Had a wonderful test session today. Things went as planned. This seldom happens.
The test was intended to determine:
How well can a CZ shoot?
How does the CZ compare to a SKS?
How does it compare to a AR-15/M4?
How do the various milsurp 7.62x39 compare?
Last week I shot all the milsurps I had on had in a heavy barreled bolt rifle with a 24X scope. 10 shot groups are good indicators of performance. The polish ammo was terrible, and the others were all pretty good, with an average group under 2”. The handloads used to prove the rifle all grouped under 1”.
I had intended to shoot the same ammo in the CZ, but the red dot on it covered the aiming mark. This week I switched the sight to a Long Eye Relief 7x scope. This was not as good as the 24X scope on the bolt rifle, but good enough to take good shots. In the CZ at 100 yards the handloads averaged about 3.3”. The milsurps averaged about 3.4”, not including the Polish, which once again was terrible.
100 yard Ammo test Milsurp v. Handloads
Rifle---- Bolt -- CZ Scoped
H'dload 0.5--- 3.3
Milsurp 1.9 --- 3.4
The fact that the Polish ammo did poorly in the CZ, just as it did poorly in the bolt rifle, tells me that the rifle is good enough to tell the difference between good ammo and poor. The test would have been more valid if the CZ had a better scope, but I am very comfortable in saying milsurp ammo is 2 MOA ammo and in a CZ it is 3 MOA for the combo.
I ran a rifle to rifle test at 50 yards because I could get better sight pictures at that distance with the iron sights on my 15” CZ. These are all rifles I have used in CQB. The AR/M4 has the best ergonomics for mag changes, etc., and my rifle has a match trigger which I like. I wanted to see how they all compared on a pure accuracy basis, shooting of a rest. I shot the non-restricted CZ with the scope and then replaced it with the Red Dot (SPARC) that I would use in CQB. Groups were about the same size.
The big surprise was my restricted CZ. It has the 15” barrel. I have removed the open sight and installed a peep. It grouped better (1.44”) than the long barreled CZ with the scope (2.11”) or with the Red Dot (1.98”).
The SKS was a surprise, too. 1.265" at 50 yards with Russian milsurp. The cheap scope ($20) is mounted on the action cover. A bolt is threaded through the receiver walls and cover, replacing the pin. This seems to hold everything solid. I bedded the rifle. This might help.
CQB RIFLES AT 50 YARDS
Restricted CZ with peep sight 1.44"
Non-Restricted CZ with 7X scope 2.00"
Non-Restricted CZ with SPARC RedDot 1.4"
SKS - Russian with 4X scope 1.265"
M4gery 1.2"
Note how the long barreled CZ with a scope did not outperform the short barreled CZ with a peep sight:
And this suggests an SKS can shoot. 50 yards with a 4X scope mounted on the action cover:
Conclusion: For CQB, the inherent accuracy of the rifles is not a big issue. They all shoot well enough to do the job. the big question is - Which one can you shoot best, offhand, including making fast mag changes? For me, I would rank the Rifles M4 - CZ and SKS.
Conclusion #2: The WPA ammo (Russian non-corrosive 123gr FMJ) is clearly better ammo than the milsurp. I wish I had bought more of it at the gun show.
The test was intended to determine:
How well can a CZ shoot?
How does the CZ compare to a SKS?
How does it compare to a AR-15/M4?
How do the various milsurp 7.62x39 compare?
Last week I shot all the milsurps I had on had in a heavy barreled bolt rifle with a 24X scope. 10 shot groups are good indicators of performance. The polish ammo was terrible, and the others were all pretty good, with an average group under 2”. The handloads used to prove the rifle all grouped under 1”.
I had intended to shoot the same ammo in the CZ, but the red dot on it covered the aiming mark. This week I switched the sight to a Long Eye Relief 7x scope. This was not as good as the 24X scope on the bolt rifle, but good enough to take good shots. In the CZ at 100 yards the handloads averaged about 3.3”. The milsurps averaged about 3.4”, not including the Polish, which once again was terrible.
100 yard Ammo test Milsurp v. Handloads
Rifle---- Bolt -- CZ Scoped
H'dload 0.5--- 3.3
Milsurp 1.9 --- 3.4
The fact that the Polish ammo did poorly in the CZ, just as it did poorly in the bolt rifle, tells me that the rifle is good enough to tell the difference between good ammo and poor. The test would have been more valid if the CZ had a better scope, but I am very comfortable in saying milsurp ammo is 2 MOA ammo and in a CZ it is 3 MOA for the combo.
I ran a rifle to rifle test at 50 yards because I could get better sight pictures at that distance with the iron sights on my 15” CZ. These are all rifles I have used in CQB. The AR/M4 has the best ergonomics for mag changes, etc., and my rifle has a match trigger which I like. I wanted to see how they all compared on a pure accuracy basis, shooting of a rest. I shot the non-restricted CZ with the scope and then replaced it with the Red Dot (SPARC) that I would use in CQB. Groups were about the same size.
The big surprise was my restricted CZ. It has the 15” barrel. I have removed the open sight and installed a peep. It grouped better (1.44”) than the long barreled CZ with the scope (2.11”) or with the Red Dot (1.98”).
The SKS was a surprise, too. 1.265" at 50 yards with Russian milsurp. The cheap scope ($20) is mounted on the action cover. A bolt is threaded through the receiver walls and cover, replacing the pin. This seems to hold everything solid. I bedded the rifle. This might help.
CQB RIFLES AT 50 YARDS
Restricted CZ with peep sight 1.44"
Non-Restricted CZ with 7X scope 2.00"
Non-Restricted CZ with SPARC RedDot 1.4"
SKS - Russian with 4X scope 1.265"
M4gery 1.2"
Note how the long barreled CZ with a scope did not outperform the short barreled CZ with a peep sight:
And this suggests an SKS can shoot. 50 yards with a 4X scope mounted on the action cover:
Conclusion: For CQB, the inherent accuracy of the rifles is not a big issue. They all shoot well enough to do the job. the big question is - Which one can you shoot best, offhand, including making fast mag changes? For me, I would rank the Rifles M4 - CZ and SKS.
Conclusion #2: The WPA ammo (Russian non-corrosive 123gr FMJ) is clearly better ammo than the milsurp. I wish I had bought more of it at the gun show.
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