SmallCaliberCentral

I am again in the market for a 204 Ruger. I have heard some good and bad things about the quality of Ruger rifles as of late. No heavy barrels just a walking around rifle for off season varmints and predators a little winter snowshoeing and general all around kicking it rifle. I have a 308 for all my big game needs. The advantange of the Ruger is that it can be had in stainless steel also which is a nice bonus on the wet side. Lets hear your opinions on which you would choose and why.

I have my own dislikes of the CZ rifles. I have more than a couple Ruger model 77 in various calibers. I love the model 77's. One of the most reliable rifles I own. No problems with any one of them. Including the older tang safety models and the newer 3 position safety models. I sold my stainless 77 in 17HMR, to fund my 204R. Wish I had that rifle back.
I did replace my 17 with a CZ 452 American. At times, when things get hot and heavy in the rat fields, I have problems when chambering the next round. I have been shooting bolt rifles longer than I care to think about, and have never had a problem manipulating the bolt, until this rifle. I also do not like the CZ's clip setup.
Just my 2 cents

So a Stainless Ruger Hawkeye then maybe find a nice wood stock to bed it in?????

The Ruger would be my first choice!
I like wood way more than a comp stock, but you mentioned wet conditions. If you go this way, I would suggest making sure the wood stock is sealed against any wet conditions you run into. If not sealed correctly, in wet conditions, the wood can swell, which can cause pressure points, and affect accuracy.

Synthetic stocks don't have to look like camo or somebody's driveway either. Here's what McMillan can do for their fiberglass stocks....this one is on my pre-'64 M70 .270 Win:



Not sure if they still offer this option, but it even fooled some guys from Winchester thinking it was wood during a hunt a few years ago; they asked me why I would ever bring a AAA Fancy exebition carlo walnut stock into hunting camp. Ha, gotcha!, It's NOT wood. It's called their "Fibergrain" finish if you're interested and durable as all git-out. Good stuff, and looks good to boot (but a tad spendy).

Oh and on your choice.....the CZ has better accuracy potential. I own examples of both, excellent rifles both, but feel the CZ 527 will outperform the Ruger in terms of accuracy, may not be by much though, but chances are it will have a better barrel. It will also have the excellent set trigger CZ is known for; no replacement Ruger factory trigger to deal with. JMO, good luck whichever way you go.

Rick, I have seen that picture before. Amazed me again!

Yeah Jon, she's a sweetie and a life-long hunting friend. Been shooting mulies with her now since 1970, and paid $325 for her from a BR shooter engineer friend.



Sorry to the OP for the OT stray. Wood always looks better, but you just can't beat the synthetics in the wet stuff.

Those fibergrain stocks are as rare as hens teeth, Rick. They haven't made them for several years, if my memory isn't off too much, but they do offer a similar look in a brown/ black swirl pattern that look 'wood" at 20'.


I don't recall the color combo they offer that looks wood-ish, but from what I have seen, sans the grain structure of Rick's stock, the new color combo is pleasing to those that dislike the synthetic look.

6 days and counting



Oh, I also agree on the rifle choice, the CZ stocks are a little small for my benchrest shooting, but they are scaled perfectly and have, as Rick said, a great trigger and much better odds of getting a shooter than the Rugers. I just restocked a CZ 527 in 17 AH with a cooper-like forearm and an A5 buttstock, and it shoots much better from the bags. I need to shape it a little more, then send it back to the duplicator for a copy for another CZ I have.

Allen

C-Z hands down. Although I'm not a fan of the pencil barrels on the 527 Americans; the walnut stock Varmints really aren't that much heavier/longer. I did handle a new Ruger Predator with the Green Mtn. stock recently and kind of liked it, but in was in .22 Hornet and wasn't sure if they'd ever bothered to fix the notorious accuracy problem of their Hornets.
fwiw, the TC Venture Predator might be worth a look as a knock around, carry-type .204 and the price is right.

My choice would be the CZ527

I don't have a lot of experience with either one, but have owned a couple of each. The CZ527s I have are the most accurate out of the box rifles I own (204 Ruger and 22 Hornet)

Out of the box, CZ's are a darn good bargin.

JMO...

My CZ 527 Varmint is sitting at UPS site in town, waiting for a freakin TUESDAY delivery to my FFL. It is killing me!