CZ 527, 7.62x39 carbine first outing

[bikemutt]

I ordered this rifle from a LGS last week thinking yeah, I'll probably never see it. Then I stopped by yesterday for some supplies and was told my rifle was ready to pick up

Needless to say I brought her home and mounted a Nikon Prostaff 5 2.5-10x40 scope which has been waiting for a home.

Took her to the range today and ran a bunch of "cheap" Tula, Wolfe and Red Army stuff during barrel break in and sight in. The only problem I've had so far is many failures to eject. The extractor works fine but in many cases the bolt binds up, loses speed and fails to eject. Sometimes I had to manually pry the empty from the extractor. Not really sure what is going on there, more research needed.

Anyway, once I got comfortable with her, I broke out some Hornady SST 123 grain steel case ammo and relaxed for some group therapy. This was all at 50 yards of course but when the 5th shot was finished, I knew I had a winner. The 5-shot group on the red bullseye sticker is the result.

I was warned the rifle was heavy recoiling but I don't feel it is. Maybe my Marlin 1898 45/70 has me trained The set trigger is superb. Overall the rifle's action feels rough to operate which may smooth out over time. It certainly is not one of CZ's masterpiece varmint or target rifles but it's not a piece of junk either.

CZ may have shed some frills with these but they sure left the accuracy intact.

Figured I'd share a couple pictures with THR members.

 

[Frostbite]

Nice. I have been intrigued by that rifle for some time now. The iron sights are of particular interest in my case. Is the general opinion favourable to the use of that caliber for deer hunting within 100-150 yards?

 

[bannockburn]

bikemutt

The CZ 527 is something I have been interested in for some time now as I literally have a ton of 7.62x39 ammo and only AK variants to run it through. Have been looking for a bolt gun with a little more accuracy potential. Please keep us updated with the ejection problems.

 

[sappyg]

Outstanding! I am absolutely intrigued with a 7.62x39 bolt gun. Curious about the ejection. Is there a lot of bolt wobble?

 

[swampcrawler]

I had one of those little fellas for a while. The only real issue I had with mine was light strikes on surplus ammo. Worked fine on privi comercial stuff.

 

[jimbeaux82]

Is the general opinion favourable to the use of that caliber for deer hunting within 100-150 yards?
__________________

2 seasons ago I hunted almost exclusively with a Ruger 77 Compact in 7.62 x 39. 7 shots, 7 dead and recovered animals (4 deer, 2 pigs, 1 coyote). Biggest deer was a nice 9 pt, 165 lb buck. Kept all shots under 100 yards. Key is using a good bullet. I used handloaded Barnes X bullets , 123 grs at 2400 fps. Needless to say I was totally satisfied with the performance and no longer have any concerns about using 7.62 x 39 for deer.

 

[bikemutt]

Outstanding! I am absolutely intrigued with a 7.62x39 bolt gun. Curious about the ejection. Is there a lot of bolt wobble?

I don't feel excessive wobble in the bolt, without a case it travels very nicely, with a case it feels inclined to eject it also feels good. It's just some cases, like 3 out of 5 on average, where it starts out fine then as the bolt comes back, it steadily binds. I tried pushing the bolt forward and then backwards hoping to clear it; a few times that would work, most times it would not.

I did not clean the bolt or the action prior to shooting it as it already had a fair amount of light oil on all parts. Maybe that oil is more meant to keep the parts from rusting, I may try cleaning it thoroughly and try a more conventional gun lubricant.

 

[fireman 9731]

I love mine. I have taken two deer with it. Both with hand-loaded Hornady soft points. They performed flawlessly. The Hornady SST is great too. I have had many good groups with cheap steel cased FMJ ammo as well.

I would be hesitant to use the sights beyond 150 yards for hunting. I'm not saying you couldn't if you practiced though. I have a 2.5x fixed power scope on mine. If I was going to use irons, I think Williams makes a peep sight that fits in the rear scope mount.

As for the bolt binding, I would make sure the magazine isn't interfering somewhere. It will also slick up a lot after a little use.

The front sight hood can also be easily removed if it is interfering with your scope picture.

 

[cpt-t]

bikemutt: My Son and I have been shooting a CZ 527 in 762 X 39 for several years now, and have no complaints what so ever. Ours shoots that cheap Wolf brand 123 or 124 GR HP`s so well that we have not started reloading for it yet. We just bought several cases of that Wolf brand ammo. CZ in Kansas City told me that this is the ammo that this rife was designed to shoot. I use this rifle as a hunting rifle and a carry around rifle, and it works just great for me, no problems what so ever and I like it more everytime I use it. We put a 3 X 9 Nikon Monark scope on it, and we have killed Coyotes, Deer, Hogs, and other Varmints out past 200yds with out any problems. The Set Trigger is really really nice. We have not experienced any type of feeding problems. So I hope your feeding problems smooth out as You continue to shoot Your rifle. Our Rifle will shoot 1in at a 100 yds most of the time off of a bench. We have become really hard core CZ Rifle fans. Good luck to You:
ken

 

[200Apples]

.
Another X39 527 Carbine owner, here. I like it better every time I pick it up; it fits me that well.

bikemutt, is the extraction problem peculiar to one magazine? Do you notice any difficulty, too, when closing the bolt? Do you have any additional magazines, yet? (forgive me; I see you've just brought it home!)

fireman 9731

As for the bolt binding, I would make sure the magazine isn't interfering somewhere.

I ask because of the three factory CZ magazines I have, one sat slightly too high in the action, causing the feed lips to rub the bottom of the bolt. These mags' stop tabs appear to be hand-ground... and the tabs on one of the three were measureably lower than the other two (again, allowing the mag to sit higher in the rifle).

I measured the distance between feed lips on the other two good mags, and noting that, I carefully filed the height of the offending magazine. After a re-blue, I can't tell the difference. All are working well.

I have used brass-cased Russian-made Yugoslav army surplus, brass-cased Fiocchi, Wolf, and Red Army (same as the Wolf) and the only issues I've had were light strikes/hard primers on some brass-primer'd Fiocci. (the cases with silver-colored primers are no problem). With that one exception, all of it shoots well. Love this carbine!

 

[chris in va]

If you like the trigger now, follow these steps and you'll be amazed.



As for the bolt binding, it's just new. Lube sliding surfaces with grease and just work the action a lot, it will slicken up. Also check for a burr inside the magazines where the hole got stamped. It sent my incoming rounds skyward and they would jam. File it off if you have one.

 

[Tom_AZ]

She looks like a shooter! Congrats!

 

[bikemutt]

OK, the binding problem is definitely caused by the extractor rubbing on the receiver when it has a case in it's grasp. Of course the tighter it binds, the harder it grasps the case. I will be calling CZ on Monday.

 

[joem1945]

Saw one at the club today. Handles well, stock is very nice and has a feature that if you push the trigger forward until it clicks, it becomes a set trigger. I may have to buy one.

 

[Panzerschwein]

VERY cool guns.

Hopefully CZ helps you out with your issue.

I want one of these. I wonder if anyone makes a 10 round magazine for them? If so, it would make a great all around "scout" rifle for hunting or even self defense.

 

[DP03]

bikemutt, I had a similar experience, but I was using a sled, so it wasn't magazine related. I started using non-magnetic brass ammo, and that's when I had the issues. I then started shooting Hornady SST and cheap russion ammo and no problems.

CZ does make a reference on their site for this rifle as being built for Russian ammo, as I think there's a slight difference in case size between Russian and American ammo. Someone can chime in on this I'm sure.

I'd be interested in your response from CZ.

 

[bikemutt]

bikemutt, I had a similar experience, but I was using a sled, so it wasn't magazine related. I started using non-magnetic brass ammo, and that's when I had the issues. I then started shooting Hornady SST and cheap russion ammo and no problems.

CZ does make a reference on their site for this rifle as being built for Russian ammo, as I think there's a slight difference in case size between Russian and American ammo. Someone can chime in on this I'm sure.

I'd be interested in your response from CZ.

Thanks DP03, all my problems are with "cheap" bloc ammo and Hornady SST.

I'm confident CZ will take care of it.

 

[Col. Plink]

How do I like mine? Let me count the ways...
Well, I won't try to rattle them all off for you but I'll just say what an amazing rifle it is. I've had similar groups as the OP with Barnaul 123gr jhp (and taken a large boar hog with same). Just put a 4x Nikon on it and never looked back. A joy to shoot seated off the elbows since it's light; my favorite targets are those little waterbomb balloons hanging from a string at 100m...