I have noticed a lot of interest in the new Canadian Ranger rifle in posts as of late, and some questions about the CZ rifles that Wolverine has for sale.
I didn't find anything that helped me when I was looking to buy this rifle so I thought I would brush on it a bit for those still on the fence.
To start off with this rifle is not the Mauser derived action that CZ has been pumping out for most of the last century. This new rifle is more of a post 64 model 70 or model 700 style push feed action.
Out of the box it arrived with a picatinny rail bridging the top of the receiver. The rail has a generous channel down the middle to accommodate the use of the open sights.
One ten round staggered box magazine accompanies the rifle. It's 20 inch barrel has a square notch rear sight with two white dots on it much like popular pistol sights.
The front sight is an adjustable for elevation fiber optic system with a skeletal shroud.
The literature says that the stock is birch. The wood looks nice and I would not consider changing it out for something more durable as the plethora of K98 and SMLE rifles have proven tough enough to stand the test of time in some very rough handling conditions.
Right off the bat there were a few things about the rifle I did not care for. First was the rear on sight. Long has it been established that receiver mounted peep sights are a superior sight to the barrel mounted adjustable rear sight. As CZ was building a proprietary top rail for this rifle it's too bad the didn't try to incorporate a peep sight into it. With quick detachable scope mounts such a set up would make a very versatile rifle. Granted the factory rear sight is usable in this manner but it still a disappointment to me.
As this rifle is to be a dedicated open sight rifle I chose to order the NECG CZ 550 peep sight for it. This sight mounts to the CZ 19mm grooves that are machined into the receiver and accessible once the picatinny rail is removed.
The NECG sight retails for $90.00 American. Once exchange and shipping are accounted for the cost jumped to $180.00 to my P.O. box.
The second thing that I found to be an issue for me was the adjustments for the front sight. There are two set screws on the front sight just above the bore. The top one adjusts the elevation of the blade, the bottom screw seems to lock the blade. When the front blade was lifted up to the higher positions it still flopped up and down a bit when locked. I cut a ball point pen spring down and put under the blade where the front sight mounting screw is. Once locked now the front sight is solid. This kind of repair should not be necessary, if a company is going to put open sights on a hunting rifle they should be rock solid reliable.
The last thing I didn't care for was the two position safety. My preference for a open sighted, bolt action bush rifle is a three position safety that locks the bolt closed. This prevents the bolt from getting knocked open while tramping around. This helps keep the action clean regardless of whether you choose to have a round in the chamber or not. I can't change this so I am willing to live with it.
I Took the rifle to the range Today to get it sighted in at 100 yards..
After some barrel break in/getting the rounds on paper I shot five rounds, moved the rear sight to the left a bit then shot another five rounds.
Considering my poor eye sight I am pretty happy with the results. I bet these rifles have some pretty good accuracy if I was to put a scope on it, but thats not what this rifle is for. As it is I am pretty sure that I can hit a deer where I want at at reasonable open sight distance.
Jody
I didn't find anything that helped me when I was looking to buy this rifle so I thought I would brush on it a bit for those still on the fence.
To start off with this rifle is not the Mauser derived action that CZ has been pumping out for most of the last century. This new rifle is more of a post 64 model 70 or model 700 style push feed action.
Out of the box it arrived with a picatinny rail bridging the top of the receiver. The rail has a generous channel down the middle to accommodate the use of the open sights.
One ten round staggered box magazine accompanies the rifle. It's 20 inch barrel has a square notch rear sight with two white dots on it much like popular pistol sights.
The front sight is an adjustable for elevation fiber optic system with a skeletal shroud.
The literature says that the stock is birch. The wood looks nice and I would not consider changing it out for something more durable as the plethora of K98 and SMLE rifles have proven tough enough to stand the test of time in some very rough handling conditions.
Right off the bat there were a few things about the rifle I did not care for. First was the rear on sight. Long has it been established that receiver mounted peep sights are a superior sight to the barrel mounted adjustable rear sight. As CZ was building a proprietary top rail for this rifle it's too bad the didn't try to incorporate a peep sight into it. With quick detachable scope mounts such a set up would make a very versatile rifle. Granted the factory rear sight is usable in this manner but it still a disappointment to me.
As this rifle is to be a dedicated open sight rifle I chose to order the NECG CZ 550 peep sight for it. This sight mounts to the CZ 19mm grooves that are machined into the receiver and accessible once the picatinny rail is removed.
The NECG sight retails for $90.00 American. Once exchange and shipping are accounted for the cost jumped to $180.00 to my P.O. box.
The second thing that I found to be an issue for me was the adjustments for the front sight. There are two set screws on the front sight just above the bore. The top one adjusts the elevation of the blade, the bottom screw seems to lock the blade. When the front blade was lifted up to the higher positions it still flopped up and down a bit when locked. I cut a ball point pen spring down and put under the blade where the front sight mounting screw is. Once locked now the front sight is solid. This kind of repair should not be necessary, if a company is going to put open sights on a hunting rifle they should be rock solid reliable.
The last thing I didn't care for was the two position safety. My preference for a open sighted, bolt action bush rifle is a three position safety that locks the bolt closed. This prevents the bolt from getting knocked open while tramping around. This helps keep the action clean regardless of whether you choose to have a round in the chamber or not. I can't change this so I am willing to live with it.
I Took the rifle to the range Today to get it sighted in at 100 yards..
After some barrel break in/getting the rounds on paper I shot five rounds, moved the rear sight to the left a bit then shot another five rounds.
Considering my poor eye sight I am pretty happy with the results. I bet these rifles have some pretty good accuracy if I was to put a scope on it, but thats not what this rifle is for. As it is I am pretty sure that I can hit a deer where I want at at reasonable open sight distance.
Jody
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