My CZ-512 carbine has been "reborn",,,

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Meet "Temna Milenka",,,
Czech for Dark Mistress

240722-CZ-512-RedDot.jpg


Reborn as in it is now my current favorite range toy,,,
I now declare my CZ-512 Carbine to be my fun-est shooter of them all.

I had a 3-9 x 40 Nikon Pro-staff Rimfire on it,,,
The rifle was a very precise shooter with that glass,,,
But it always seemed top heavy and clunky when I aimed it.

Recently a gentleman on this site gave me (yes gave me),,,
A brand spankin' new Sig Sauer Romeo5, 1 x 20mm Red Dot Sight.

I mounted it on the carbine and immediately felt a weight and balance difference,,,
It didn't take long to get it properly dialed in at 50 yards.

Off a rest I'm getting groups just over 3/4",,,
Off hand with a sling (Appleseed style) I'm shooting 1-1/2" groups.

That's easily as good as I was doing with the scope,,,
But the carbine now has a pleasant "feel" to it.

It's just a hoot to shoot.

When I raise it to my shoulder the optic aligns with my eye,,,
Not like the scope when I had to "find" the target.

Once upon a time I thought I had to "scope" all of my rifles,,,
My eyes are old and the optics really helped my shooting proficiency.

I got to thinking about my other "range toy" rifle,,,
Which is my Beretta NEOS Carbine with a 4X BSA scope.

I had a few Cabela Bucks saved up,,,
So I ordered an entry level Reflex type sight for it.

240804-NEOS-Scope.jpg


240804-NEOS-Reflex.jpg


I took the Beretta to my range yesterday,,,
I basically had the same results that I got with the 512 Carbine.

The difference in the weight and overall balance was astounding,,,
I may have lost a little bit of precision from the scope,,,
But the ease of handling made up for it.

I was nailing 10" paper plates set up in faux steel challenge stages,,,
Much quicker than when I tried it using the 4X scope.

I'm not going to swap out any more scopes though,,,
The Nikon 4-12x40 I have on the full size CZ-512 Rifle will stay on it.

I have it dialed in for 5/8" groups at 50 yards and 1-1/4" groups at 100 yards,,,
That's off of a bi-pod shooting nice and slow.

The 4-16x44 Vortex Diamondback will stay on my CZ-457 Pro Varmint At-One,,,
It's not dialed in to my best satisfaction as yet but I'm getting there,,,
Someday that 4" gong at 200 yards will be "mine",,,
Maybe even the 6" at 300 yards.

Aarond

.
 

mtngunr

Sharpshooter
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Joined
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Meet "Temna Milenka",,,
Czech for Dark Mistress

View attachment 503779

Reborn as in it is now my current favorite range toy,,,
I now declare my CZ-512 Carbine to be my fun-est shooter of them all.

I had a 3-9 x 40 Nikon Pro-staff Rimfire on it,,,
The rifle was a very precise shooter with that glass,,,
But it always seemed top heavy and clunky when I aimed it.

Recently a gentleman on this site gave me (yes gave me),,,
A brand spankin' new Sig Sauer Romeo5, 1 x 20mm Red Dot Sight.

I mounted it on the carbine and immediately felt a weight and balance difference,,,
It didn't take long to get it properly dialed in at 50 yards.

Off a rest I'm getting groups just over 3/4",,,
Off hand with a sling (Appleseed style) I'm shooting 1-1/2" groups.

That's easily as good as I was doing with the scope,,,
But the carbine now has a pleasant "feel" to it.

It's just a hoot to shoot.

When I raise it to my shoulder the optic aligns with my eye,,,
Not like the scope when I had to "find" the target.

Once upon a time I thought I had to "scope" all of my rifles,,,
My eyes are old and the optics really helped my shooting proficiency.

I got to thinking about my other "range toy" rifle,,,
Which is my Beretta NEOS Carbine with a 4X BSA scope.

I had a few Cabela Bucks saved up,,,
So I ordered an entry level Reflex type sight for it.

View attachment 503780

View attachment 503781

I took the Beretta to my range yesterday,,,
I basically had the same results that I got with the 512 Carbine.

The difference in the weight and overall balance was astounding,,,
I may have lost a little bit of precision from the scope,,,
But the ease of handling made up for it.

I was nailing 10" paper plates set up in faux steel challenge stages,,,
Much quicker than when I tried it using the 4X scope.

I'm not going to swap out any more scopes though,,,
The Nikon 4-12x40 I have on the full size CZ-512 Rifle will stay on it.

I have it dialed in for 5/8" groups at 50 yards and 1-1/4" groups at 100 yards,,,
That's off of a bi-pod shooting nice and slow.

The 4-16x44 Vortex Diamondback will stay on my CZ-457 Pro Varmint At-One,,,
It's not dialed in to my best satisfaction as yet but I'm getting there,,,
Someday that 4" gong at 200 yards will be "mine",,,
Maybe even the 6" at 300 yards.

Aarond

.
Scopes wreck a lot of guns for me, and so the scopes I use on everything are the (I think recently and sadly discontinued) Leupold Ultra Light 2.5x (really 2.2x) which weighs less than most tube dots at 6.3ozs, where with careful choice of rings gives a low mounted scope and only 9ozs added to weight of gun and not hanging way above centerline to give top-heavy feel.
Here is one on the dinky 5lb CZ Scout, it scales perfectly for rimfires, a very bright scope far superior to naked eye or peep or dot, gobs of eye relief, close focus measured in single digit paces, plenty of tube to place scope/rings just where wanted, and being a fixed power is pretty much proof against anything besides a claw hammer. A used one is just as warranted as a new one.

The only thing lighter/better as for a scope is the smallest Mini ACOG, and no ACOG has an adjustable occular. And the only things lighter at all are the reflex-type dots with darker glass and less precise aim.

The low magnification easily allows both eyes to be left open for situational awareness and rapid target acquisition, a favorite of those who hunt game which hunts back.
And, look ma, no batteries, where if you can't find the crosshairs in this large exit pupil scope, you likely can't find the target, either.



Same type scope on a 10/22 which compares better to your 512.



Well, a BIT better comparison for your 512...

 
Last edited:

mtngunr

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Those are nice looking rigs mtngunr.

In the past when I scoped my rifles I overlooked the lower power optics,,,
Thinking that somehow the higher powered variable scopes were inherently "better".

Thanks for those pics,,,

Aarond

.
You ain't the only one...pretty much everybody "focuses" on Naval Observatory scopes for smallest groups on a range, or maybe tightest groups on a squirrel head at 50yds from a bipod (if they hunt at all), but nobody likes carrying them much, and their light .22s seem to weigh and balance like an AK-47 or M1 Garand for some reason, and they wonder where the fun went.

You lose precision with the low magnification, but, the bullets will still arrive under the crosshairs, which is all that is really needed away from a range setting. Light and low is the way to go.
 
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