My personal experience with CZ rifles is 100% negative. The first one that I owned was a 550 in .458 Lott. Had feeding problems, as in would not feed. Sent back to CZ for repair. Got it back and it had slightly fewer feeding problems. Sold it and wound up with another 550 in a trade. Also a .458 Lott which severely cracked it's stock through the pistol grip on round number 25. Next was a buddy who bought a .416 Rigby. This one shot and fed well but he had the trigger FALL off of it the week before he was headed out on his first buffalo hunt.

I've seen several CZ big bores that will bounce their safety to the on position in recoil. Overall I can not figure why anybody would buy a CZ 550 UNLESS they were willing to have it immediately gone over and modified to make it into a usable rifle. I sure as hell would not trust a stock CZ rifle on any DG hunt.

I've heard that CZ has addressed some of these issues with their later model rifles. Can they be trusted? Are they really sorted out now? My money says probably not.

I had one with a bent barrell. Could not be zeroed.

Picky, picky.

George

I had a lovely ZKK 602 in .458 Win Mag which I rebuilt to a 404 Jeffery.
I like the old 602 much better than the 550 Magnum...

M

I certainly would not trust any stock factory rifle on any hunt without really wringing it out first.

I recently sold a Mod 70 Classic Safari Express 458Win Mag that had a lot of fixes done before I bought it. Was virtually unusable from the factory!

Lot of stories like that about, no matter what the make.

Having said that, I looked at the big CZ's and didn't like them. Personal taste. I don't mind the old BRNO's though.

Cheers, Chris

quote:

metric: I had a lovely ZKK 602 in .458 Win Mag which I rebuilt to a 404 Jeffery.
I like the old 602 much better than the 550 Magnum

ZKKs were made at the Brno factory, 550s are made at the CZ factory in Uhersky Brod.

I had about the same experience with the .375 and the .458 Lott that you have had. Never again.

I love CZ rifles.

But I would never hunt with one of the shelf.

I would send it to Wayne at AHR and you get back a great rifle.

I think of CZ rifles as a building block on which to build a great bolt action rifle. A serious hunting rifle. But you need a CZ expert like Wayne to build that rifle.

Working Rifle requirements
Cut barrel
Smooth action
Add timmney trigger
New Sights
Barrel Band
Switch Safety to 3 position

Luxury
Add Duane Webb bottom
Wood stock

Plus Wayne is going to make sure it shoots well before he sends it to you.

Mike

Let me expand my comments.

I ordered a 550 in 458 Lott. I liked it because it held so many cartridges. The guys at the gun shop called me and said they could not get the gun to zero. Considering the number of guns they have mounted scopes on for me, I found this strange. They contacted the distributor who informed them that SOME of the guns had bent barrels. Back it goes.

The gun comes back. The gun shop mounts the scope and zeros it. I shot a few hogs with it. I went to the range. I was shooting clay pigeons off hand at 50 yards, hitting them about every time. I was thinking, hell yes, I like this. The next shot something hit me in the left side of the head then I saw my brand new Swarovski hit the ground. I thought WTF. It had sheared the screws in the mounts. The Swarovski was damaged severely.

The distributor advised to drill larger deeper holes in the gun so heavier screws can be accommodated. The Swaro comes back and is mounted.

I get yet another call from the gun shop. They are telling me this gun can't be zeroed AGAIN. I said the hell with this. I don't want it. No way in hell an I risking my life with that gun.

it is a shame because I have shot Collen van der Linden's rifle in 450 Ackley. I loved it. His may be a Brno. I am not sure.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
Let me expand my comments.

I ordered a 550 in 458 Lott. I liked it because it held so many cartridges. The guys at the gun shop called me and said they could not get the gun to zero. Considering the number of guns they have mounted scopes on for me, I found this strange. They contacted the distributor who informed them that SOME of the guns had bent barrels. Back it goes.

The gun comes back. The gun shop mounts the scope and zeros it. I shot a few hogs with it. I went to the range. I was shooting clay pigeons off hand at 50 yards, hitting them about every time. I was thinking, hell yes, I like this. The next shot something hit me in the left side of the head then I saw my brand new Swarovski hit the ground. I thought WTF. It had sheared the screws in the mounts. The Swarovski was damaged severely.

The distributor advised to drill larger deeper holes in the gun so heavier screws can be accommodated. The Swaro comes back and is mounted.

I get yet another call from the gun shop. They are telling me this gun can't be zeroed AGAIN. I said the hell with this. I don't want it. No way in hell an I risking my life with that gun.

it is a shame because I have shot Collen van der Linden's rifle in 450 Ackley. I loved it. His may be a Brno. I am not sure.

That sucks.

I was offered a custom left handed 375 H&H cz 550 that someone had done work on and I did not buy it cause I was just not comfortable with the gunsmith work. I have seen CZ custom shop guns at DSC and also not been impressed with the work.

I see the stuff from Wayne/AHR and its solid bullet proof stuff.

Plus of a well customized CZ is everyone in Africa is far more impressed with the gun than with other high end bolts that cost 5x cause a lot of PHs grew up on brno 602s.

This is a cz550 customized by Wayne with a new wood stock and Duane Webb steel bottom. I have hunted a fair bit with this rifle and beat it up pretty good over 4 safaris. Sent it back to Wayne to get refurbished with bottom and stock.



My favorite gun.

Mike

Beretta that is a very nice looking rifle. Guess my exceptions to not wanting a CZ would be the ones from AHR, and someone like Lon Paul.

Cheers, Chris

This is the difference between a working but customized CZ (in 458 lott) and a fully customized 375 H&H.




I may convert the 458 lott back to 375 H&H as I have little interest in 458 lott. But I have 600 rounds of 458 lott so I may just keep it.

It sucks that CZ has issues with their barrels as one of the reason I like CZ so much is their cold hammer forged barrels.

Mike

I have owned a couple of them, made a 404 out of one, did a lot of work on them customized them but still didn't much care for there bulk, the actions are just too large IMO, but they made up into pretty nice rifles and that big action was decent for a 404 and the big rounds. I have to say feed and function was iffy out of the box on both of them, but was not to difficult to fix.

My main gripe however was appearance as compared to a Mauser or mod. 70 pre 64, as opposed to function..I guess I'll always be Mauser prone, its my nostalgic self. A big bore bolt gun should be lean and mean..Just my 2 bits and only speaking for myself.

I too believe the 602 is the more desirable of the two, and by a mile. I always like that optional pop up peep in the rear square bridge.

Now you know why I hate weatherbys-Rob

fwiw & imho,
Forgive this for being small bore based, however, I believe it goes to the topic...

I was setting next to a friend of mine ten or twelve years ago and he was going on and on about the quality of machining and everything on his CZ .17 HMR. Everyone present had bought one except for me. I view them as crude but functional... As he continued to preach he started to talk about the finely machined factory scope rings(as the rifle in his hands was new, needed a trigger job, but had factory rings installed to avoid loss I suppose). I said nothing but went into my loading/vault room and picked up a new set of Talley CZ Rimfire Rings and returned to my seat. Without saying a word I dropped the little black box in his lap... He was a Navy Mustang officer, and a stickler for detail, but very much unused to fine guns. He knew nothing of Talleys... He took them out of the box and looked at them intensely, looked at the CZ version he had just been talking about, and looked me in the eye. Having never said a word I had to suppress a grin when he said "These are incredible, how much are they?" I gave him dealer pricing which was like $50 at the time and he quickly transferred the CZs to his pocket and the Talley's to the rifle. I was shooting a couple 1717 Anschutzs and a 57M Cooper Custom Classic, AAA French Walnut, in .17 HMR and considered it déclassé to draw any comparisons. The shooter will find that in time... I've found little different with the larger rifles...

Regards, Matt.

I'm also unimpressed. I've got a .22 and a. 22 Hornet that,are decent, but only ok. Certainly not up to some other brands. A couple of years ago I picked up a 550 American in 9.3x62 and while it shot reasonably well (3 shots into an inch at 100 yd. most of the time) the barrel would copper foul severely after 5 to 10 rounds. I sent it to them, and supposedly they cleaned it and fired it, after which they returned it saying that it was fine. I don't believe they even made an effort, because when I cleaned it after receipt I got several patches with Sweets 7.62 that showed heavy copper fouling still. In addition I had a couple of conversations with their service department in an attempt to explain the issue and reach some resolution, and I feel I was treated in a very patronizing manner. And of course the issue was not resolved. The gun needed a new barrel and they were not going to give me a new barrel. End of conversation.

In short, I feel that CZ's products are of pretty average quality, but are overpriced, and over hyped to folks who are inclined to fall for the "old world" European mistique. And the way they stand behind their products is nothing to write home about either. So my overall rating would be a solid "meh..."

I'm no expert. I owned a CZ 550 mag Kevlar in 416 Rigby for 2 years and had a lot of fun with it. I posted a thread here of how I slicked up the bolt & got it shooting.

Loved the gun but sold it as I had to cancel my African buffalo hunt.

RIP & a few others here own CZs which they are very happy with - factory rifles slicked up at home.

Buy a M70 in 458 and you will need no other rifle. If you want to shoot flatter, buy a M70 in 375.
If that still shoots too slow buy and M70 in 300wm

There is no rifle problem that cannot be solved by a Winchester Model 70.

I have been very impressed with cz452. I own like 7 of them in 452 and 1 in 455.

The trigger could be better but for 300-400 it is a great gun.

With a $200 Nikon pro staff they shoot exceptionally well.

I have a cz 527 in 223 and barely shoot it. Simply because my larue is much more fun to shoot.

It sucks that people have had suck bad luck with them. But I look at 550 as a blueprint for Wayne to work on. Being left handed there are few big bore Mauser actions sub 5k in 375 h&h.

The ruger 375 Alaskan is a far better out of box value at $599. I own 3 just cause they are so cheap.

Mike

Funny you should mention the Model 70. I currently have a Model 70 Alaskan in .300 Win at their service facility. Somebody jammed a pilot or something in the muzzle and badly scuffed the rifling. In this case it bounced around between manager and gunsmith a couple of times but they finally agreed to replace it. Currently waiting for the new shipment to come in. A far better service experience and outcome, and a company obviously willing to stand behind their products.

Honestly, pretty much every CZ I've owned has had to be worked on to get it to feed. The worst of which was my very first one in 375 H&H. it did not feed at all. After owning 3 different CZ big bores, I have learned how to work them over.

Once worked over, they can be very good rifles, but I would never buy a CZ without expecting to do work on it.

I did have one that fired when i disengaged the safety one time,

but other than that, they have been fairly accurate. yes don't buy one unless your are going to do the work your self or have a gunsmith work on it.

Here's what they can be like after the feed rails are smoothed, ejector shaped, extractor reshaped, extractor detentioned, and bolt face edges polished.

Gohip2000, yes, that looks really nice. But it's too bad you needed to do all that in the first place. What a lot of these comments seem to be adding up to is the fact that perhaps the majority of factory guns these days need to be teased, tickled, and tweaked to a degree in order to work as intended and meet our expectations. The state of manufacturing today is thus, and producing a truly finished product with hand work, quality checking, and so forth raises costs unacceptably. There is a huge variety in the marketplace today that didn't exist years ago, but Imho the "golden age" has passed. Sadly.

In my case, CZ'S customer base reduction program is working rather well.

Honestly, I not think is only CZ with these issues. Off the top of my head, I have had the following problems with BRAND NEW guns:

1- VC 500 NE that would not shoot. Chamber not cut deep enough.

2- Merkel 470 NE, all jazzed up- I pulled the trigger 4 times, it shot 8 rounds. FYI, I have NEVER doubles any other gun EVER. Returned for refund.



3- 22 Mag semi-auto pistol. Forgot the brand. Jammed every single shot. Factory defect.

4- 22 Mag Magnum Research semi-auto rifle. Kicked out pieces of metal in my forehead. Base of casing often blown out. Replaced by factory.

5- 28 GA Benelli Legacy. Pattern is 6 inches low.

6- 22 LR Ruger 10/22 breakdown. Barrel had to be replaced. Bullets tumbling.

7- 308 CORE AR- with a 30 shot clip, it would jam over 20 times.

There are probably others.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
Honestly, I not think is only CZ with these issues. Off the top of my head, I have had the following problems with BRAND NEW guns:

1- VC 500 NE that would not shoot. Chamber not cut deep enough.

2- Merkel 470 NE, all jazzed up- I pulled the trigger 4 times, it shot 8 rounds. FYI, I have NEVER doubles any other gun EVER. Returned for refund.



3- 22 Mag semi-auto pistol. Forgot the brand. Jammed every single shot. Factory defect.

4- 22 Mag Magnum Research semi-auto rifle. Kicked out pieces of metal in my forehead. Base of casing often blown out. Replaced by factory.

5- 28 GA Benelli Legacy. Pattern is 6 inches low.

6- 22 LR Ruger 10/22 breakdown. Barrel had to be replaced. Bullets tumbling.

7- 308 CORE AR- with a 30 shot clip, it would jam over 20 times.

There are probably others.

Many people buy a $30K double and send it to JJ before taking delivery.

The real question is why is customer service so terrible in the firearms business and so damn good in the optics business.

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by H47:
Gohip2000, yes, that looks really nice. But it's too bad you needed to do all that in the first place. What a lot of these comments seem to be adding up to is the fact that perhaps the majority of factory guns these days need to be teased, tickled, and tweaked to a degree in order to work as intended and meet our expectations. The state of manufacturing today is thus, and producing a truly finished product with hand work, quality checking, and so forth raises costs unacceptably. There is a huge variety in the marketplace today that didn't exist years ago, but Imho the "golden age" has passed. Sadly.

In my case, CZ'S customer base reduction program is working rather well.

Some run of the mill factory guns today offer amazing value - Ruger American Rifle or a Glock. However, they are just tools. If you want craftsman ship you have to pay dearly for it. Just the modern world we live it.

I will clarify by saying a GLOCK 19 at $500 retail is not amazing value just good value. But the production cost of $60 to make the gun - shows what mass production, standardization, plastics and simplicity can achieve.

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
Honestly, I not think is only CZ with these issues. Off the top of my head, I have had the following problems with BRAND NEW guns:

1- VC 500 NE that would not shoot. Chamber not cut deep enough.

2- Merkel 470 NE, all jazzed up- I pulled the trigger 4 times, it shot 8 rounds. FYI, I have NEVER doubles any other gun EVER. Returned for refund.



3- 22 Mag semi-auto pistol. Forgot the brand. Jammed every single shot. Factory defect.

4- 22 Mag Magnum Research semi-auto rifle. Kicked out pieces of metal in my forehead. Base of casing often blown out. Replaced by factory.

5- 28 GA Benelli Legacy. Pattern is 6 inches low.

6- 22 LR Ruger 10/22 breakdown. Barrel had to be replaced. Bullets tumbling.

7- 308 CORE AR- with a 30 shot clip, it would jam over 20 times.

There are probably others.

I have bought 50 plus new guns in the last 10 years. Had no real issues that required the service of a gunsmith for firearm function. I must have had a really lucky streak. I plan to keep the record complete by not buying another new gun for a long time.

Mike

My early. 375 is a tack driver out of the box.
It shoots clover leafs with 4 different loads.
It has the European style stock so maybe it was made for the EU market with a little more QC.
No complaints here.
Nitro

quote:

Originally posted by Beretta682E:
[Q]

Many people buy a $30K double and send it to JJ before taking delivery.


Mike

I did that very thing. Fortunately, mine did not have a problem.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
Let me expand my comments.

I ordered a 550 in 458 Lott. I liked it because it held so many cartridges. The guys at the gun shop called me and said they could not get the gun to zero. Considering the number of guns they have mounted scopes on for me, I found this strange. They contacted the distributor who informed them that SOME of the guns had bent barrels. Back it goes.

Yep, it happens. I once bought a couple of CZ 550 Magnums from a local high volume emporium for $350 each. They were returned rifles offered for sale by CZ USA for use as "parts guns" for gunsmithing, a .416 Rigby and a .458 Win, supposedly with bent or canted barrels. Two great actions and decent Lux stocks anyway.

The gun comes back. The gun shop mounts the scope and zeros it. I shot a few hogs with it. I went to the range. I was shooting clay pigeons off hand at 50 yards, hitting them about every time. I was thinking, hell yes, I like this. The next shot something hit me in the left side of the head then I saw my brand new Swarovski hit the ground. I thought WTF. It had sheared the screws in the mounts. The Swarovski was damaged severely.

Were you using the original CZ factory rings or Talley substitutes?
I have certainly trashed a couple of sets of Talley CZ rings, and so have many others.
Talley aesthetics may be good on the small bores, but not on the heavy kickers.
One cannot blame a CZ rifle for shearing scope ring screws or other ring parts on a .458 Lott if you are using a scope that is too heavy for reason.

The distributor advised to drill larger deeper holes in the gun so heavier screws can be accommodated.



This makes no sense. There are no holes at all in the CZ rifle for mounting screws. Integral bases accept the CZ rings. Those CZ rings may not be the prettiest in the world, but they are strong.


The Swaro comes back and is mounted.

I get yet another call from the gun shop. They are telling me this gun can't be zeroed AGAIN. I said the hell with this. I don't want it. No way in hell an I risking my life with that gun.

it is a shame because I have shot Collen van der Linden's rifle in 450 Ackley. I loved it. His may be a Brno. I am not sure.

I own over a dozen CZ 550 Magnums in factory chamberings, rechamberings, and rebarreled to various wildcats.
Yes, they are excellent starting points for building rifles as good as any.
For my purposes, they are good machines.
Crap happens with all the other makes too, which I have even more experience with fixing up to acceptable.
Being a true "Riflecrank" requires patience and diligence, and is not just about getting a pinky finger erection over a few "bespoke" pieces.

Also, who in heck would not want to zero the scope on his own rifle?
Who would trust someone else to do that?
Certainly not a true riflecrank.
If you are too busy to do that, then you are too busy to do anything else with a rifle.
Better just put it away until another day.

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NRA Life Benefactor and Beneficiary
https://home.nra.org/

RIP:

I am not blaming CZ for the screws shearing. That was part of the story that led up to the final issue. If I gave that impression, I apologize. Sitting here thinking about it now, I do have to wonder why they didn't drill it with bigger screws.

My gun guys are incredibly knowledgeable. I would estimate that they have put something over 100 scopes on rifles for me over the years. This rifle and this rifle only is the sole rifle with this type of issue.

I agree totally that the final problem doesn't make sense. I was not willing to take the chance on another unexplained problem with something big and mean trying to bite me or mash me.

I've had two CZ 550's. A .308 which went to Africa and a .416 Rigby. Both good rifles. Both needed the usual work 1) Trigger rebuild and 2) bedding check. The .416 was actually bedded correctly in the standard stock and didn't need a bedding job. No cracks or change of impact. It is now in the Northern Territory of Australia as a Buffalo rifle and still going strong.

You need these rifles checked BY A COMPETENT GUNSMITH WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE DOING and not just selling services from behind a shingle hung on a door. I've found the label 'custom' and reliable don't always go together. You need to know a fair bit about rifles yourself and be able to recognise the good and the bad or you can be screwed over.

They are incredible value for money as a big bore and well worth the few extra dollars needed.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
RIP:

I am not blaming CZ for the screws shearing. That was part of the story that led up to the final issue. If I gave that impression, I apologize. Sitting here thinking about it now, I do have to wonder why they didn't drill it with bigger screws.

Larry, You still don't get it.
Drilling bigger holes has no connection to mounting scope rings on a CZ. The scope bases are integral. Are you talking about drilling bigger holes in the scope rings and replacing the screws of the rings? If so, which screws on which rings?
OEM CZ rings, Talley, Warne, or other rings? Surely you are not talking about placing Weaver cross-slot or Picatinny bases on the CZ? That is the only "hole drilling" that enters the realm of possibility with a CZ.


My gun guys are incredibly knowledgeable. I would estimate that they have put something over 100 scopes on rifles for me over the years.

I have done well over 100 myself and you are still not making sense to me. Can you not try a little harder to remember? Nonsense is indeed absolutely unimpressive and adds nothing to this discussion.

This rifle and this rifle only is the sole rifle with this type of issue.

What issue?
1. What holes needed to be "drilled bigger?"
2. What rings were you using on the CZ 550 Magnum?


I agree totally that the final problem doesn't make sense.

No Larry, you are not making any sense. Either your guys did not know what they were doing, or they miscommunicated the facts, or you are confused about the facts or forgot the facts?

I was not willing to take the chance on another unexplained problem with something big and mean trying to bite me or mash me.

Ah ha! So you admit that the problem was not explained to you? Why? You did not want to understand? Is this a lost cause?

What holes would you drill bigger on a CZ to make the scope mounting stronger, presumably with bigger screws replacing the original screws?
The only screws involved are in the rings, not on the rifle.
OEM CZ rings have four cap screws in each ring, holding the top ring half to the bottom ring half.
The only other screws are the single, huge main mounting screw in each ring lower half.
The only thing that makes sense here is either drilling out all 8 cap screws and replacing them, or replacing the main mounting screws?
The main mounting screws are hardly in need of replacement, except with the same diameter metric screws having a socket head instead of a slotted head,
but this is merely for convenience of carrying the hex wrench in pocket, instead of a screwdriver.



Ignore the QD lever joke above. The Hex wrench is the QD-QD lever carried in pants pocket.

Here are the OEM CZ rings on a .500-caliber wildcat rifle (.500/.338 Lapua Magnum Improved 2.7" aka 12.7x68mm Magnum) generating more recoil than a .458 Lott:





Above may be a BRNO ZKK 602, but the integral scope bases are identical to what is on a CZ 550 Magnum.

What could go wrong with this?

Here are the CZ rings on a 500 Mbogo (.510/.416 Rigby Improved 3"), 30mm scope on a CZ 550 Magnum rifle:



The only possible screws to be made bigger here are the 8 cap screws on the ring tops.
Is that what Larry is trying to say?

Maybe Larry had a 2-pound scope on his .458 Lott and needs a lighter scope instead?

Talley rings would not hold up to that as well as the CZ rings do:








Drilling bigger holes in this Talley design would make it even more prone to fail:



Another CZ 550 Magnum 500 Mbogo, here's the kind of scope that should be used on a .458 Lott, a scope that weighs less than a half pound.
Warnes or Talleys might be able to handle that, though the OEM CZ rings would be more reassuring:




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RIP:

I can't tell you. It has been a few years ago.

I was not the one doing the work. Frankly, I would not know how nor do I have the time or the tools.

Finally, I do not recall a claw mount. I do remember sheared screws. Other than that I can't tell you. I simply do not remember and did not take pictures.

Thanks Larry,
OK, you got one with a bent barrel, something that could have been caused by many different things from factory to shipping accident.
Second problem, the "shearing of screws" was not a CZ rifle problem.
It was a problem with whatever rings were used or a problem with using a scope that was too heavy for reason.
I have also stripped the main mounting screw on Talley CZ rings.
Drilling a bigger hole and replacing the screw with a bigger one might be a tricky consideration there. The OEM CZ rings have a greater diameter main mounting screw than does the Talley:



The CZ 550 Magnum compared to the forerunner BRNO ZKK 602:

The 602 has a straighter bolt handle, a trigger attached to the trigger gaurd/floor plate instead of to the action proper, a safety that works in reverse of what most of us are hard-wired to use, and a finish of metal that is quite crude and rough compared to the 550.
The pop-up peep sight of the 602 is also available now from CZ-USA on special order.



Both the 602 and the 550 require a lot of work to satisfy. Overall, less work is required to customize the 550 to the satisfaction of most riflecranks. I do not know of any replacement trigger for the 602, but they are available for the 550.





All that adds up to the current 550 Magnum being a best buy machine to build a "True Magnum" rifle with.

I have rifles based on Dakota M76 African, Olympic Arms BBK-02, BRNO ZKK 602, Ruger RSM, MRC M1999, and Prechtl Magnum Mauser. I have come back to the CZ 550 Magnum since the above trials.

For a .458 Lott, or any 404 Jeffery based cartridge or smaller, a Winchester M70 is good.
A Winchester M70 I have has also been turned into a .500/.338 Lapua Magnum Improved 2.7". But it surely did not come from the factory like that.

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As I said before, I do not blame CZ for the screws shearing. It was just part of the story.

I must be doing something wrong. Never had a bit of problem with my CZ in .375 H&H in the 10 years and thousands of rounds I've sent through it. Groups a variety of bullets in all weights in less than 1" groups all day long. I routinely use it to shoot multiple (2 to 3 running) hogs out of sounders (30 last year) - and if there were feeding or ejection problems, surely it would have shown up by now. Heavy? Yes it is, but I don't mind...

My CZ in .404 Jeff - same thing. Only been using it for about 4 years, and only about 350 rounds, but no problems. No problems with rings, no problems with feeding or ejection, and I'm pleased to say, it will group less than 1" if I do my part. Solids or softs, Barnes or Woodleigh, factory or reloads - no drama.

I must have gotten the only two functional ones they ever made based on all the reports above!

quote:

Originally posted by Acer:
I must be doing something wrong. Never had a bit of problem with my CZ in .375 H&H in the 10 years and thousands of rounds I've sent through it. Groups a variety of bullets in all weights in less than 1" groups all day long. I routinely use it to shoot multiple (2 to 3 running) hogs out of sounders (30 last year) - and if there were feeding or ejection problems, surely it would have shown up by now. Heavy? Yes it is, but I don't mind...

My CZ in .404 Jeff - same thing. Only been using it for about 4 years, and only about 350 rounds, but no problems. No problems with rings, no problems with feeding or ejection, and I'm pleased to say, it will group less than 1" if I do my part. Solids or softs, Barnes or Woodleigh, factory or reloads - no drama.

I must have gotten the only two functional ones they ever made based on all the reports above!

Nope I have the rest, it appears - Apart from a few CZs that are flawless, I only have BRNO actioned rifles - ZKK601, 600, and 602 - and then a Coruna Mauser 98 and a Musgrave on a Santa Barbara action.

But I am a BRNO nut, I freely admit.

.
CZ .416 out of Europe. Polished the bolt and opened the handle to 45 degrees ( I find it easier and quicker to reload ), barrel sling off of stock onto barrel, swapped the tunnel foresight for a hi vis sight, swapped out the trigger and soldered the magazine trap closed.

No problems at all. Chews up all ammo soft sand solids and very happy with it! Plane to keep it on open / iron sights and not scope it.

Maybe there is a difference between the US and the European CZs?!

.

I think what this thread is aimed at is factory rifles from CZ. I agree they are rough in this basic form. What one can expect from factory pricing versus custom pricing only validates what has been posted here.

I have a factory CZ550 in 416 Rigby that I have been playing with for 6 months. It has needed bolt travel and guide rail smoothing. I have bedded the stock and worked on smoothing out the safety lever.

I bought this rifle at a gun show for $700 and it was shot 11 times. I still consider it a bargain. I had no illusions this rifle would be perfect as is. There is no way in hell a factory rifle would ever meet my expectations at such a price point. It is simply a building block. RIP is so freaking spot on with his posts. He shows everyone the modifications he makes. He is saving everyone money by showing them what to do and what not to do.

I am not an ass kisser or fan guy but what I have seen come out of AHR is simply stunning. You simply will not get the rifle of your dreams from the factory. I know it is expensive to go custom but what other commodity can you think of that retains value like a quality firearm. The bottom line is you get what you pay for. If you are only willing to pay bottom dollar for a rifle then expect bottom level performance.

I have a CZ550 American 9.3x62 Kevlar that has never given me a single problem. I've read that a lot of owners don't care for the single-set trigger or, the less than smooth action, but, they all seem to work in harmony on my rifle. The trigger has reliable (so far) and the action feeds well and has gotten smoother the more rounds I put through it. It remains one of my most accurate rifles (out of the box). Probably not my favorite rifle but, it rank in the top 5 or 6.