I'm going to get a rifle in 416 Rigby.

I think I've got it narrowed down to the above two.

Looking for comments as to which I should pick or other suggested rifles.

Thanks.

According to dozens of previous threads on this forum (use the 'Find' button), the Ruger RSM at $2300 MSRP is ready to go.

The CZ at $1200 MSRP may need a bit of tuning, but you'll save several hundred dollars.

George

CZ had a great article in the African hunter last year. I like the CZ

I have a RSM Rigby and sold a CZ Rigby with the early Euro stock. The RSM to me had less felt recoil, had MUCH nicer wood and I liked the integral quarter rib, safety and blueing of the RSM and hence sold the CZ. Both are very accurate and the CZ has a decent recoil pad stock where the RSM pad is a joke. The RSM pad must be replaced but that is a small issue overall.

I really like my RSMs in Rigby and 458 Lott, but the CZ products are good also (I have a CZ 375 as well and its a keeper!}

I would choose the rifle you feel more comfortable with...which one "feels" the best and handles better for you. They are both good rifles. Buy the one that you like the best!

John

Good question.I am in the process of finding the answer by trying to shoot as much as I can with them.What I know for sure is that the Ruger can never be a perfect rifle because of its action.It's just to rough and if it could be smoothened you have an issue with the anti binding device on the bolt.The Ruger has a great barrel but you could match it with a Krieger on your CZ.I think I would go with the CZ because you have the action and can build any rifle you want with it,including one that balances and points as fast as a Ruger.However I am still working on the answer to your question and I believe I will have the answer in the coming year or two.

You can get a new CZ in 416 Rigby for under $900. An action job and glassbedding shouldn't cost you more than $200 and you're ready to go. Put the extra $1000 towards your hunt.

Chuck

That's a good two to pick from. I've had a pair of CZ's with Bavarian stock chambered in .416 Rigby and sold them both. The rifles fed, fired, and ejected perfectly and both were sub-MOA just like their respective test targets showed from the box. They just didn't balance well for me and I did not want to spend money for custom work (I prefer the Bavarian stock CZ to the American stock CZ).

I still have my Ruger RSM chambered in .416 Rigby and also a Ruger No.1 chambered .416 Rigby. Love them both. In fact, I seem to take my No.1 with me along with a 25 wssm M70 Coyote wherever I go. My Ruger's are also sub-MOA. The cost of the Ruger barrel with integral Quarter rib, barrel band, and front site band is worth the purchase price alone.

The Ruger is just more value for the money than the CZ. With that said, buy the one that balances better for you.

I owned both a CZ550 and a Ruger RSM in 416 Rigby. Sold the Ruger and customized the CZ and have been happy ever since. I would say both shot equally as good and the decision had nothing to do with cost. I dislke the stock on the Ruger,not just the RSM as it had beautiful wood, but the general shape of the Ruger stock on ALL their boltguns. I especially dislike the flat behind the tang on top of pistol grip. The stock can be reshaped somewhat but this is hard to eliminate nicely. I also dislike the bolt handle shape and while this can be changed the abortion of a cut in the stock for the flat handle can't be tastefully repaired. On the 416 the barrel is far too heavy and the integral rib,to me, is totally unattractive. All in all I just really don't like the aesthetics of the Ruger and that is a personal thing. With the CZ restocked in a Brockman Laminate I am quite pleased and ahead a few bucks also.

If you got 8K, Dakota has a nice 416 rigby already made and ready to ship in their inventory department. I've recently bought 2 rifles that were already made and have had a great experience with them so far.

In mid 2006 I bought a RSM .416 new for $1550. I do not recall what the CZ was selling for.

I bedded the RSM, smoothed the action, did a trigger job and installed a recoil pad. I also had the checkering recut and expanded. So Rugers also benefit from some work.

You can find the RSM for around $1600. It's a heck of a rifle w/ many nice features for that price. If money is an issue, buy the CZ. I spent more than the cost of a RSM to build my "cheap" 404j, w/ no regrets. I would probably be just as happy w/ the RSM.

The CZ needs the safety changed and the bedding attended to.But it will not miss feed as the Ruger is know to do at the worst possible times.
Myles Mccallum has given up using his on elephant for that reason

A friend of mine just recently bought a 416 Rigby. Myself I own a 416 Remington. Both are fine rifles.

I don't think you could come close to the slick,polished steel of a CZ action that has been worked on.Not with a cast or SS action.Wombat,I disagree with you when you say that the CZ NEEDS a safety.The one that it comes with is a good safety.It may not look nice but it works fine.

I've got CZ's in 375H&H, 416 Rigby, and 450 Dakota. They all feed flawlessly and shoot as well as I can hold them. I'm going to Africa to see about a Cape Buffalo in six days and the 450 is going along. The RSM feels like a brick to me.

Rich
DRSS
Knowledge not shared is knowledge lost...

SIX DAYS!!!

I have a CZ in .416, and it came new with no crossbolts. Has anyone experienced stock cracks? And should I get the action bedded and crossbolts installed? I haven't actually fired it yet.

The extraction and ejection on my CZ rifles is better than any rifle I owned.It handles dummy rds with 500gr bullets as if they were nothing.I have one Ruger that doesn't eject dummy rds whose case rims are slightly used up.These same rds are no issue for the CZ.I will have a local smith look at my Ruger to try to solve this.I had the same issue with a mod 70 and he solve that.Another issue with the Ruger is the follower that gets stuck on the rough cast walls of the magazine.

CZ-550 American! The Ruger is joke.

Yes IanD, I would have crossbolts installed and your rifle glass bedded. Better safe than sorry.

Chuck

I see the rugers for around 1600 most of the time and The CZs for around 900. I would prefer the Ruger by a long shot.
But with a little work the CZ could catch up.
I can't for the life of me see why they continue to put the single set trigger in the dangerous game rifle.
I have handeld a couple of the standard 550 americans that had a nice new stock.
Much trimmer and better to me.
But It seems to me the ruger out of the box is a much better choice.
...tj3006

The set fuction of the trigger is very easy to disable.

quote:

Originally posted by Buliwyf:
That's a good two to pick from. I've had a pair of CZ's with Bavarian stock chambered in .416 Rigby and sold them both. The rifles fed, fired, and ejected perfectly and both were sub-MOA just like their respective test targets showed from the box. They just didn't balance well for me and I did not want to spend money for custom work (I prefer the Bavarian stock CZ to the American stock CZ).

I still have my Ruger RSM chambered in .416 Rigby and also a Ruger No.1 chambered .416 Rigby. Love them both. In fact, I seem to take my No.1 with me along with a 25 wssm M70 Coyote wherever I go. My Ruger's are also sub-MOA. The cost of the Ruger barrel with integral Quarter rib, barrel band, and front site band is worth the purchase price alone.

The Ruger is just more value for the money than the CZ. With that said, buy the one that balances better for you.

Bullwyf makes many good points and the RSM is indeed a good value. However, I think the Ruger Safari Magnum is the most poorly balanced big game rifle I have ever handled. They are extremely barrel heavy and they don't point well. I have a RSM in .375 H&H as well as four CZs ranging from 9.3 to .500 Jeffery. I much prefer the CZs.

Dave

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Bush:

quote:

Originally posted by Buliwyf:
That's a good two to pick from. I've had a pair of CZ's with Bavarian stock chambered in .416 Rigby and sold them both. The rifles fed, fired, and ejected perfectly and both were sub-MOA just like their respective test targets showed from the box. They just didn't balance well for me and I did not want to spend money for custom work (I prefer the Bavarian stock CZ to the American stock CZ).

I still have my Ruger RSM chambered in .416 Rigby and also a Ruger No.1 chambered .416 Rigby. Love them both. In fact, I seem to take my No.1 with me along with a 25 wssm M70 Coyote wherever I go. My Ruger's are also sub-MOA. The cost of the Ruger barrel with integral Quarter rib, barrel band, and front site band is worth the purchase price alone.

The Ruger is just more value for the money than the CZ. With that said, buy the one that balances better for you.

Bullwyf makes many good points and the RSM is indeed a good value. However, I think the Ruger Safari Magnum is the most poorly balanced big game rifle I have ever handled. They are extremely barrel heavy and they don't point well. I have a RSM in .375 H&H as well as four CZs ranging from 9.3 to .500 Jeffery. I much prefer the CZs.

Dave

You have not handled the late model Rugers.

why not just get a 416 ruger, its a far better unit than the 416 ruger rigby, the Rigby is just to big, heavey and cumbersome, which ever way you look at it
Daniel

Rifle balance is of course a personal "feel". I prefer muzzle heavy. The RSM is excellent off of shooting sticks and I use shooting sticks quite a bit.

An even better idea considering the cost difference of the RSM vs the CZ would be to purchase the CZ with upgrades to match the RSM or just get one from AHR with their upgrades. Just a thought, Rodney.

Go for the CZ. They are a fine rifle reasonable
also.

You can't go wrong with either rifle,. It just depends on if you want to spend the extra money on the Ruger. Both are good solid rifles with a little work. Ruger just needs a descent buttpad

It would be nice if someone who has fired a big bore with these two actions extensively also,with a custom quality action such as a GMA could give us the whole story on the subject.After years on AR no one has given us the take on this.Someone to tell us how these actions and rifles really perform when they are really put to the test.Today, I discovered that despite how smooth my CZ action works when I practice feed dummy rds,it does screw up functionally when there is a full live load in the magazine and the rifle is shot at targets quickly.It seems that the cartridges can shift in the mag under recoil and screw up the feeding.Also,when the bolt is worked really fast,it can catch an ejected round while feeding a new round.

Good post shootaway.

Thanks Buliwyf!

My RSM is the slickest action and most reliable of any of my rifles. I had both RSM and CZ550 and had both worked on by a good smith but the CZ kept failing to pick up from the one rail and 'push-feeding' when cycled fast. Eventually after many dollars and hours of angst I sold it and have kept my RSM which I took to Zim for buff and ele. I have a .375 CZ which functions fine - that is what the width of the CZ mag box was designed for. Charlie.

quote:

Originally posted by shootaway:

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Bush:

quote:

Originally posted by Buliwyf:
That's a good two to pick from. I've had a pair of CZ's with Bavarian stock chambered in .416 Rigby and sold them both. The rifles fed, fired, and ejected perfectly and both were sub-MOA just like their respective test targets showed from the box. They just didn't balance well for me and I did not want to spend money for custom work (I prefer the Bavarian stock CZ to the American stock CZ).

I still have my Ruger RSM chambered in .416 Rigby and also a Ruger No.1 chambered .416 Rigby. Love them both. In fact, I seem to take my No.1 with me along with a 25 wssm M70 Coyote wherever I go. My Ruger's are also sub-MOA. The cost of the Ruger barrel with integral Quarter rib, barrel band, and front site band is worth the purchase price alone.

The Ruger is just more value for the money than the CZ. With that said, buy the one that balances better for you.

Bullwyf makes many good points and the RSM is indeed a good value. However, I think the Ruger Safari Magnum is the most poorly balanced big game rifle I have ever handled. They are extremely barrel heavy and they don't point well. I have a RSM in .375 H&H as well as four CZs ranging from 9.3 to .500 Jeffery. I much prefer the CZs.

Dave

You have not handled the late model Rugers.

Mine IS a "late model" Ruger. It is only a couple of years old.

I haven't seen anyone mention the difference in barrel twist rates on the CZ and Ruger. Ruger has a 1/14 twist while the CZ uses a slower 1/16.5 twist. Since I've never shot a CZ I can't say for sure, but it seems to me that the faster Ruger twist rate would be better for stabilizing long bullets like the 400 Gr. Barnes banded soldis and TSX. Some time ago there was a post here about a guy having real problems with bullet stabilization on a Buff hunt using 400 Gr. TSX bullets in a CZ.

Just something else to consider. My Ruger RSM shoots the 400 Gr. Barnes banded solids great. I got real good penetration on an Ele last year and plan to have another go at one in May.

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Bush:

quote:

Originally posted by shootaway:

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Bush:

quote:

Originally posted by Buliwyf:
That's a good two to pick from. I've had a pair of CZ's with Bavarian stock chambered in .416 Rigby and sold them both. The rifles fed, fired, and ejected perfectly and both were sub-MOA just like their respective test targets showed from the box. They just didn't balance well for me and I did not want to spend money for custom work (I prefer the Bavarian stock CZ to the American stock CZ).

I still have my Ruger RSM chambered in .416 Rigby and also a Ruger No.1 chambered .416 Rigby. Love them both. In fact, I seem to take my No.1 with me along with a 25 wssm M70 Coyote wherever I go. My Ruger's are also sub-MOA. The cost of the Ruger barrel with integral Quarter rib, barrel band, and front site band is worth the purchase price alone.

The Ruger is just more value for the money than the CZ. With that said, buy the one that balances better for you.

Bullwyf makes many good points and the RSM is indeed a good value. However, I think the Ruger Safari Magnum is the most poorly balanced big game rifle I have ever handled. They are extremely barrel heavy and they don't point well. I have a RSM in .375 H&H as well as four CZs ranging from 9.3 to .500 Jeffery. I much prefer the CZs.

Dave

You have not handled the late model Rugers.

Mine IS a "late model" Ruger. It is only a couple of years old.

Mine weighs the same as the CZ (about 9 3/4lbs) and has a shorter barrel and lighter stock.You must have an older version.I will start shooting my Ruger and see how it compares.

For my money I would go with the RSM. If you shop around you can find them for $1200-$1600. To my mind it's a lot more rifle for the money and ready to go. The integral quarter is a classy touch that would cost a more than a CZ if done by a smith. Sorry, but I have just never been impressed with the CZs. Lou

I would go with the CZ if it were me

Latest RSM .416 Rigby is about 9.5 pounds and perfectly balanced.

You can get a CZ with a factory synthetic stock now.

CZ does advertize a 1:16.5" twist, and Ruger does have a 1:14" twist.

CZ's have two recoil lugs that are integral to action (primary) and barrel (secondary).
RSM's have only one "recoil plate" that hooks over a small bolster on the bottom of the action.

Ruger: integral quarter rib
CZ: integral rear sight base and barrel lug

Ruger better safety than CZ.

Tough decision.

May I suggest at least one of each?

Which truck Ford or Chevy? A couple of thoughts Ruger is American Made. I have a RSM 375H&H (500 Jeffery conversion in process),416Rigby,458lott + Rem Big Game Syn 416rem. They all shoot great. I have never gone to Africa so all my time with these rifles is at the range or hunting CONUS. I feel that the Ruger looks great and handles very well I can't get myself to like the CZ's they just seem a little too rough and ugly. I agree that the Dakota would be great or an Empire rifle. You could build a Montana PH if you wanted something in the same price range? I just plain like my Rugers but I'm sure the CZ's work just fine also.

Brad

The only rifle I trust to work all the time,no matter what, is a Winchester.They are the guns that work.I have a custom Lott project about to get under way with Martini and Hagn and thought I had an action for it up until this past weekends shooting session.Now I know I can't trust a CZ.Thought about going with GMA but I feel it just another CZ in the sense that it is not originally built specifically for the cartridge intended.If it was,a gunsmith wouldn`t have to work on it,and TRY to get it right.When ever I put some 458WM rounds in any of my 300wm model 70`s they feed perfectly and are held tight in the mag,regardless of which bullets are used.Only trouble is the action is not big enough for the Lott.