Thread: Rimfire Rifles
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Old 08-16-2016, 07:51 AM
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Originally Posted by HOUSTON RICK View Post
Anyone have a review of the CZ99's being sold by J&G sales? Thanks in advance.

Zastava CZ99 Bolt Action Rifle, 22LR, 22'' Barrel, Yugo Import By CAI, New.
I like my CZ 453 American and CZ 453 Varmint a lot, but they were both $450 rifles. In comparison, the CZ 99 Precision (the "other" CZ, made by Zastava) is an excellent bang for the buck - probably the least expensive good shooting adult sized .22LR I've ever found.







Remington imported them for quite awhile with a laminated stock as the Remington Model 5, and this particular CZ 99 Precision has a laminated stock from a Remington Model 5 on it. I got the stock when Stocky's sent me a Model 5 stock rather than a Model 799 stock (for a Zastava M85 Mini Mauser) I'd ordered, and just told me to keep it since they never knew they had one (they bought all the new old stock Rem 798 and Rem, 799 stocks from Remington when they cleared them out, and they apparently got a Model 5 stock mixed in with them). Since I had a nice stock for it, I went looking for a CZ 99 Precision and got one for $199 new in one of the local gun shops.

The CZ 99 Precision receivers are thick walled and very stiff, giving the rifle very good accuracy potential - not CZ 452/453 accuracy, but still very good - on the order of 1.5" to 1.75" 5 shot groups at 100 yards with SK Standard Plus ammo. It would no doubt do better with a higher end match ammo that it liked as some shooters have reported 1/2" 50 yard accuracy their CZ99s, but 1.5" at 100 yards and 4" or so at 200 yards has been plenty good enough for the field and 100-200 yard steel plate shooting I do with it.








The metal polish and blue on the CZ 99 Precision is very nicely done, however, the stocks on the current CAI imported CZ 99 Precision rifles have a rather flat finish and the checkering pattern has a partly unfinished appearance. That's a trait shared by the CAI imported Zastava M70 Mauser and M85 Mini-Mauser rifles as well, and reflects CAI's specs rather than Zastava quality overall.

In addition to being sold as the CZ 99 Precision, the rifle has also been imported and marketed as the Remington Model 5, the Zastava MP22, the USSG Z5, and the Charles Daly Superior II - all were basically the same rifle, but with different stocks.

However, the CZ 99 Precision's stock cleans up well and a few coats of Tru-oil on top of the original finish gives them a much more finished look, and you can knock the gloss finish of the Tru-oil down to a nice semi-gloss or satin finish with 0000 steel wool and then a rubbing compound. If you have the tools and a little practice, you can also finish the cut checkering.

I went straight to the Model 5 stock with mine, but below is a picture of a Remington 799 (right) and a Zastava M85 (left), both in .22 Hornet, showing the Zastava stock after a few coats of Tru-oil and some rubbing compound. The CZ 99 Precision stock lacks the rollover comb, but the finish and lines are otherwise similar, as is the end result with just a little sweat equity:



Now...the semi-bad news is that my CZ 99 Precision was by no means perfect as the left and right side extractors were identical with both being sharply hooked. The end result was that it did not want to eject the spent case.

It was however a simple fix as I just had to take a file and re-profile the left hand extractor a bit to shorten and round the sharp point on the hook so that it would release the case when it contacted the ejector. Once that small bit of metal work was done, it functioned like a champ.
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