Folks,

I have just picked up my cz 550 .375, I couldn't wait any longer (I will be poor through to next pay now)Fit and finish is good. I will put the scope on tonight. I am going to mount a 2-7x33 VX 11 leupold on it that was on my .416. It will be in Warne QD's

My gun dealer talked me out of heavy woodleigh's he said for roo's & pigs the 235 gr speer will be much better. He sold me a pack really cheap to encourage me to try them, usually I like Heavy for caliber but I thought what the heck might as well try them.

He had no brass and I only have 12 cases here so I will load them up tonight and give it a whirl tommorow arvo after Christmas dinner.

Wood on this CZ 550 is much nicer than the wood I got on my .416 Rigby.

Only blemish is a tiny dent in the timber near the front sling swivel.

It feels much lighter than my .416 Rigby.

Have a good Xmas everyone !!

PC.

I wouldnt think lack of penertration with the lighter bullets would be a problem when stopping a charging roo, but hey most of us dont buy these big bores to be practicle do we.I will be after a 550 myself in the new year. Ive heard some say the stock shape is not realy good on the 550, do the ones we get in OZ have the same stocks as the ones in U.S.?

PC One of my friends has a CZ in 375H&H he mounted a 1.75x6 Leupold with the heavy duplex. It shoots good. The stock seems comfortable to shoot to me with iron sights or the scope.

PC,
I hope you are thrilled with it.. glad you went that route...

Try the hornady 225 gr spirepoints. I am shooting those in my 376 at like 2850... and they held together well in a boar last month.. on their first outing. Exit wound, after 18-20" of pig and left "arm" bone was only about 2"... and bloodshot the hell out of that ham.

shoot it right next to the 416 and let us know your views on it.. after my trials, it was "the 416 still has recoil... the 376 feels like a 243"

Cheers, mate.. Happy Christmas
jeffe

[ 12-24-2002, 09:47: Message edited by: jeffeosso ]

Congratulations, PC!!!!!

Hope you like yours as much as I do mine. 235's look just fine for most game. Keep in mind a lot of guys in the 48 use that weight bullet for heavy game, like bear and elk.

What range do you shoot your roos? I'd start em at 2400 and work up, since I think that would make a very nice, easy recoiling round for the 375.

Good Luck, Merry Christmas, and again, congratulations

s

Thanks everyone !!

Socs, most of my roo's would be shot from the 70-200 yard mark. Socs your also right about the .375 bullet application if US blokes are using the 235 gr speer for elk & black bear well it will handle roo's & hogs without a drama.

Jeffo I know how the .416 kicks and these 235 gr going at about 2700-2800 fps will be mild compared to the woodleigh 410 gr .416 bullet going at 2600 fps !! These guns just look the part, I am pleased I chose this over the M70. Great results on that hog, how do the those hornady's compare with the speer for bullet toughness ??

I am going to shoot this baby tommorow without bedding or anything I will just fire those 12 rounds I have and then see how things look.

CR 500, the ones in Oz are the safari mags the same as the blokes in the US get as far as I know.

Checked feeding tonight the mag holds six down but you can't get the bolt over the 6th so that one could be chambered for a 7 shot .375 !! with a tiny bit of fiddling or thinning with the follower or floor plate a 7 shot .375 would be had. Bugger the winchester m70 3 shot Feeding was flawless, I ran the lot of 12 round rounds through three times and not one mis feed etc. It will benifit from a little use and is getting smoother as I keep working the bolt.

Also looked at the test target that came with the rifle 3 shot group was 1.3" centre to centre. Pretty good I feel and there is room there to tinker with handloads and add a bedded McMillan stock at some point.

Found only one other blemish, a tiny impact dent in the barrel which made like a small sharp crater, obvioulsy a sharp bit of metal has done it. Is there any way to fix this ?? could I steel wool it and then blue with a blueing pen. Or just forget it (I am a perfectionist however)

To sum up were else can one get a mag mauser with Sq bridges for this price it's insane. And really no-ones collection is complete without a .375 H&H is it ?? as others have said it's like a good pair of black shoes

PC: Hope this gets to you quickly.

One of the ways to split stocks is to take a new heavy rifle, that was fitted fine at the factory, have it sit around a year or so on shelves, and have the wood shrink a bit, giving the action room to batter the stock, and that's how you split stocks.

First thing I did with mine was take it to my smith, have him check the tolerances, and make sure the fit was tight.

Again, I'd do that FIRST, before firing the rifle.

Don't blame CZ if the stock breaks. This is a common rifle problem, not just for CZ's. My guy around here is a Remmington guy, retired, so he knows what he's talking about when it comes to rifles...
s

Socs,

I know your dead right !!

But I won't have acess to a smith until next week, I only have 12 shots with the starting load for those little speer projectiles. Honestly Socs I do not think I will be able to stop myself shooting this thing.

my mate cracked his .416 stock after the 8th shot.

However CZ Australia (Winchester) replaced his stock with a stock that was just spectacular.

May be if mine cracks I will get an even nicer piece of wood than is already on it (I do know this could work the other way to

have a happy Xmas Socs.

P.S. surely those little speer 235 gr bullets wouldn't crack it would they, not like the 300 gr variety might thye would have to put much more stress on the stock.

[ 12-25-2002, 03:50: Message edited by: PC ]

PC
Hope you are right.

I will say the CZ stocks CAN be fantastic looking.

It's amazing how cheap they are, but how expensive they can look.

I've got a guy that will order me a new CZ 550 458, for 699 here. May HAVE to take him up on it.

Figure with a 25 inch barrel, I might get 2400 with a 400 grain bullet=416 Rigby, but a bigger bullet...

Dr. S

Gustasvo is getting 2350 with a Barnes X, 450 grain bullet.

Wonder if you really need a Lott?
s

But Socs if you get the cz reamed for the lott you can shoot either .458 win mag or lott stuff, now thats versatlity.