Problems with not one but two CZ 527's

Layoutman

Layoutman

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Problems with not one but two CZ 527's

My first CZ purchase was in the late 90's it was a CZ 527 in 223 Remington. Fit, finish and function were flawless. That little pencil barrel was a shooter I couldn't have been happier. When I recommended a rifle it was the CZ 527 period, nothing in the price range came close.

Fast forward 8 years.

Picked up a CZ 527 Varmint in 204 Ruger, floated the barrel and worked up some loads. Had scope mounting issues but I knew ahead of time that might be a problem. Well after firing 10 rounds and cleaning after each I loaded the clip and was getting ready to start printing......That is when the wheels came off. I could only load the top round off a full magazine half of the time, rounds 2,3 and 4 would not load into the chamber. The bolt would move the top round approximately a 1/4 inch then the bullet would slip back into the magazine with the bolt going over the top of the round and run into the shoulder.... Ok maybe my cartridge OAL was off....Had some factory Hornadys in 32 grains to try. Same feeding issues after the first round was sucessfully chambered. Closer inspection of the magazine fit into the receiver revealed as much as a quarter inch of play / movement.....

Back to the gun shop and double checked with 2 other CZ 204 mags, still wont feed right....Walk out with a CZ 527 in 22 hornet with a birdseye maple stock. Get it out of the box and and right away notice a problem. The recoil lug area is like a teeter totter, the barrel moves at least an inch when pressed down into and out of the forend. Take it out of the stock and proceed to try and inlet the stock. The recoil lug area cut into the stock is not deep enough and to make matters worse it was cut cockeyed. The receiver area is rough cut with a lot of wood burs and some shavings were still attached. So I hit the range to break the barrel in and to get a baseline on how this semi inletted gun will shoot. The test pattern is three shots that resemble a triangle. You guessed it, it had a pattern similiar to an Browning A-5......

Last night I spent 2 hours with a dremel getting the stock to seat properly in the recoil lug along with cleaing up the rest of the shoddy inletting. If I was betting, I bet the groups go from 4inches to around an inch. After barrel break in on my CZ 527 in 223, the first group I shot was 7/8 inch with winchester whitebox....To say I have been dissapointed is an understatement.

I hope this is not a sign of things to come from CZ, but running into two different problems with two different CZ's sure makes me wonder.
 
Why didn't your dealer simply return both these guns to CZ. There very good about fixing problems with their guns.

With problems this drastic you should have either had your dealer return them or contacted CZ directly.

I have two CZ's, a 452 22 lr. and a 527 Varmit in 204 Ruger. Both are just excellent. Sure sorry about your bad luck with them.
 
The varmint in 204Ruger was returned by the dealer. Both of the CZ's should have never made it through quality control.

After finally getting my hands on a CZ in 22hornet with a maple stock I was not letting go.... It will shoot, the stock just needed more inletting work.

I've setup or helped setup 6 CZ 527's. These are the first 2 problems I've seen. I just hope it is not a sign of things to come.
 
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Boy me to. I'm getting ready to get another for my grand daughter and I sure hope I don't run into any of those problems.
 
A guy ordered a CZ .22mag from the local shop. When it came in I got to see it before he picked it up. The bolt was so rough you could not really say it slid. In fact at first I thought it was stuck. Kinda made a grinding noise when you worked it. Think sand. But the gun was clean, no grit. To this day I can't believe the guy that ordered it took it home, and kept it!
 
My bolt was a bit rough too. I just greased it up and cycled it a few hundred times, and now it's seems to operate much smoother. The forend of my stock was also touching the barrel in a few spots, so I took it apart and used a dremmel to remove some of the wood. It seems to shoot fine now, as I hit the range the other day, and shot a five shot string that was under an inch...in a 30mph cross wind, no less.
I must admit: The fit and finish on my new CZ 527 left a little to be desired. It has shown a few different times though, it will shoot very well.

CZ will generally make good on they're rifles though. Over on the CZ forums, they looked at a guys rifle and decided it shouldn't have passed quality control. They shipped him a new rifle within a few weeks. I have heard of them doing this on several occasions, when they have determined one of they're rifles faulty or poorly made.
Try getting a new rifle out of Remington, Ruger, and some of the other big manufacturer's....good luck!

In today's mass production world, it's common for bad examples to slip through the cracks, and wind up in the hands of the consumer. It happens with all the big gun maker's too. What I care most about, is how they handle the customer after the fact. So far, CZ seems to be willing to make good on any serious defects.

I happened to break two of the screws off my CZ rings, and I couldn't find suitable replacment screws. I e-mailed CZ's master gunsmith Michael Eagleshield, and asked for the thread size of the screws, so I could find replacements. Four days later, I get an envelope in the mail. It has 3 screws in it, and it had Michaels' CZ business card stapled to the bag. Now THAT is the kind of attempt at customer service that I appreciate!
 
I personally have no experience with the 527 but have some with several 452's.One of my favorite rifles is a 452 FS(full stock) in 22LR.When I bought it I noticed that when I turned the bolt handle down or up to unlock or lock action it was rather rough.I polished up the rear locking lug and this made it butter smooth.A friends 452 in .22 mag had some problems cycling certain brands of ammo.We never diagnosed the problem because he said he didn't care because the two brands it cycled flawlessly also shot tiny little groups.I would not hesitate to buy another CZ because mine is far nicer looking and better shooting than any other 369 dollar rimfire I have ever shot.I do wish that CZ would put better looking checkering on their rifles and charge a few extra bucks.
 
After some of the input here on the CZ's I went and looked at one. All I can say is I won't be spending $500+ on a CZ anytime soon.

Whenever I buy a new rifle, I ask the dealer how many he has in stock, if he has more than one, I have him march them out and take a look at each one for fit, finish and function and pick the one that appeals to me most. If your having to order in a rifle you don't have that option, but you do have the right to refuse it if it falls short of your expectations.

Seems quality control to some manufacturers is just a random selection off the production line, letting everything else slide by.
 
Had a chance to get the CZ hornet to the range yesterday. After the stock modifications the groups really tightened up. With WIN 45 grain factory ammo, I had several groups that were right at an inch at 100 yards.

Pleased with my CZ even though I had to inlet the stock porperly.
 
Interesting post - I'm hearing more and more complaints like your about CZ's It would seem as the earlier models were a bit rough but worked great, then they got some better, and now are going downhill fast. Seems rather typical that companies bring out stuff, get accepted that they are make fine quality products, then as orders start to accumulate the quality takes a downhill turn. At the same time I notice that reports on the new ruger products seem to have taken an uphill turn. Particularly on the mini 14 and #1
 
I have the cz 527 varmint in 223 and i absolutely love it, its my go to predator gun, i also have the cz 453 varmint in 17 hmr, i love it, my buddy also has the cz 550 in 22-250 and he loves it, i think you just had bad luck.

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