A few weeks ago, my 550 American in 9.3x62 began to misfire. I was hunting feral cattle in thick forest and was about 20m from the herd when it happened. I had just shot two, the air was filling with dust and things were starting to slip into slow motion when the gun quit. And if you think I'm unhappy with CZ 550's right now, you're absolutely right.

Mike, the gunsmith at CZ USA, told me about a wire clip that keeps the firing pin spring nut from coming unscrewed. Mine had slipped forward and the nut had unscrewed itself. This reduced firing pin spring tension enough to cause misfires.

Part of the problem is that I did not disassemble the bolt when I got the rifle, and did not know this could happen. That's a lick on me. But it's also a design flaw, and if you have a CZ 550, you need to know about it and learn to fix it before you go into harm's way.

The cure is to retighten the nut, reseat the clip and crank the nut back up to the clip. You could probably do this in the field--although not very quickly and certainly not while being gored--and your rifle will be useless until you do. This is a very serious issue, especially on a rifle for dangerous game.

LESSON LEARNED: If you use a CZ 550, ESPECIALLY IF YOU HUNT DANGEROUS GAME, strip and check your bolt RIGHT NOW! Learn about this little part and check it regularly. If I can figure out how to correct this flaw and restore my confidence in 550's, I will continue to use CZ rifles. If not, an otherwise nice 9.3x62 will be for sale and I'll go back to Mausers.

Hope this helps, Okie John.

Okie John,

Would a degrease followed by a touch of locktite on the nut concerned help any?

Regards,

Pete

That's a good idea, but that might make it very hard to strip the bolt for normal maintenance. A beefier clip may be more helpful, but I'm really at a loss. I've just begun to study the problem. Okie John.

okie john,

I would imagine a little heat from a cigerette lighter or a soldering iron would loosen the lock tight..also there are different strenghts too..I believe the strongest is basically superglue! Even with that a little heat is usually all that is needed...maybe ask the question over at the gunsmithing forum and see what some of the more expirenced guys think?

Regards,

Pete