CZ 600 AL1 Alpha - Initial Impressions
- Thread starter thegazelle
- Start date
Maybe, but I think it's due to slightly different size cases / case heads between brands.
When the bolt moved forward to pick up a round, the feed didn't seem very "in-control" with certain brands. The Federals fed straight in. But some of the other brands had a slight upward angle to them, causing the bullet to hang-up on the way in instead
That is exactly what happened in my case...but I have found a couple of things afterwards - oiling the bolt generously along with working the bolt quickly seems to have fixed the problem with the diagonal pointing round half in the mag, half out.
This is definitely not my Tikka, that I can literally chamber a round and work the bolt as slow as a turtle and it chambers. If I have to run the bolt faster to chamber successfully, for the Alpha, so be it. The subsequent performance gain is well worth it.
What exactly do you mean by "superb" accuracy with Norinco Red Box at 100m? Can you give some numerical group size?
Hitting a small gong at 100 so not qualitative number wise. I know Norinco red box is not match grade but despite this, the gun performed remarkably. So when I say superb that is based on my experience, my (lack of) shooting skills coupled with the performance of the gun. I don't even hit paper, much less a gong at 100 with my SKS, using the same ammo. But it all is subjective. What I found impressive for me, may be ho hum for someone else (like I was telling someone I broke 120 in golf once and they laughed as they broke 90 normally - for me in shooting in the 130s normally - which if you know anything about golf, it's not even a score beginners get - beginners do much better). It is like using Canadian Tire golf balls and I get 110. It ain't the golf balls, it ain't the player, so it's gotta be the clubs...lol..
Fair enough. Somehow, I thought that after hitting gongs you switched to a paper target for more exact assessment. I asked that question because some time ago I was looking for another bolt action rifle as an addition to my already own Howa 1500 Mini Action (7.62x39). Since I don't hunt anymore, I didn't want to put too much money for just punching paper so no Tikka or Sako were in the cards. Regrettably, the Alpha didn't
impress me to the extent that I would fall in love with it. All in all, I purchased another Howa 1500 Mini Action, 20" barrel, but with a tactical stock (a pistol grip etc) for a very decent price. With a brass cased ammo, like Ruag, I can get a 0.8-1.5" 3-shot grouping at 100 meters (not yards). However, with Norinco Red Box the best I can do is 2" (3 shots) but usually larger than that. Just wanted to compare with your CZ 600 Alpha.
Sadly, I am neither marksmanship proficient enough nor am I exacting enough to measure my shots. I am one of those guys where hitting somewhere on the target is "good enough", so I have always swore off match ammo, since I have used it previously (think it was Lapua Midas or Xact or something for a .22) and for me, the juice isn't worth the squeeze, insofar as performance. Actually for me, target shooting is less about performance and exacting detail as it is about personal enjoyment (yes, I know, some will argue only people who suck at target shooting would say such a thing, and they may be right). But truth be told, even when I used to golf, I wouldn't upgrade my balls (golf balls) for a performance gain. Clubs are a different story, but even then, I am happy to go 18 holes without losing my balls (golf balls), though some people would find that setting the bar way too low. But I am naturally a low bar setter anyway.
