Looking for advice on a decent bolt action in 7.62x39

albertaman238 said:
I believe Sabatti also makes or made a x39 bolt also...made in italy.
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I have the Sabatti Rover 600 in 7.62x39mm. It's a full size hunting rifle with a synthetic stock (see pic). Accuracy is a solid 1.5-2" at 100y with Norinco non-corrosive x39mm. A bit better with Barnaul and Hornady SST. Unfortunately, nowadays,the Rover 600 is nearly impossible to be found in Canada in x39mm. The only vendor I know has it for a whopping $975! It's not worth that much. At that price I guess I would rather have the CZ527. I bought mine on sale from Marstar for a bit more than $500. For that price, it was a bargain.

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Buddy had a CZ527 in X39. Very nice little rifle, especially with the set trigger.
Did some Mexican Match ammo replacing the fmj with a similar weight softpoint and it shot to the same point of impact as the Czech milsurp.
His biggest gripe was that he couldn't find a spare magazine for it. He wanted a spare for some reason.

I've got a bolt action Norinco in X39 and it isn't as nice as the CZ. If you can find one, they're shooter grade, but not high end.
 
When looking to buy a gun, my criteria is for excellence within my budget; the word decent never comes up since it implies a race to the bottom. I have a CZ 527 in .223 and should I ever consider a 7.62X39 bolt gun, this model would be my first consideration. I'm not a fan of set triggers myself, but the trigger on the 527 can be adjusted for weight and to be creep and over travel free, effectively disabling the set feature. This little rifle, the full stock 20" version, has proven to be excellent for the price.
 
Set trigger is like anything else, have to use it and it becomes something you will not want to go without. Every rifle I own that has the option of a set trigger has it.

In Europe, it is odd to see someone hunting with a rifle that does not have a set trigger.

The regular versions of the 527 never appealed to me with the long barrel in what was supposed to be a small carbine. As soon as they made the 16" barrel version, I had to have it
 
xdmer said:
What didn't you like about the ranch? The 527 with synthetic stalk is much lighter, and I like CRF. Note sure I would sell the CZ ... but the stock sights suck.
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Ruger stock sux and the mini 30 mags is kind of pointless. Ruger does a ranch in 6.5 Grendel which uses AR mags like their 223 and 300blk, not sure why they didn't go the same route with 7.62x39

I even have the ranch in 450 bushmaster, the magazine on that is horrible, but fixed that problem with a mdt chassis and aics magazines

If I intend to put a scope on a rifle, I opt for a version without sights as it can not get snagged on anything. The suppressor ready version of the 527 with its 16" barrel is how the rifle should have been. The longer barrels of the other versions make it a rifle, not a carbine
 
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I have the cz I like it but it has its faults. The wood behind the tang broke out right away. The set trigger is so light I never use it it’s less than a pound and I could not adjust the gritty creep out of the normal setting trigger. There is a loose spot in the barrel directly where the rear sight boss is. The bottom plate of the magazine kept falling off under recoil till I welded a bit on it. Still it shoots well and seems well made besides its bloopers, not surprising me having owned a cz 550 previously also afflicted with various odd faults. My 527 is rough even after a thousand rounds or so if that matters although I think that’s just being a cz. I also had a howa mini in 7.62x39 which was simpler and maybe superior but not as svelte as the cz and with a bulky mag and I just didn’t like it as much and sold it. Also the howa was a light barreled model and was twitchy where the cz is very light but still has a normal muzzle diameter and shoots better offhand, a nice handling little rifle and the butt is quite big and comfortable in recoil
 
Makes sense, I wish the cz had a shorter barrel. I was surprised at the weight of the ruger ranch, but with a red dot it makes a nice bush gun. I don't mind the stock, but the rubber butt catches and snags badly on clothes and jacket.
Brian46 said:
Ruger stock sux and the mini 30 mags is kind of pointless. Ruger does a ranch in 6.5 Grendel which uses AR mags like their 223 and 300blk, not sure why they didn't go the same route with 7.62x39

I even have the ranch in 450 bushmaster, the magazine on that is horrible, but fixed that problem with a mdt chassis and aics magazines

If I intend to put a scope on a rifle, I opt for a version without sights as it can not get snagged on anything. The suppressor ready version of the 527 with its 16" barrel is how the rifle should have been. The longer barrels of the other versions make it a rifle, not a carbine
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xdmer said:
Makes sense, I wish the cz had a shorter barrel. I was surprised at the weight of the ruger ranch, but with a red dot it makes a nice bush gun. I don't mind the stock, but the rubber butt catches and snags badly on clothes and jacket.
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Suppressor ready version of the 527 has a 16" barrel, that is the only version I would consider, it is also the one I have
 
I slugged my axis 2 scout barrel just now and got .3105. It’s entirely possible this is erroneous though cause it’s hard to start the slug due to the ridiculous muzzle brake on the end. In any event I love the rifle ever since savage sent me an apparently updated magazine. I suspect the early magazine springs were too weak and let the cartridge tumble forward into the magazine rather than chamber. The rifle has a good set of irons and has been amazingly accurate with any ammo I feed through it.
 
I have a Zastava Mannlicher in 7.622x39. Actually bought it to shoot up a large batch of surplus ammo. Sadly with that ammo it was minute of pie plate. Have components to reload for it, just haven't got around to it yet. Rifle handles well, and ballistically the little round is pretty close to the 30-30, so it certainly should make a decent deer gun. FWIW. - dan
 
That's an easy choice... CZ 527 by a country mile. They are just excellent rifles. Find a nice 3-9x40 or 2-7x32 and some quality commercial hunting ammo (S&B, Prvi, Geco, etc.) and you are well equipped for whitetail.
 
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