CZ527 Varmint .17 Remington

Acronin

Acronin

New member
What is everybody's thoughts on this combination. Components are hard to find, but I really think this will do the trick on prairie dogs, fox and bobcats, not to mention coyotes.

Any experience with this?
 
I have that same rifle which I have been trying to get back from my brother for the last year. Personally I love cz527's and have one in .221 fireball and had one in .204 Ruger.
As far as components, you can make .17 rem brass out of .223 brass with the correct die. I used to have a custom built 17-204 but got out of the 17 game a couple of years ago due to lack of bullet at that time. I do not know what guys are using now. I would check saubier and see what bullets those guys are using.
 
The 17Rem will indeed do the things you listed and the CZ is an excellent choice as long as you're not one of those guys who is boggled by the safety.
With the brass being so hard to locate these days a 17/223 (which the CZ can easily be converted to) makes more sense but making your own brass isn't that big of a deal.
As mentioned above you can make it from 223 but be aware that it will come out a few thou short. Making it from 204 brass is a better option IMO.
As far as bullets go, there's always the tried and true v-max for Gofers but I'd use a sturdier bullet like CE Nagel or Tod Kindler make. Can't go wrong with Nagels for everything though. They're all I've used for the last decade or more. Great guy to do business with too.

Luck
 
When CZ first announced that they were going to start making the 527 Varmint in .17 Remington I went right down to my local gun shop and ordered one. I topped it with a 6.5-20X Leupold and proceeded to shoot the snot out of it. Mainly our local ground squirrels but on my next trip to Wyoming to shoot prairie dogs it went along and what a joy it was. Out to 400 yards with the little 20 grain Vmax it killed Right Now. No big blowups at the more distant ranges but no runners either. The ONLY one that did not die at the hit was shot at 451 yard and he expired on the way to his hole. I did not try any that far with that light of bullet again. I use the 25 grain Vmax more these days for that kind so shooting.

As far as anything bigger than pasture poodle I have not tried. For a fact it will do well on foxes and bobcats and many a fur hunter loves them for coyotes.

The .17 Remington is a bit limited in a lot of ways but if you keep your target size sane and dont try to stretch your ranges too far it doe a fine job. And it's a hoot too. Big time fun little gun.
 
I have seen two cougars killed by 17's, and many coyotes and bobcats.

I have had several CZ 527 17 Rems and have never had a bad shooter.
 
Thanks for he reassurance fellas. This will be my 3rd CZ (550 Varmint Kevlar in .22-250 has a normal safety, my 527 Varmint in .223). My son (left handed) is 8. And I have two daughters (6 & 10). They like shooting my savage .204 and .223. This will allow all of us to have a gun shooting dogs.

I have some river ground where I never know if a cat is going to crawl up out of the canyon. I know a .204 or.223 would be fine, but I like rifles and small bores are my passion! So are CZs!

This came about because I won a Henry golden boy chambered in .17 hmr, which is not something I need. So he's giving me $420 trade in, so when I went in to his shop I saw this brand new CZ and I wanted it.
 
Now that's a win win if I ever saw one.
You'll love that set trigger too. A little tricky to adjust but once you get it, it's amazing. The best trigger at their price point hands down.

Enjoy
 
I have the same rifle you are considering and it is great on coyotes and fox. I was able to find some of the old Berger 25 gr match targets and they have been great. Longest kill was a coyote at 300 those 25 grain bullets at over 4000 fps are magic within a reasonable range. The gun is a great shooter and a lot of fun.

I would recommend cz to anyone.
 

Acronin,

Brass may be a bit hard to find for the .17 Remginton, but once you do, then just stock up on some. IMR-4320 is a good all-around powder for the cartridge.

A few years back I purchased a CZ 527 in .17 Remington. I love it. It's accurate and with 25 gr. Hornady HPs at an average velocity of 3921 fps, it drops coyotes on the spot. I am continually amazed at the drop-dead effect it has on coyotes at my 60 yard bait site.

My results have been mixed on fox with regards to fur-saving. One may not have too much of an exit while others are terrible. The .17 Remington seems to just be too much of a good thing for the smaller-bodied fox. Of course, a guy could load it down to less velocity and probably achieve better results.

I haven't taken any bobcats with the .17 Remington, so can't respond to that one. I have taken a few raccoons, possums and skunks though and all just hit the dirt right there.

The cartridge has surpassed my expectations and then some. It's a great little cartridge, but also keep in mind that I have been shooting at distances under 100 yards. DoubleUp and I ordered rifles at the same time and from the same vendor. He too has some experience with it and has taken coyotes at further distances than I have. Maybe he will chime in and give his thoughts.

I use a home-made night vision outfit attached to my daytime scope on the CZ. I have some recorded videos if you want to check them out.

Here's some photos and a video. Hope this helps explain better what I am talking about.

















Tiny entrance, no exit on any of the 6 or 7 coyotes I have dropped with it.








Here's a video example. Just be patient in watching because I like to get video as much as I do shoot. The shot comes later in the video.







 
Thanks for all that info 6mm-06! I actually found 700 pieces of brass for $190. I didn't think that was bad. My rifle looks just like yours and I already love it. I have medium 30mm rings and they are too short for my 50mm scope. . So I'll have to find taller rings. I have 7#'s of IMR-4320 so that should give me a lot to experiment with!

I like the idea of the 25gr HP's I do t have any in town here, but I can find the 20 and 25 Vmaxs. I'm going to start with the 25's and see if I can get them to shoot.

Thanks again!
 

Good luck Acronin. Keep us posted how it goes. I love the CZ 17. It is a very nice rifle and caliber.
 
Thanks! I really don't think there is a better value than the 527 Varmint.

I'm really excited for this round. I've got tons of 4320, but I've also read that CFE-223 and the enduring powders are good because they don't burn as dirty. Any truth to this?

Here she is naked and then dressed with a 4-16x50 Vortex Crossfire that I scavenged temporarily off my CZ527 Varmint .223.



 

Nice looking rifle, Acronin. Your rifle has pretty wood. Many of them don't.

I don't know about how dirty the IMR 4320 is compared to CFE-223. I have only used the 4320.

Those 700 pieces of brass should last you a lifetime unless you do a tremendous amount of shooting.
 
Back
Top