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There is quite an aesthetic difference between the 527 M1 American, 527 American and 527 Varmint models and the other more traditional CZ European 527 Models. The American style guns have straight cut stocks, Simple pattern 18 LPI checkering, a sweeping and reduced angle pistol grip and no metallic sights. The M1 American is listed as having three round capacity in comparison to the five round capacity of other 527 Models. However, the M1 is supplied with both three and five round magazines. The three round magazine inserts flush with the stock, the five round magazine projects to the bottom of the trigger guard. The M1 American has a slightly flattened trigger guard contour in comparison to other models. All models include a single set trigger, a feature that sells for about $250 more as an after market assembly and leaves the gun owner in search of a gunsmith to make the installation. The M1 American is offered in .223 Remington only. Chambers available in other 527 based models: .17 Remington, .222 Remington, .22 Hornet, .204 Ruger, .221 Fireball, and 7.62×39 which means it is available on one for or another for everything from light varmint work to deer. A Legacy Rifle? I have a few legacy rifles, those that I enjoy a great deal and want to save for my grandchildren for future use… way in the future. Rifles I can hand to them when they reach retirement age. None of them are fancy rifles, no exotic customs or even very expensive factory guns. Just accurate guns, worn from handling and shooting. Guns mostly made with modern manufacturing technology, but from traditional materials. I think the CZ 527 M1 American has the potential to fit into this category. The CA 527 M1 American is devoid of plastic parts, a magnet sticks to anything not made of wood or rubber. Metal parts have a deep blued finish that is somewhere between low gloss and satin… just enough sheen. The stock’s satin finish is very close to oil rubbed in appearance and the borderless checkering is filled with cleanly cut and very precise sharply diamonds. And the gun’s operation is particularly slick. The CZ 527 M1 American has a specified weight of five and one half pounds, however, the gun that is the focal point within this piece weighed six and one quarter pounds, which is about as light as I’d like to get for a well finished, well balanced wood stocked rifle. I noticed the CZ web site lists the walnut stocked M1 at five and one half pounds and a synthetic stocked M1, the Ultralight Predator, as six and one quarter (6.3) pounds. Conjecture on my part, but it’s possible the weights are transposed. Micro Vs. Mini Mauser
For the sake of clarity let’s define Mauser action lengths as magnum, standard, short, mini and micro. These actions, respectively, support approximate cartridge lengths of: 3.600″, 3.300″, 2.800″, 2.350″, and 2.260″. In addition to cartridge length, each has its own limitation in terms of case and case rim diameter. While Mauser actions come in a variety of lengths, length is not necessarily an indication of strength that progresses with size. This is evident in a comparison between a basic mini Mauser action and the CZ Micro Mauser action.
 The CZ Micro is considerably more stout in strength areas than the mini-Mauser action –
If the mini-Mauser holds any edge over the CZ Micro Mauser, it is in the mini-Mauser’s ability to potentially handle a slightly larger diameter cartridge, but since the CZ is chambered for all popular cartridges, I would label this edge as a conceptual advantage.
 I believe the bottom side photo, above, does a good job of illustrating why one action is labeled “micro” and the other, “mini”. The CZ action, top, is an extremely compact and well made action. For all of the increase in size to get to the mini, there is little functional gain other than feed port capacity, predominately in width and the trigger mechanism is full size where the trigger on the CZ is very compact even with the single set feature.
Bear with me, I’m a hardware geek…
 A very big difference between the CZ and generic mini-Mauser implementations of the Mauser design is in how slick and tight the CZ unit is in comparison to the mini Mauser bolt, a bolt that barely feels as though it is part of the overall assembly. Check out the bolt droop on the mini Mauser, bottom, in comparison to the very straight bolt traveling CZ, top. (Hey, didn’t those guys do half the sound track for “An Officer and a Gentleman”?) The difference in feel is in the lateral bolt support the CZ action provides aft of its rear receiver ring.
 As seen above, the CZ action projects well aft of the rear receiver ring with the right side extension of the action trapping the extractor to keep the bolt traveling in a straight line and also serving to mount the rocker type safety mechanism. More specifically, the aft portion of the CZ action provides two and one half inches of bolt engagement where the mini Mauser provides only one and one quarter inches of engagement, The mini-Mauser actually holds true to the original Mauser, but the differences in extractor and ejector design, coupled with the much smaller bolt diameter yield and bolt on the mini-Mauser that moves about like the original equipment floor shift on a Borg Warner four speed transmission – sloppy, sloppy, sloppy. Military Model 98 Mauser, below right.
 OK. Wake up. I’m over the bolt support issue…
 I think it was good of CZ-USA to include both three and five round magazines. Owners can go with the three round when they want to impress family and friends then, when they are out hunting where no one can judge them on acceptable firearm aesthetics, they can swap in the five round and be better prepared to deal with wily coyote.
 Steel medium height scope rings are included with the CZ 527 M1 American that fit the 16MM dovetails that are integral to the receiver. The aft ring is keyed to lock into the receiver to prevent fore-aft movement. The medium height is to clear the ocular end of modern scopes. Inclusion of magazines and quality scope rings, I think, adds to pride of ownership. Rings are not included because they are hard to find. In checking discount retail I counted eighteen types readily available for the CZ 527.
A little bit of factory rifle making art…
  I began by writing that I felt the CZ M1 527 American had the potential of being a legacy rifle. After picking and poking at the little gun, and comparing it to similar types of rifles from other manufacturers, I’d conclude that it fits that description. The CZ 527 offers a solid and superior variation of the Mauser action. The materials incorporated into production are all of excellent quality and the gun has a certain understated elegance. Now I am going to mount a scope and see if it shoots as good as it looks. Back soon with Part II.
The CZ 527 M1 American Part I |
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