UPDATE:

One more change to the ole CZ just might have it finally and solidly a decent gun...

The magazine spring the CZ folks had in it could have held me up off the floor if I stood on it. I've always wondered why it was so strong, when my 98's and 96's have been fairly light.

The 98's and 96's are so easy to load, seems like a guy can stand back and toss a handfull of rounds at the gun and they just find their way into the mag.

Not so the CZ. It is a real pain in the keester.

What's more, the overlystrong mag spring caused the rounds to POP out of the mag when the bolt was worked, and the mag spring applied excessive upward pressure to the bolt, causing the extractor to bind in the receiver ring, making this thing the least smooth action I have ever worked, Mosin-Nagants included.

Solution?

Well, I had a spare 98 mag spring lying about, switched out the two and voila, not only is the action 100%+ smoother working, but the CRF functioning is also significantly improved. The lighter mag spring allows the cases to rise up under the extractor instead of popping out in front of it. Feeds from the left are not as positive as from the right side of the mag, but overall the action isn't just OK, it is really nice.

So, finally, I have a gun I like.

Extractor now replaced with a 98, mag spring replaced with a 98.

Anybody seeing the trend?

Like they say, nearly every divergence from the 98 leads to less performance, not more...