Tweet
Originally posted by grayfox
View Post
-
If getting your hands on a bolt action as fast as possible is your goal, for whatever reason, then this might be your route. I agree with Oso P though. A CZ is worth waiting to save up the additional $300. When I ordered my Varmint Grendel I paid up front and the dealer gave me a "cost plus" pricing. Ended up costing me $675.~Riuma -
Patiently waiting for my LGS to get me a CZ... It's been a couple months now since I had him order me a 527 and I'll be waiting this time next year if thats what it takes. Lucky for me I've got my two AR's in 6.5 Grendel to make the time pass!! LOLComment
-
Just got back from a "field trial" of my 20" howa, with 3 loads, 2 handloads and 1 factory.
All groups were at 100 yds.
123sst AR comp 27.4, 2510 fps, 4 shots 0.756".
120 gold dot Lever 31.2, (2.280 coal) 2511 fps, 4 shots 0.716 and same POA as the sst.
115 Tac-tx m/le Factory load, 5 shots, 0.879", 2510 fps. This one shoots 1" to the right, easy scope tweak to use it.
I would think, all things considered, that either way you go should be fine for you. It's just your choice, is all.
Howa-20-FieldTrial.jpg"Down the floor, out the door, Go Brandon Go!!!!!"Comment
-
Call "The Fort" in Big Timber , Montana. (google it. Big Timber ain't that big) They had one on the shelf two weeks ago and never seem to lack CZ's. It's where I bought my latest American 7,62x39. ~RiumaOriginally posted by Rufjustis View PostComment
-
-
Pine Tree was a score!Comment
-
Glad you found one. You got the suppressor -ready?Originally posted by Jays375 View Post
I took my American out last Saturday with 85 grain Sierras over H335. Great accuracy. After deer season I will re-zero for this load to use on coyote and similar creatures. ~Riuma
Grendel 85 grain.jpgLast edited by riuma; 10-13-2021, 03:15 AM.Comment
-
Still waiting for mine.. Just saw your post, ricsmall and riuma, I'll look them up and give them a try. Thanks for the info.Comment
-
cz is the winner over the Howa by long margin for me also, have owned both, we care about predator hunting as much as big game hunting so we love the Grendel and we have migrated to the Ruger ranch, it beats them both for a variety of reasons for me and I was a long time cz fan, the Howa's I'll never own another
the cz's wear in, never out, they benefit from bedding, action smoothing, and a little loctite on one of the trigger screws (the one for creep) so it doesn't back out and allow the creep back, mine I was able to get to 2 3/4 lb pull and maybe 98% creep free, so they start out more money and then more money and time in smithing to get em really dialled in, mine was more like solid moa average with Hornady black on factory barrel even bedded but a different story when I put 24" proof carbon on it...eitherway you can put a Ruger ranch together in your underwear in the kitchen and it needs nothing extra and you get 10 round mags...mine averages 3/4 moa same ammo out to 500 yards for 3 shot groups, Hornady black factory ammo, impressed enough to have got two more ranches for builds for my boys, we've gone mdt chassis route on all three, but it wasn't for lack of trying with the other two platforms...cz's can be sweet with dollars and some effort, the Howa likely could too but you need even more dollars as you need new stock, new bottom metal that replaces their horsesh@t magazine system, new trigger to ditch that awful two stage with crappy blade feel and the crappy safety lever...just the raw heavy metal of the Howa is any good, action(without trigger), barrel, bolt...so if you like projects get the Howa or cz...if you want the working mans winner...get the RugerComment
-
And Timney makes a decent adjustable replacement trigger for the Ruger. About $150. Money well spent IMO. I have really grown to hate the Savage style safety trigger and all their knockoffs. Just a whole bunch of nothing! IMO
Comment
-
I have written elsewhere: My newest CZ 527 American 7,62x39 came from the factory with Glass bedding, a steel bedding block and was pillar bedded. Unlike my 4 year old Grendel that required pillar bedding, this rifle required nothing and produces half MOA from the start with my handloads.Originally posted by Stinky Coyote View Post
I have the Ruger Grendel and it is a shooter, but nothing like my Grendel American or Varmint.~RiumaComment
-
I recently got a 6.5 Grendel Howa mini 20" heavy barrel rifle. If I would have waited a few weeks, I might have gotten a Ruger American ranch rifle instead. Not being clairvoyant, I had no idea they would be available again. Oh well...
The Howa... eh... lots of post purchase stuff needed.
Yeah, the trigger guard/magazine bottom is horse crap. My instruction book said 55 inch# for the action screws. Being part dumb-ass (I shoulda known better) I torqued the screws at that setting. SNAP! The rear hole split(invective uttered)! Called Legacy & talked to a very nice lady & explained my screw-up. She said she would get me a new guard in the mail ASAP... FREE! She put me on hold to ask a gunsmith what the torque value should be. When she returned, she said it should be no higher than 35 inch#. One thing I noticed that is an improvement on the trigger guard is the magazine release lever. It's shorter than the original & has serrations on its face for finger traction. It should keep accidental mag releases at a minimum.
Not really wanting to put on that plastic turd again, I called Wayne at Oregon gunsmithing to see If I could get one of his trigger guards. He told me he didn't have any ready to ship 'cause he didn't have any magazine springs. That's the only out-sourced part of his trigger guard & he was still waiting for them from his supplier. Besides that, it's deer hunting season & they would be shut down for a couple of weeks. He asked for a phone number & said he would call when he had assembled guards.
Meanwhile, I ordered a DIP bottom. Way better part than the OEM! I also got DIP's mag release lever. What a PITA to install. I made a slave pin to hold the lever & spring together which made the job easier to do.
One of the first things I noticed after unboxing my rifle, the barrel was just touching the left side of the stock barrel channel. I loosened the stock screws & stuck a 1/16th" thick piece cardboard between the barrel & stock & re-tightened the screws. I had barrel clearance but it was still on the left side. Doubled up the piece of cardboard & tried it again. The barrel was still a little left but closer to center. Eh! Gotta bed this thing!
So... with the new DIP bottom & the stock bedded, everything looks GTG. Almost! When installing the magazine, it would hang up slightly. If I put a little forward pressure on it, it would go right in. What I noticed; on the inside of the action was a slight protrusion the magazine would hit if I didn't use the forward pressure. The protrusion looks to be only about 1/32nd of a inch but it's enough to cause a hang-up. I cut a shallow slot in the back of the magazine. Now installing it is silky smooth. I don't have to think about pushing the mag forward when installing it. It drops free easily as well.
I don't mind projects like this. It's kinda fun... sorta.
Last edited by Old Bob; 10-14-2021, 11:43 AM.I refuse to be victimized by notions of virtuous behavior.Comment
-
Haven't owned a cz, tried the ruger a couple times, couldn't get it to feed reliably for me. It shot well and I had handloads for it (and chassis), but...
Went back to the howa, 20" HB (like Bob's), and got the mdt chassis (love these chassies!). I got the barreled action so didn't have to mess with plastic (this time). Brownells gives me a discount on these actions. DIP is a nice add but for the mdt of course, not needed.
The mag release is a much shorter lever, it hides up in the chassis metal and is much stiffer - so much so that sometimes I need fingers from both hands to get it to release. so it's not going to drop out in the field. The round feed is butter smooth.
I have a VG6 6.5 brake on it and a strike eagle scope.
I also have handloads for this one, one is the sst with AR comp. another is the 120 gold dot, with ArC. Both at ~2511.
It's going with me on my deer hunt.
Anyway I know one works for some guys and the other does for others, but as for this howa it is a good one for me. In the right hands it takes a back seat to nobody.
Rarely have I gotten a rifle that shot the hdy black all that good... I just got it for the brass mostly. Handloads are a different story."Down the floor, out the door, Go Brandon Go!!!!!"Comment
-
When I bought my Howa Mini barrelled action from Brownells (2017/2018) I thought I would drop it into a MDT chassis. When I started to move forward on the project I saw all of the reviews/issues with magazine failures and no customer support... I put the box back in the closet and decided I wouldn't bother until someone came up with solutions. I really hoped and waited for someone to come up with an aftermarket replacement magazine or a way to use the E-lander metal mags. Nope....... Finally B&C introduced their stock and Oregunsmith came up with workable solution to bypass/eliminate the failures of Howa's magazine design and release lever placement.
Howa Mini is too much work needed to just get it to where it should be operating straight out of the box factory rifle. I want to hate mine, but it shoots well. If someone were to offer me their CZ 527 Grendel then I wouldn't hesitate swapping them... and that I guess is the final analysis.
Riuma - Those are nice factory improvements.... and a removeable metal magazine. You got me wanting another CZ.
Grayfox - how have you not owned a CZ?! Christmas is just around the corner!!!Last edited by Oso Polaris; 10-15-2021, 11:38 AM.Comment
-
Don't need it.
Here are a couple pics showing (top) my current baby, with the mdt chassis and the release lever (already installed from MDT, see how it pretty much hides up in the aluminum); b) lower left, current howa lower plastic with a much shorter release lever, better angle and tougher spring, c) the old style lever (much longer) in a DIP lower metal that I have. Click on it to enlarge, to see more detail.
So the current model is a better release (still plastic body however), and the mdt is even more so. So I didn't swap it out when installing the chassis, I'm keeping the mdt arrangement.
Not a howa "fan" per se, but I appreciate the adjustments they and MDT made to the design. And it shoots just fine. I also got a bolt handle big knob and epoxied it on, makes it even easier to cycle.
howa-458.jpg"Down the floor, out the door, Go Brandon Go!!!!!"Comment
Comment