Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles CZ 527 Varmint in 17 Hornet Feeding Issues

Finally had a chance to take my new CZ 527 Varmint chambered in 17 Hornet to the range to sight it in. I was primarily there to sight the scope in using Hornady factory ammo before I started doing load work ups.

Let me tell you, that was by far the worst experience I've ever had with a firearm—new or used. When she performed correctly it was an amazing experience to shoot the 527 in 17 Hornet. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the time she did not perform well. My issue stems from the fact that it would never feed the round properly. It appeared that as the round was being pushed from the magazine, the round would be directed and jammed into the shoulder of the barrel just before the neck. Even when the bullet would properly align with the neck/throat the bolt would seize up as if something was binding. I tried two different lot numbers of loaded Hornady ammo and the issue didn't change. Unfortunately, I didn't save a loaded round to measure the OAL. Ultimately, this forced me to single feed multiple rounds, which is a challenge in-and-of-itself with such a small round and tightly cut bolt opening.

Did I just get a dud of a 527 and should contact CZ or is there some trick to feeding the 17H in 527 that I'm unaware of?

Sounds like a magazine issue-I would definately contact CZ.And stop calling it a she,might be taking it personal.

Here's a trick I use with my American. Push on the rear of the bolt itself. not the handle. Use your thumb and push the bolt closed with a straight-in motion, don't let it wander, just straight in. Then turn the bolt handle down. I have the original magazine, and one older magazine and one newer magazine, for the .22 Hornet rifle, and none of them feed particularly well. Take your original magazine and load it, and leave it loaded for a couple of weeks, that might help, too.But pushing the bolt straight in, with no binding, using your thumb has worked best for me.

It certainly is an aggravation, but my work-around has done well enough for my needs.

I had a CZ 527 with a similar problem; can't remember if it was a .22 Hornet or .204R. At any rate, it seemed like a too-stiff magazine spring was the culprit. Since (newer) coil springs have a " memory", I simply kept the two detachable mags I had for that rifle loaded to capacity when not in use to lighten the tension, and the problem eventually went away. Lightly stoning the burrs on the feed lips may have helped, too.

Spoke with a technician at CZ, they felt that a new magazine would solve the issue. So I guess I’ll be buying one of those.

Thank for the input Rowdy and Rat, I’ll load the current mag with spent rounds to see if I can reduce some of that spring tension.

I have a similar feeding problem with mine but it mostly occurs with only 1 round in the magazine. If the mag is full, it feeds OK but not slickly like my other 527s in 221 FB and 222 Rem. I believe the problem is partly due to the thickness of the rim on the Hornet case and how tightly it is held by the claw extractor. If possible, please post your experiences once you get a new magazine from CZ. Good luck and thanks!

I have to do the thumb push with my .223, although only the first one in the mag. Seems to be pretty normal for 527's.

IIRC Dirtfarmer ground a bit off the edges of the mag spring to reduce tension a tiny bit. You might PM him.

Buying a CZ 527 was the worst firearms experience ive had during my many years of owning guns.
Mine was a lefty version in 223, and before it finally ended id had 4 different ones.
Mine was primarily an accuracy issue which was varified by them each time i sent one back.
They finally did agree to refund my purchase price, but refused to include the sales tax i had paid.
It turned out that i had purchased a very attractive piece of junk.
I ended up buying a Savage which although not as attractive, shot the first load i tried extremly well.

I have two CZ 527's, one a .22 Hornet, the other a .223 in the M1, three-round mag version.
The .22 Hornet is a very slick action, no feed problems whatsoever, and sub-.5" MOA accurate with several types of ammo and bullets.
The .223, on the other hand, had a fairly rough, gritty bolt, which smoothed out somewhat after being cycled a few hundred times. The mag spring is so stiff that it is very difficult to get the last round into it- I do like mentioned above, keep the mag full in hopes it will soften up over time. Accuracy, however, is on a par with the Hornet, especially with 40 gr. V-Max bullets.