SmallCaliberCentral

GTOHunter wrote:I also looked at the Cooper Rifle prices...the Wife would have me skinned alive if I spent that much money on a Rifle!

GTO: From experience over the years, the price of a Cooper ends up being just about the same after getting a off-the-shelf domestic or similar mass produced rifle and having trigger work done, barrel work, recrowning or replacement, changing the stock et al. Sometimes in the end, you're just a few bucks away from something like a nice Kimber or Cooper anyway when the dust settles, and you've ended up with a rifle you'll never get your money back from. That thrill of that low price is quickly forgotton about that time.

About the only thing left factory on some of my M700's is the action, and even that had to be blueprinted (read: more money). Some of them ended up costing much MORE than any of my Coopers!

(My wife was "trained" on my rifle habits BEFORE I married her! )

last time i checked the dealer price it was right at the $600 mark for a CZ 527 Varmint in 204 Ruger. If you find one for $619 thats not a bad price at all.

GTOHunter wrote:I've been looking at the CZ-USA 527 American in the .204 also,so far the best price I found for a brand new one in the box was $619.00 + tax.I'm going to check with a few local Dealers and a couple that are around 30-50 miles away for more pricing to see if they can beat that price?

Rick in Oregon wrote:
GTO: From experience over the years, the price of a Cooper ends up being just about the same after getting a off-the-shelf domestic or similar mass produced rifle and having trigger work done, barrel work, recrowning or replacement, changing the stock et al. Sometimes in the end, you're just a few bucks away from something like a nice Kimber or Cooper anyway when the dust settles, and you've ended up with a rifle you'll never get your money back from. That thrill of that low price is quickly forgotton about that time.

About the only thing left factory on some of my M700's is the action, and even that had to be blueprinted (read: more money). Some of them ended up costing much MORE than any of my Coopers!

That is the truth. Took me years to figure that out. I will say that part of the fun of rifle owning is customizing them, but generally ends up more expensive. For instance, my Kimber Montana at $1000.00 was cheaper than reducing the weight of my Model 7 Rem. so that it was under 6lbs. without a scope.

I wondered about getting the heavy Barrel in the CZ-Varmint...You think it would be that much better to get one in the heavier barrel?


What does it mean to "Cut and Re-Crown" a barrel...and why would You do that?


Rick...I'd love to get a better more expensive Rifle....but with my Budget I can't get away with spending several thousands on a Rifle I already have around 5 or 6 nice Deer Rifles and I need to stay Married a few more years?

Ok I went back and checked some misc numbers...this is off the CZ-USA Site itself.


CZ-USA American 5.9 lbs $699.00

CZ-USA Varmint 7.8 lbs $691.00

Side Note:
I checked Budsgunshop out and they listed the CZ-American at 6.34 lbs...which one to believe?

The American is actually $8.00 higher than the Heavey Barrel and the Varmint weighs almost 2 lbs more.You would think the Heavey Barrel would cost more?

GTOHunter wrote:Rick...I'd love to get a better more expensive Rifle....but with my Budget I can't get away with spending several thousands on a Rifle I already have around 5 or 6 nice Deer Rifles and I need to stay Married a few more years?

GTO: Roger that.

Remember what "they" say about wives: "When they're happy....we're ALL happy. When they're NOT, NOBODY is!"

GTOHunter,

The American comes with rings and the Varmint doesn't. When I bought both of mine, they were close to the same price out of the box but I still had to buy rings for the Varmint.

Hey Melvin...would You reccomend the American or the Varmint Rilfe?I have to do a lot of walking up and down hills,hollers and what not...is the Varmint too heavy to be packing around and is it going to be that much better or an accurate Rifle than the American?...Sorry about all the questions,but I do appreciate it and hope to not make a costly mistake in picking the wrong Rifle?As You see I'm getting different weights on the CZ-Heavy Barrel a pound more is fine....2 pounds plus scope weight and I'm up to a barrel that is going to be tough packing around.


I'm not going to be doing any miracle 400-500 yards shots...here in Southeast Missouri we have mostly heavy woods,some long feilds and pastures but I'm a realist and most of the shots I'm going to be taking will be around 100-200 or up to 300 yards shots at the most more than likely?

If you're only going to have one 204 and the choice is between the CZ-Varmint and the CZ- American and, you also have the choices to walk and shoot off of benches, I would choose the Varmint. The barrel is heavier but the gun itself really isn't as heavy as some of the Savages or Remingtons, especially those with thumb-hole stocks. Its really the best of both worlds because the skinny barrel of the American heats up really fast if bench shooting.

On the other hand if you're doing more walking than bench shooting, I'd go with the American, a superb little carry rifle.

GTOhunter--I see no one has answered your questions:

What does it mean to "Cut and Re-Crown" a barrel...and why would You do that?

Here's a link to a Web site that explains a little bit about cutting and recrowning a rifle barrel. http://riflestocks.tripod.com/targetcrown.html

In layman's terms "Cut" means the barrel was cut off and "re-crown" means the muzzle end was worked on to smooth off the "cut" and perhaps put a nice crown on it like this:



One reason to cut and re-crown the barrel might be that the barrel was too long and the rifle felt muzzle heavy. The re-crowning might also be done because the crown had been damaged--that is edges around the hole where the bullet comes out had dings in it. It is very important for the crown to be undamaged because that is the last thing that touches the bullet as it leaves the barrel. Any deformities can cause real accuracy issues.

[Edited to change "question" to "questions" in the opening sentence.]

GTOHunter,

I agree with what Jim said. I shoot prairie dogs and coyotes, so if I had to pick one over the other, I would go with the varmint. I had the Varmint about two years before I bought the American and at that time, CZ's website said the Varmint was only .9 lbs. heavier than the American. The heavier barrel changes the balance point compared to the American which makes it feel heavier but it's really not.

If I were going to hunt around here only, I would go with the American. Knowing my load with the 39 grain Sierra's and with a proper rest, I would feel very comfortable taking a shot on a coyote at 350-400 yards. My longest shot on a coyote with this combo was 308 yards and my son used it on a 338 yard coyote.

I don't think you will go wrong with either one.

GTO-- You mentioned your hunting terrain in your post. I would just like to throw in another thought. What are the barrel lengths?? A 2" shorter barrel would handle a little nicer when the critter comes from the wrong way like they always seem to do.

GTO: "Your" rifle is here on the forum right now.......

http://www.204ruger.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=8417

Reasonably close to home, fair price, comes with rings, and from a forum member to boot.

(I'd get the Varmint. I've handled both, shot both, prefer the HB that's really not a heavy carry rifle at all, and usually adds more built-in accuracy by virtue of the heavier barrel. JMO)

That's awful tempting Rick....I'm still pricing around a few local Dealers closer to where I live and I'm going to sell our Rossi Youth Rifle with the 3-Barrel Combo before I get another Rifle?I passed up the used Savage .204 in the bull barrel,that one was way too heavy and cumbersome to carry and aim at anything so its still looking better and better at getting the CZ-American or Varmint in the .204.

PredHunter...I Appologize for Hi-Jacking Your Thread...just figured the more question about the same Caliber (.204) the more we'll know about it and there's some great Guys on here with lots of interesting knowledge! Some times I get carried away!