CZ 527 Varmint .204 VS Remington 700 VTR .223

[Feddog82]

I know these are 2 completely different rifles. But if you had the opportunity to purchase one of the two. Both at a great dicount, which one would you take? I like the .204 ballistically and I like how you can buy .223 ammo almost anywhere. You should know i will be using either one for long distance shooting (100-400) @ targets, woodchucks, coyote, and whatever else may present itself.

Maybe I'll be swayed one way...........or maybe the other. Or maybe still confused.

[timbrfrmr25]

Personally i'd buy the 700, tried and trued and 223 is also cheaper than 204. I would still love to have a 204 but with a limited budget i'll shoot the 223

[timbrfrmr25]

you know you can get the 700 vtr in 204 right?

[seoulstice]

I'd go with the CZ 527 Varmint, I haven't heard the best things about the VTR stock and you really don't need a muzzle brake on a .223 rifle, a .223 just doesn't recoil enough to justify it. The CZ is the better looking rifle IMO, you may like the the tacticool look of the VTR more.

[Feddog82]

you know you can get the 700 vtr in 204 right?

yeah but not at the price I'd be getting the VTR in .223

[Feddog82]

I'd go with the CZ 527 Varmint, I haven't heard the best things about the VTR stock and you really don't need a muzzle brake on a .223 rifle, a .223 just doesn't recoil enough to justify it. The CZ is the better looking rifle IMO, you may like the the tacticool look of the VTR more.

I like the CZ looks better too.

[acebarracuda]

Hey,

The CZ's are a very nice rifle. What is the twist rate?

The .223 VTR it comes with a 1-9 twist. You can run the heavier longer bullets and make 400 yard shots just that much easier.

Ace

[Tomcat088]

The CZ's are nice rifles from what I hear, but I still wouldn't go with a .204. What kind of conditions do you typically shoot in? I personally prefer the .22-250 over the .204. Although they have similar velocities, the .22-250 shoots heavier bullets at the same speed as the .204 and so it will have less wind drift. The bullets are basically the same price, so that's why I'd rather deliver a little more kinetic energy on target with the heavier target, and less drift. The .223 isn't the fastest cartridge around, but it sure will get the job done out to 400 yards, and it's cheaper and easy to find.

Have you considered the barrel life of both of these rifles? The hotrods like the .204, .22-250, etc suffer from overbore. You'll heat up a barrel pretty quickly, with a barrel that has some stress left in it from the rifling process, you'll see the shots start to walk. You can see this with any barrel (especially factory barrels), but since the .204 will generate more heat, it'll get to that point faster. You can wear the throat out of a .204 and .22-250 ALOT faster than you would a .223, so just keep that in mind as well. You'll see the groups open up at a lower round count with the .204, and then have to start chasing the lands with your reloads, or just deal with the accuracy loss.

I'm not sure what some of the game regulations in PA are because I'm from Texas, but you need to check those out. You mentioned "whatever presents itself" as what you might shoot with this rifle. Since ya'll have a fur trade, there might be more regulations on coyotes and things of that nature, than there is here in Texas. Make sure that the .204 size bullet, in Texas on "game animals" the smallest caliber you can use is a .223. I'm not sure if that is the case in PA and what coyotes fall under, but I'm sure you probably won't be able to use the .204 on deer, and might possibly be able to use the .223. Please just keep that in mind and check on things so you're legal. Either way, both of those rifles should be up to the task at the distances you mentioned. Something else to keep in mind is that it will be much easier to find accessories, and parts (if something broke) for the Remington 700, but probably still not hard for that CZ; just not quite as many options.

P.S. The brake isn't because the rifle recoils too hard. The brake is so that you can see your hits in the scope easily. On a varmint rifle, it's quite a desirable feature. Best of luck to you.

[CENTERMAST]

IMO, the 204 is a trendy caliber, once the newness wears off, I doubt people are still going to be so in love with them. In my experience shooting the 204, it will hold its own out to about 200 yds and then wind drift starts to rear its ugly head. Besides, to hell with CZ, buy American. If you do end up shootin' out to 400yds, the 223 is ballistically surperior. And last but not least I purchased a 700SPS Tactical in 223 about 2 months ago. The feel of the stock takes a little getting used to, but I don't see what all the fuss is about. So far I have been loading Nosler 40 gr Ballistic Tips over 25.5 gr of Varget and have shot 3 shot groups at 200 yds that are covered by a nickel. I am by no means a "crack shot" but I practice often and that is about as well as I could ask for. To do better would mean I would have to shoot up to the rifle's potential not the rifle having to be tuned to meet my skills.

[EvanB]

I have had a cz 527 .204 and regret selling it, super accurate right out of the box with about anything I put in it. Brass hard to fins so I am looking for another .204 but will rechamber it to .20 Practical. Cheaper than rebarreling and lot easier to load for.