Does anyone have experience with these two full stock rifles? How is acuracy vs. a standard sporter stock? Do you give up much velocity vs. standard length barrels? I'm thinking of either a 30-06 or 308. Are they built on the same length action?

Ruger crippled the rifle by using an 18" barrel. The .30-06 can only develope .308 velocities. If you go with the Ruger, get the .308, as it is on a shorter action with the same ballistics.

The CZ550 has a 20.5 in barrel and is a better value. I have owned both, and recommend a CZ full stock in 7x64.

I have the Ruger RSI in 308. I was pleasantly surprised on how well it shoots. 46gr. of RL-15 and a 150gr. ballistis tip does inch groups at 2740 fps. As a comparison, my CZ 550 Lux with a 24 inch barrel shoots the same load at 2890. The
RSI shoots as well as the CZ and is a light handy rifle to carry.

I've got a Ruger RSI in .308 and can highly recommend it. Mine is the model with the tang safety which some hate but I like. I think it really comes down to aesthetics ont hese two. Mine shoots consistant 1-1.25" groups with factory ammo, and I assume most of the CZ's will do the same. To my eye the CZ stock is cut a little too full, looks a little clunky compared to even the Ruger.

I've had three M77 RSI's in 250 Savage, 7x57 and 308. I agree that Ruger should really put a 20" barrel on the RSI for better ballistic efficiency and overall appearance. Still, my 308, like those above, was a sub-moa shooter. I truly despise Eurpoean styling and think the CZ is ugly, pure and simple and wouldn't own one on that basis alone (my opinion alone). I'd get the RSI in 308. I had an M77 RLS (18.5" bbl) in 30-06... it was a flame-thrower and not something I'd reccomend!

BA

Both my little brother and a friend of his own CZ 550 Full Stocks and both are in 7x57mm Mauser. My brother's rifle wears a Burris Fullfield 4x12 and is disgustingly accurate with 160 and 162 grain bullets in front of H414 powder. I loaded him some Nosler Partition bullets in front of H414 powder seated .01 inch off the lands and that rifle will put five shots into a 1-inch group with the bullet going 2,740 fps. I thought the humpback stock design would be a negative, but the rifle comes up nice and you have immediate eye-allignment. It is one sweet little package.
I can only attest to the CZ as that is the extent of my knowledge on the two rifles. I have never owned, or picked up a fullstock ruger.

I owned a Ruger RSI in .270WIN once. It shot 4" groups @ 100yds, kicked like 300WM and the muzzle blast was huge!

I've never owned a CZ anything, but I would recomend it over a RSI.

Irion,
Most European guns are over engineered and their stock design serve no purpose IMO, so I suppose it is all in how you like your wood cooked...

I think the lines of the Ruger RSI are about as trim as a pin and it is a good looking well balanced rifle that serves the purpose of a Manlicher to a tee, and 18.5" barrels suit Manlicher style guns and a couple of inches means notheing balisticly except in ones head..If one wants balistics then get a 26" barreled rifle.

I'd go with the Ruger myself, but thats what makes a horse race, dog fight and boxing match.

I'd get the Ruger. I've owned two and both were accurate. 7x57 and a 280 Remington. I look at CZ and see plain jane.

Orion1,

quote:

---

It takes the height of arrogance to claim that a stock style is useless for someone else based on your likes and dislikes.

---

If you had bothered to read the whole thing in Ray's post, you might have noticed he said IMO. The nice thing about this forum is that we can all have some laughs and different opinions and preferences. What we don't need is personal attacks because you don't like the answer. Save that stuff for the political forum.

Citori3,

We've had the Ruger in both .30-06 and .308. I much preferred the .308 in the RSI. At the distances you'll probably be shooting at, I don't believe you will find the short barrel to be a handicap for velocity. Just preference but I liked the way the Ruger was put together, how it handled and how it looked. What I'd really like to see Ruger do is make the RSI in a 7mm-08, and to make the full stock in synthetic. Even though I buy mostly Savage nowadays, I'd go for a Ruger like that.

I've got a Ruger 77RSI (old style with tang safety) that I had re-barreled to .338-06 it's a shooter and easy to carry especially in the thick stuff. I truly like the compactness of the gun and have always shot the Ruger 77 (old style) this is my 5th one in the collection.

John

I have three Ruger RSI rifles, all in .308 Win. Why three? Well I bought the first one because the fellow selling it was letting it go cheap. Said it wouldn't shoot straight, so I gambled on it. Yes, feed it what it likes and it does shoot straight. My wife decided she was going to hunt with me nad when she tried my fofferent rifles, she pounced on the RSI. So, in defence, I had to buy another for her. The third one, I just fell into, again at a excellent price with case abd a whole bunch of factory ammo. One thing I learned real early, is all three RSI's hate 180 gr. spitzer bullets. Period. Regardless of the powder charge, none shoot well in my rifles. The 180 gr. round nose however is a whole different ball game.
Any 150 gr. bullet I have tried has been fair with decent "hunting" accuracy, but I wanted something better. I finally settled on the 165 gr. Speer spitzer flat base Hot-core bullet with a charge of W-760. Average groups are in the 1.25" range if I do my part. Velocity is 2550 FPS, granted no barn burner, but more than effective on deer out to 250 yards. The same load from a 22" Winchester model 70 BTW delivers 2610 FPS, a whole 60 FPS more. Most of the deer taken so far have been at from 25 to 50 yards, with only one at a laser measured 250 yards. BTW, that shot was the only one where I was able to recover a bullet. A frontal shot that had the bullet pass through the deer on a zig zag path ending up against a back leg bone breaking it. Don't condemn the path the bullet took. It angled up, hit the spine, went to one side cutting a few ribs and heading over to the opposite side and stopping against the back leg. Deer was uphill at about a 25-30 degree angle. Retained weight was 65 percent. I know there are better propellents that might do better, but what I have chosen has worked so well for me that I haven't really bothered to change. Kind of a Murphy's Law thing. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." All my RSI's are tang safety models.
Paul B.

I don't care much for the 18"bbl of the Ruger. My friend has one in .308 & while not recoil shy, I don't really like benching that rifle.
A CZFS in 7x57 would be sooo classic. Then again a 9.3x62 would be a great woods rifle for elk in the dark places that Ray A. hunts.

I have a Ruger RSI in .243 Win topped with a 2-7 Leupold Vari-XII 2-7x scope. What a great little rifle! I purchsed it for my daughter She will use it this fall for her first hunting season. It shoots 3 shot groups a little over an inch. It is well made and teh trigger feels pretty good despite the fact that it is not adjustable.

I have never seen the CZ in anything other than pictures. I feel the Ruger is a much better loking rifle. Just my opinion.

To; John B.
That 338/06 in a Ruger RSI sounds like an attractive package!!

Also envy the man who has an RSI in 250 Savage and 7x57., and guess they once made a run of them in 6.5 x54!

I love the Ruger RSI's. Never owned the RSI version of any, basically because of caliber selection. 308 would be my caliber of choice, or 243 for a kid. I have owned a lot of full size Rugers and also Varmint Rugers.

The RSI is real high on my short list of desired rifles. However after having a CZ in a 22 LR, and how well this thing is made, and how accurate it is, I would have to concede if I was going to spend my money on either one, it would be the CZ hands down.

The RSI is built like a good New Camry from Toyota. The CZ is built like a 53 Buick, solid!
One Mannlicher stocked rifle will be in my future and it will either be a CZ or a Sako in 6.5 x 55. The other two exceptions tho would be the RSI in 250 Savage or 6.5 x 54.

Iron Buck,
We must have been on the same wavelength, with but a few minor changes. I bought the RSI in .308 for my son. He'd seen it in a magazine ad, cut that ad out, and posted it in his room. Guess he wanted me to know what to get him for his Christmas present. That was in 1979. He still has it (and an new .300 RUM) and it shoots great.

In various rifles the 308 has been the easiest and most consistantly accurate cartridge I've loaded for. My 77 308 RSI loved Speer150's at about 2,725 fps. Since it was primarily a deer rifle I never looked beyond that load. I took my biggest bodied whitetail with that load (he went 200 lbs dressed)... the bullet went in one shoulder and out the other. I'd not hesitate to use the RI in 308 on any elk hunt stoked with a good bullet.

Though I never tried 180's in mine, I wonder if Ruger puts a 1-12" twist in its 308 tubes... anyone know? That could explain the inability of the previously mentioned RSI's ability to group them.

BA

18" barrels work great in a .308, I have several, none are Ruger's, but 2750fps or so with a 150gr is easy. That's not much loss from a 22" in a .308.

MC, my last 308 carbine was a SS m70... though I cut the bbl. back to 19" I still got 2,820 fps with 150's and 2,750 fps with 165's and RL15. Perhaps I had a "fast" bbl., but that dude sure screamed and was darn accurate!

I have owned 4 Ruger M77s and 3 CZ 550s...we are all fortunate to have a choice between the quality offered by both for the price. The aesthetic differences are striking, but a matter of taste and these types of arguements should be over in the political forum.

From a practical point of view, you have a better chance of 1.5 MOA out of the box with the CZ...in fact they come with a 3 shot target fired from the rifle a 100 Meters and they don't ship problems. The CZ single set trigger is excellent and fully adjustable. If triggers are important to you the CZ wins here too, but in a carbine it may not matter that much.

Also, you might compare the heel drop between the two if you want the option of using iron sights. A big drop is better with iron as your head is more upright and square...if you put on optics, its easy to come up a bit and use low bases. The CZ FS does have the european drop, which is provided for precisely this reason. Many straight American stocks are too high at the heel to get a comfortable purchase on typical dovetail sights.

Again, this would be more important in a big magnum...cocking you neck to get a good iron sight picture on a straight stockedrifle bends your neck and puts tension in it, a bad this when you get hammered.

I think the real problem, though, is that you are fine both ways, and any disadvantage of a practical nature in the Ruger is easily off set by aesthetic considerations.

Brad. Supposedly, Ruger uses a 1 in 10" twist in their barrels. I do have three rifles with 1 in 12" twists, a custom 30-06, and two Model 70 Winchesters in .308 Win., one pre-64 and the other a late post 64. I don't see where a 1 in 12" twist should be a handicap with 180 gr. spitzers as bothe the 30-06 and model 70's shoot them just fine. Guess I'll have to run a tight patch through one of the RSI's and find out for sure.
Paul B.

To all those that suggested I use my M-70 for this class, THANK YOU! I mounted a Leupold VX II 3X9 on it and put on a cheapo Ranline stock. After I sighted in the scope with federal FMJ ammo, I loaded up some federal gold match to see how well I could do at 100 yards. Of ten rounds of the gold match fired, I used one round to adjust for the different load. I then fired a four shot group and a five shot group. Both measure 1 1/8" center to center of the furthest holes. This is far better than I've ever shot before. I don't know if it was the scope, the stock, or the ammo, and I don't care. I couldn't be more pleased!

Sorry, my post above should be on a different thread!