Nothing has changed much over the years, the great old M-70 pre 64s were sometimes rough as a cob..The ones we see today are well used and slick as snot, but they didn't all come that way, they wore that way....

I believe all factory rifles need slicking up, at least to suit me they do, that does not mean they won't work nor does it mean they are "cheap", just that the factories will cut cornors on production, and thats a given if you please...

It is easy to clean up an action and if you don't have the tools or the skills to do it then try this, strip the bolts guts out then cover the bolt body in "ultra fine" polishing compound and work it 100 times, then clean very carefully by flushing, this will show you the rough spots and you can polish them with wet or dry 220, 320 and 400 grit, then work bolt another 100 or so, then finish off with Flitz...Be carefull not to work the lugs other than polishing...Don't use a wheel to buff the bolt body....you can also polish the rails with wet or dry paper and oil, by using a pencil or small blocks of wood or eraser to get into the hard places...Its not hard to do...

Personally I use only hones and have sections of welding rod with small stones glassed to them that fit in the raceways and can polish one out in a matter of about an hour...I also use only hones on the bolt body, I work the bolt and then I can see where its dragging and i hone that area only, keep it up until I get the desired result....I think its best that way...but both ways work fine.....

Its a good way to pass the evening away.

They do eem to vary in bolt smoothness...I have 3 magnum cz's and my .375 H&H feels like it has had a heap of custom work done to it it is like butter, the lott and Rigby are getting better the more I cycle the bolt as is my non-magnum cz the lux 9.3...lovem at any rate

Frans, Ray,

I spent a lot of time cycling that bolt while watching TV...
I could literally feel the action loosing some of its roughness after a couple of evenings.

Even after that though, the bolt would bind slightly and I saw no improvement in that aspect..Looking at the witness marks ect in the race ways and on the lugs and using a marker pen to see what was binding where, it was almost as if the bolt lug on one side was slightly too small and it was allowing a little "slop"..Not much mind, but just enough to bind.

Now I would have had a 'smith try to polish things properly, but he may have voided the 3 year guarrantee and not solved the problem...

If it had been a minor issue, the importer has a smith working for him and I am sure he would have delt with it. Failing that, I would have expected CZ to return the same rifle fixed if it was an easy job...

I had to wait 4 months to get another rifle due to Customs problems, but I am glad I did wait...now I have total confidence in the rifle which I did not before and to me thats important.

Also as CZ were happy to act and I had no BS off them coupled with the fact the importer went out of his way to keep me updated as to what was going on, I would be more than happy to buy another CZ off them and I intend to in the spring...

Regards,

Pete

I didn't mean to bad mouth CZ, sorry if that was the impression. I was simply agreeing with sarge that you rarely find a rifle that can't be improved "out of the box". You can't expect a near perect rifle from the big manufacturers unless you go to their custom shops.

Didn't mean to ruffle so many feathers.

DC300

rough is one thing. I like military rifles for that reason, normally slick as Clinton. Binding is something else though. You should not have to retrain yourself to use your rifle to keep it from binding up on you. I think this is probably going to be from poor bolt fit, too loose so it is able to bind up like that. CZ may have replaced the whole thing because it is probably cheaper for them to do that then other possible solutions.

My first call would be to CZ, free fixes before the costly ones I think. :-)

Red

I had exactly the same problem on my CZ550. in 9.3x62mm If you cycled the bolt deliberately it was ok, if you did at full tilt, it jammed untill you backed off the pressure. On mine it seem there was too much play and the bolt was twisting sideways in the action.

I sent it back to CZ and they replaced the whole rifle, no questions asked...that makes me think the problem was perhaps not repairable??? The other thing is the more people fix these things themselves, the less incentive there is for the factory to care about quality.

Regards,

Pete

I haven't had that problem with the 4, CZ550 I have, BUT there is this "thing" I do with all new rifles. Semi-chrome! It is a polishing compound, not a lapping compound. I de-grease the action and bolt, liberally squeze the semi-chrome in the working parts of the action, then watch a good movie, working the action. By the end of the movie, I have an action as smooth as a prom queen's thighs! I checked headspace before I started this many years ago and have yet to change it through polishing. Give it a try. Flush the action after you are done, use your favorite lube, and enjoy.