cz and they will probably fix it for free.
222,
Thanks for the info. Factory rings been bothering me a bit with this long bolt handle. I'll look into your suggestion.
 
If I remember correctly I set the OAL at 1.725 or in that area, the length is limited by the magazine length. In regard to the Calhoon bullets, the only place you can buy them is from Calhoon direct, google James Calhoon and you can see his web-site. He also modifys the bolt handles on the CZ rifles, I have not had mine done and don't have a problem with them, it depends on the size of the ocular bell on your scope, I use Leupold or Redfield and don't have a problem. ETA; I like the Leupold medium rings.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: VangkyI'll take the advice of upping the charge by only 2 grains at a time.


Whoa there. My recommendation was for 0.2grs (that's two-tenths) increments.
 
Sometimes K-ing a hornet will improve the accuracy- something to do with the straight walled case lining up truer in the chamber, but I suspect you have other issues at play here. Check bedding, scope and rings, etc. I had a CZ Hornet but traded it for a Contender. I am left handed and got rid of all right hand guns and went all lefty or ambidextrous guns.

I like the K Hornet for the reduced case trimming as much as anything. I was having to trim almost every time I reloaded the case. It seems that Lil Gun works best with 40 grain or heavier, but I was getting almost 2950 fps in my CZ. I am ready to try some Midsouth bulk 34 grain hp bullets with AA1680 as soon as I can get to the range.
 
A lot of you guys suggested 35-gr V-Max. Just finished loading some of the 35-gr V-Max in some pre-fired Hornady brass. Put it on top of AA1680. 0.2 gr increments every 5 rounds. If one of those groups of 5 looks good, I'll have a good starting point.

The CZ has a short throat, I guess. Measured OAL at 1.760. Seated at 1.745. They fit the magazine and they chamber.
I'll see what kind of holes they punch this weekend--if plans go as planned.
Vangky.
 
Several times I have had guys ask me if they would punch out a known shooter to AI or K-Hornet. Pardon me, but I've thought it to be a rather silly question. My response has always been the same--I wouldn't waste my time punching out ANYTHING BUT a known shooter.

Point is: If it don't shoot well now, don't waste your time/money rechambering it. If you get it squared away and shooting well, that's when you can invest your money confidently........
 
Well now, 2muchgun, that definitely is a perspective worth thinking about.
I'm still working on mine. I'll see what develops.
 
Back
Top