Hi guys,

In a few short weeks I'll have my dream rifle back... and I can't wait!
My rifle is a CZ550 Safari Magnum in. The wood is nice and it's in my absolute favorite caliber the .458 Winchester Magnum. I love CZ's strong magnum length action and the fact I can seat bullets way, way out and get Lott ballistics. The .458 round, in my opinion is now an African classic. In the 60's it made possible for the average joe to hunt Africa and it's performance on game - and the sheer number of elephants it has harvested speaks for itself.

So my rifle arrived and it shoots three bullets in the same hole at 50meters using Winchester 510gr factory ammo. As much as I really like this rifle, it wasn't quite perfect... So I sent it out to make it perfect. My dream rifle..

Living in Melbourne (where we have a MASSIVE feral elephant problem btw..) I was fortunate to be able to send it to a gentleman by the name of Bob who own a business called Kudu Services. Bob is a gunsmith who specialises in heavy caliber and express rifles and his small shop has some really nice trophies on the wall from his own exploits in the Dark Continent.
I sent the rifle off with the following requests;

Barrel shortened to 23"
Barrel band sling swivel fitted
Feed ramp and rails polished
Crossbolts fitted (c'mon CZ, this should be done at factory )
Stock fore-end shorted and buffalo horn tip fitted

And there you have it. When it returns my CZ .458 will - in my eyes at least, be perfect.

And owning a perfect rifle.. their dream rifle.. is every mans dream.

So that's mine... who's next???

Picked up my Dakota M76 African in 375 H&H, new to me! Very nice used,now I to sell three other 375s

Hey nice rifle and great caliber!

Sending my new LH CZ 550 Safari .375 to Wayne at AHR for action smoothing/tuning, 3 position safety, single stage trigger and bolt handle fill. The stock has already been pillar bedded and I'm also adding Ken Rucker's Bump-Buster hydraulic recoil reduction system.

quote:

Originally posted by badboymelvin:
H
Living in Melbourne (where we have a MASSIVE feral elephant problem btw..)

we do here in the US, too.

click here for proof

quote:

Originally posted by delloro:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by badboymelvin:
H
Living in Melbourne (where we have a MASSIVE feral elephant problem btw..)

we do here in the US, too.



Wow, that's scary!
I bet they'd charge too...
Would you recommend softs or solids??

One more tweak that is useful, since you are not changing the factory safety: as it comes from the factory, the CZ550 safety can inadvertently be put on safe when the bolt is open, and when you close the bolt it will stay on safe and you won't know it. That's a very remote occurrence, but it's still bad karma if you are in the middle of an argument with something big...

This can be corrected by modifying the "timing" of the detent notches on the safety itself.

As it is, when you close the bolt with the safety on, the safety is pushed forward slightly, but not beyond the "safe" notch, and it falls back on safe.

The hump between the notches needs to be reshaped so that, as you close the bolt and the safety (on) is pushed forward, the detent actually passes that hump, and the safety falls forward in the "Fire" position.

It's not difficult, but it needs careful consideration before to start filing away, in order to not end up with a mushy safety… The "round angles" and the relationship between the safety pivot point and the detent roller are easily confusing. The first picture shows the altered safety, and the one below is an original safety. Notice the different shape of the hump and bottom notch.

quote:

Originally posted by Philip A.:
One more tweak that is useful, since you are not changing the factory safety: as it comes from the factory, the CZ550 safety can inadvertently be put on safe when the bolt is open, and when you close the bolt it will stay on safe and you won't know it. That's a very remote occurrence, but it's still bad karma if you are in the middle of an argument with something big...

This can be corrected by modifying the "timing" of the detent notches on the safety itself.

As it is, when you close the bolt with the safety on, the safety is pushed forward slightly, but not beyond the "safe" notch, and it falls back on safe.

The hump between the notches needs to be reshaped so that, as you close the bolt and the safety (on) is pushed forward, the detent actually passes that hump, and the safety falls forward in the "Fire" position.

It's not difficult, but it needs careful consideration before to start filing away, in order to not end up with a mushy safety… The "round angles" and the relationship between the safety pivot point and the detent roller are easily confusing. The first picture shows the altered safety, and the one below is an original safety. Notice the different shape of the hump and bottom notch.

Hey, wow I didn't know that. Thanks heaps for the heads up mate. :-)

Russ.

quote:

Originally posted by delloro:

quote:

Originally posted by badboymelvin:
H
Living in Melbourne (where we have a MASSIVE feral elephant problem btw..)

we do here in the US, too.

click here for proof

Congrats on getting your dream rifle. I have CZ 550 in 500 Jeffrey. AHR put on their 3 pos M70 type safety, single stage trigger and straightened and filled the bolt handle. I think I'm good.

My CZ



3 shot group 570g TSX, 2275 fps



Now if I could only get Cathy Rankin to be my gun bearer ...

I am prepared for the next buffalo stampede.

Mine is in progress- .404 Jeffery on a Mauser action.

I do not have my dream rifle ... some guy who lives in France that goes by the name "Wink" does.

quote:

Originally posted by Sevens:
I do not have my dream rifle ... some guy who lives in France that goes by the name "Wink" does.

I'm afraid you're going to have to keep dreaming, at least for the time being. I take it out of the safe and look at it once in awhile and take it to the range to make sure it's ready for the next adventure. It's been on my last two safaris and in fact it's the only rifle I think I'll be taking for the next ones too. But what to do with all the others?

In the interest of gun porn, forrestb's 404J (on the left) and my 404J side by side in Burkina Faso. Since Forrest supplied the action and got me access to the parking lot rifle blank sale, you could say he's the owner of the concept for my rifle as well. My instructions to Duane were "just like Forrest's only better" (OK, I'm kidding here). In fact I told Duane to do pretty much what he liked, within my budget, just keep it "trim".

When I shouldered Forrest's 9.3X64 it felt like an extension of my personality, not a rifle (are we allowed to say this kind of stuff?). It's pretty hard not to like Duane Wiebe's rifles in pictures, almost impossible when they're in your hands.




My father's rifles were all on a rack in the den when I was a kid, and anybody could look at them all they want. Too bad society has evolved to the point that the practice is not only politically incorrect in some places but an invitation for burglary and theft almost everywhere today. I'd like it to be on the wall all the time. It is after all the finest piece of art I own.

Congratulations on your CZ. You can search archives for my post on my CZ550 in 416 Rigby with Kevlar stock. I have also explained how I smoothed the action.

How is the grain on the stock? I have heard of several CZ factory walnut stocked big bores breaking with recoil. Hence my choice of the Kevlar stock - Down under we will have to wait for replacement stocks.

Have you considered bedding your stock and also inserting a brass rod in the pistol grip?

Wish you all the best.

quote:

I have heard of several CZ factory walnut stocked big bores breaking with recoil.

If I'm not mistaken, these are generally rifles stocked by CZ USA.

All the CZ with European stock that I have had or seen had tight-grained, dense walnut stocks. Although many were pretty roughly finished, these stocks were properly inletted and bedded.

The one CZ USA that I own (.458 Lott) came with a really below-par stock. The wood is too soft and coarse grained, the bedding was horrendous (to the point that you could not sit the action flat in the stock), too much wood had been removed in the web between magazine and trigger due to lazy CNC machining (router bits much too large to do a proper job, their priority apparently being to churn out a stock as fast and as cheaply as possible), and the dimensions were so bulky that it handled like a 2x4.

It wouldn't surprise me in the least if such a stock cracked. What surprises me is that they do use these for big bores...

quote:

Originally posted by chuck375:
Congrats on getting your dream rifle. I have CZ 550 in 500 Jeffrey. AHR put on their 3 pos M70 type safety, single stage trigger and straightened and filled the bolt handle. I think I'm good.

My CZ



3 shot group 570g TSX, 2275 fps



Now if I could only get Cathy Rankin to be my gun bearer ...

Damn Chuck you have good taste....if my new CZ550 classic 450 Rigby shoots that good I'll be estatic.

BBM,

well, I do have a 550 Gibbs Magnum and a Ten Bore double rifle.

Do they count?

I also own the Shiloh Sharps that the factory made about forty years ago for Elmer Keith. It bears SN:EK 100. It's a 45-90 Long Range Express...

you are on the way, but I will warn you that one is not enough.

regards,

Rich

quote:

Originally posted by Wink:

When I shouldered Forrest's 9.3X64 it felt like an extension of my personality...

Actually, my 9.3 is much nicer than that.

quote:

Originally posted by ForrestB:

quote:

Originally posted by Wink:

When I shouldered Forrest's 9.3X64 it felt like an extension of my personality...

Actually, my 9.3 is much nicer than that.

And you may have become blind to its faults. But no matter, I know you'll take good care of it.

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
BBM,

well, I do have a 550 Gibbs Magnum and a Ten Bore double rifle.

Do they count?

I don´t believe you until I see it

badboymelvin: congrats on the dream rifle. For me, it seems like the one I have on order, but haven't received yet, is my perpetual dream rifle. This time, it's a Ryan Breeding .416 Rigby. I ordered this rifle from Ryan at SCI in 2013. It should be completed in time to be displayed at Ryan's booth at SCI this coming February. It will be the little brother of my .505 Gibbs. I'm starting to get excited. Cheers. Chip.

To B B Mel & all of you who have, or are waiting on the delivery of, your dream rifles;

Congratulations to you, and may these rifles
provide you the very best of service and bring
you happy memories by the scores...