I need some help from you all. I've had a CZ American 527 in .204 for a decade now and I love it. Since I bought it I've always had a Nikon 3-9x40 scope. I've wanted to bump up to a 4-12 model scope for some time now and recently picked up a sig whiskey 3 scope in those dimensions. Problem is when I mounted it on the rings that came with my gun my bolt hits the eyepiece of the scope. So now I'm back to square one with the old Nikon 3-9 on it. I'm curious as to what others with this gun have mounted on their guns. I would like to stick with the 1" rings that came with the gun. Thanks for all of your input!

James Calhoon makes a modified bolt that should clear your eyepiece.

A used Weaver V-16(4-16) has a small ocular housing as do most of the Leupolds. Having a quick adjustable eyepiece increases the housing diameter of the scope.

One of the challenges with the 527 that I don't see get much mention is that the short receiver forces the scope to mount farther back toward the shooter. The rail boss for the front ring is closer to the shooter than a standard or short action receiver and it limits how far forward the turret can be positioned. A lot of scopes have long eye relief -- it's a selling point with scopes. The factory stock also has a short length of pull -- which is appropriate for an overall compact rifle, but it doesn't help with the rearward scope position and long eye relief.

This issue can be addressed by mounting a rail and moving the scope farther forward, or with offset rings. I bought a one-piece Gun Star scope mount that moves the front ring about 1cm farther forward. I haven't mounted it yet.

FWIW, I was using Warne medium rings with a Swarovski 2.4-12x50mm scope and it cleared the bolt handle fine but it was close. The Gun Star should mount it a little higher. Leupold and Talley rings mount a little higher still. All these rings are lower than the factory rings which are quite high, but there are higher ones.

The scopes with the very large diameter oculars are usually heavy for a CZ527.

Depending on the age of your CZ 527 it may already have the updated newer bolt handle. Unless you've seen them side by side it's hard to tell the difference between the two and you can't really tell which one you have until you pull the bolt handle off but that's a pretty easy thing to do with these 527's. If you already have the newer bolt handle switching to a different one likely won't help you.

I used a picatinny rail on one of the CZ 527's I used to have but using a rail presents its own set of issues as well. The stock on these 527's is straight and has a rather low comb height so when you install a pic rail, even using the lowest possible set of rings, it puts the scope a little to high to get a decent cheek weld and you have to lift your head up off the stock in order to fully see through the scope. I ended up installing an adjustable kydex cheek rest on mine that I used a picatinny rail and that fixed all of the issues 100%.

I believe a scope calls for a cheek riser even with low rings. Mine has .425" rings compared to the factory .550" rings and I still use a riser. A rail will just need a taller riser, but I'm pretty sure I would want one with any scope.

Thank you for all those who replied. I will definitely look into all the suggestions. I know there are a lot of guys who own 527's on here. Feel free to post what scopes you have mounted on your guns! Thanks again!!

The only two CZ 527's I have left are my 17 Hornets, both are Varmint models.

One has a Burris MTAC 4.5-14x42 with Leupold medium rings and the other one has a Vortex Razor HD LH 3-15x42 with Warne medium rings.

I sold my CZ 527 in 204! But I had it topped with a Nikon Monarch 4-12x40 side PA. The combo was capable of great accuracy..