SmallCaliberCentral

I bought a slightly used CZ 527 American, .204 today and it's pristine......



My question revolves around bedding... The barrel is not floated and it seems to be in full length contact with the stock... If any one owns one like it, how important is it that the barrel be free floated???.....The previous owner only shot factory Hornady 32gr ammo through it and claims very tight groups the way it is....The information I could find on commercial reviews indicated that the rifle they tested was free floated and if I need to bed and float it, that will be my first project after some range time..

Shoot it and the rifle will tell you what needs to happen - each rifle is it's own story.

I agree. Each gun will shoot differently based on floating, contact, and the barrel itself. I have a CZ 527 but in Varmint. It had a great 5 shot group in a cold barrel. After that, it would take a 1/4" group and make it a 1" group. So I used a dowel rod and some 220 grit sandpaper to EVENLY remove some of the stock. The gun shoots sub 1/4" groups all day now (provided the barrel isn't smoking! )
I would shoot it and find a load for it and see how it acts for you. If you do decide to float it, don't forget to seal the area you sanded with a polyurethane. If you don't, it will swell and give you issues later. Keep us posted.

Thanks for the replies,,, I have ten different test loads worked up and hopefully will get to the range before the temp hits 100 today... The guy that I got if from said it shot small groups with the lighter weight bullets , so I'm trying the 35gr Bergers in it.,.

OT, I have the same rifle, actually my first 204. The wood on mine was very close to one side of the barrel but it still shot very good. I ended up sanding out the barrel channel on that side for cosmetics. The rifle will consistently keep three 32 Vmax over Benchmark at right around 3/8". Cold bore, clean bore, dirty bore, it don't matter, the first and consecutive shots are always there, 1 1/2" high at a 100. The only other load I have tried is a 40 BT over H4895, and with just a few shots to check pressure I settled on a stiff load that shot between 1/2-3/4" the couple times i shot it. It has a Bushnell 3200 3-10x40 Short Action Compact scope which makes for a very nice little setup. If yours is anything like mine you will be a happy camper!

OT i have the 527 in the varmint very consistnt Very little differance between the american and varmint if i remember right from what my uncle told me there is .9lb differance between them. Really like the option of the set trigger.
For load i use 39sbk with 27.5 grns of h4895.
Im with wi3der cold ,hot ,mildly dirty barrel it stays consisint.
I am impreesed with it .
good luck

Thanks for the replies and information.. I worked up ten different test loads and will be headed to the range in a few minutes to see which one produces the best for me.. Hopefully I can get it done before the temp gets above 90 today (anticipated near 100)... They are forecasting 99, with heat index of 109...and hoofing 400 yards in that heat doesn't do my old body any good...It's already 79 degrees out there..

I'll use Hornady 40gr V-Max to check the zero on the scope, so my 35gr should be just a little high from that point..

Well, except for having to deal with some real mirage factors, out of the ten loads, my initial standard proved to provide the best groups of the lot... I definitely think to bring the rifle into my shooting standards, it going to need bedding and free floating of the action and barrel... by the time I finished at the range, the temps had reached 90 degrees and having to stop to allow the barrel to cool was definitely a factor..

Old Turtle.............Any luck with your "New Acquisition" before it got to hot yesterday?
Just checking in and hope you made out ok.
Later
Ray P

I had swabbed out the barrel before I went to the range and got just a little powder residue out of it...but at the range, my best groups were holding just under an inch, with the best loads.....

This morning, I soaked the barrel with foam bore cleaner and got quite a bit of copper residue out, brushed it good with a nylon brush and finally got clean patches to come out... I'm changing out the scopes to one that I know is good and will take it back to the range on Friday to see if that helps...I still feel the barrel channel needs to be opened up to allow it to free float, so that's my next move...If there is no major improvement, then I'll bed the action....I took it out this morning at it's a really tight fit, so bedding may not be needed..

OldTurtle,

I have both, the American and the Varmint. Both had wood touching the barrel so I used a dowel rod and sand paper on them both and then sealed them. They both like the 39 SBK pushed by 28.0 of H-4895 (This load works well in my gun but may not in yours. Load with CAUTION).

I have shot .4 groups with the American and .2 groups with the Varmint using this load.

I pulled the barrel/action and after adjusting the trigger to get rid of the creep and after travel (I also shut off the set trigger part), I started checking the clearance on the barrel a little closer and found the the stock was applying a lot of pressure at the end of the forearm, but the rest of the barrel was free.... I have a stock scraper ordered from Brownell's and as soon as it arrives, I'll open up and seal that channel a little more... then test it with more loads before bedding it, if needed, as the fit of the action to the stock is really tight..even not bolted in, it doesn't move if I apply pressure to it from each direction..

OldTurtle,

I have that same model and mine shot a lot like what you describbed. Once mine was bedded & free-floated and with the right load it will shoot sub 1/4 MOA @ 200 yds. The draw back to this particular model is the thin barrel which heats up real quick in a target rich environment.

HTH,

I just got back from the range,,, Hit it at 7AM... perfect conditions...76* and no wind/breeze...Having changed the scope, it took a few rounds to get it close to my POA... I tried factory Hornady 40gr V-Max with no real success....35gr Bergers were not much better..... My 39gr SBKs gave me my best groups, but the fliers started showing up as the barrel heat increased..

When I let the barrel totally cool, the POI dropped about three inches...At least free floating the barrel helped somewhat...I was able to have 6 out of 10 touching...I think it's just going to be a "Cold Barrel" rifle...