that is a sexy rifle...

How much?

If you're too shy about the price PM me, I think I'll do something similiar to yours... eventually...

Very, very, very, very nice!
JCN

That's unbelievable! Super job. Pretty darn nice piece of wood to begin with, eh?

That is just truly great ...and a cz as well, you have fine taste in firearms IMHO

Good looking rifle, mbogo. You need to add some 'before' photos to really show it off.
thanks for sharing.

MBogo375
I live close by Roger (Fayetteville, GA) and happened to be dropping my rifle off for a new recoil pad yesterday. He showed me your rifle and JudgeG's CZ 458 Lott. They are both superb! As good as your photos were, they did not do total justice to Roger's superb checkering job. I really liked your model 70 safety that Roger installed as well as the new bolt handle. All in all an outstanding rifle! And for considerably less than a Dakota or Winchester Custom Shop! Jealousy can be so hard to control! Hugh

Nice. Makes one wonder why CZ doesn't shape and checker their stocks like that to begin with. I've reshaped 4 CZ stocks myself, ZKK models. Even the Weatherby-style stocks can be made to look like classic Mauser stocks.

WOW, I would have said that is a different stock altogether! If it shoots half as good as it scores in the looks department, then you will have a real heirloom to pass on to your kids.
I wonder how much the weight changed due to the stock being whittled away? At least CZ provide plenty of wood/metal to work with eh?

Jim,

Thats a stunning transformation to say the least!

Do you know what Roger did or what product he used to alter the colour of the stock like that?

I am waiting for my CZ550 American to arrive and I would love to re finish it in that manner.

Regards,

Pete

This post has inspired me to do something with my CZ. I have always thought it looked pretty good as is, but I see it could be greatly improved upon.

Great looking rifle!


David

mbogo375,

Mr Ferrell has done a wonderful job on your rifle! It sure does have that British look, very sharp.

BigBullet

Great looking rifle. I've seen Mr. Farrell's work and it's one of the best. Is that bolt on the grip nessesary? it looks totally out of place. jorge

Now that's a DAMN good looking rifle there mister! Congrats and share more pics if you can later. I love seeing other folks' rifles, they're things of beauty!

Mbogo375
thanks for digging up the before shots. They're clear enough to see that it's the same piece of wood. I like the new shape just fine, but it's the new stain that makes this rifle a real winner. That's a spectacular transformation.

Good luck at the hunting grounds!

Gentlemen,

Thanks for all the kind comments. I can certainly recommend Roger's work highly (even if it does mean that I will have to wait longer in the future to get my jobs back ).

To answer some of your questions:

Mike375, Unfortunately, Jim Wisner says that he will probably not do any more of these safety/shroud combos . Too bad, as they really add to the appearance of the rifle .

Boghossian, I hope that it shed around a half pound between wood and metal removal, but I won't know until I get a chance to weigh it (hopefully later this week). It would have been nice if more of the weight had come from the muzzle end, but I will be happy to get some weight reduction anywhere. This, along with the too-fat grip area, were the features that I disliked most about the factory CZ. I know that a lot of people think a 416 Rigby should weigh 10 pounds bare, but I get along just fine with my 8.5 pound 416 Rem Model 70. My intention is to stay with 416 Rem velocity, so the extra weight is not needed. I would be extatic if this rifle weighed under 9 pounds, but I doubt that it could without shortening the barrel and hollowing the buttstock (from memory, I believe that the factory weight for this particular rifle was about 9 3/4 pounds).

Pete E, Our original intention was to use alkanet root like the classic express rifles, but the forearm was so blond, and so resistant to stain that it was not working well. I don't know what Roger finally ended up having to use to get it as dark as he did, but he did a great job for what he had to work with.

jorge, I agree that the bolt in the wrist is by far the least attractive part of the stock. Unfortunately it came from CZ with this bolt, so it was more practical to leave it that way (remember, this was to be a semi-affordable project).

Jim

Jim,



If you intend speaking to Roger in the near future, i would love to know what he used to get that dark look, providing its not a trade secret of course. I have a Sako and a CZ which I would love to darken and although I have tried standard wood stains, I found that they tended to "sand out" as i wet sanded the oil into the wood. I suspect I will have to find a dark oil...



Regards,



Pete

Here are a few photos that I received by email from Roger Ferrell, who is reworking the wood and metal on my factory issue 416 Rigby CZ 550. This started out with the standard Luxe hog-back factory wood and metal, but I did look until I found a rifle with a decent looking piece of wood before buying. The project is getting close to finished now, but still has a little more to do to it.



JudgeG will probably have a few photos of his own to post this coming week of a project that Roger has just finished for him as well, but I will leave him to report on that. Suffice it to say that he got a great looking job from Roger as well!!!



Roger did a tremendous job of translating what I intended into finished wood and metal.I wanted to come as close as possible to a classic British express rifle, and the stock was reshaped with a combination of Jeffery, Rigby, and Holland&Holland features that I requested. An ebony fore end tip was added after shortening, slimming, and reshaping the forearm, and a Fisher metal grip cap was installed after slimming and reshaping the grip area. Internal reinforcements were added, and the stock was rebedded.



A Wisner bolt shroud/safety was added, as was a Talley barrel band swivel base. The bolt handle was replaced with a Talley, and the unsightly CZ markings on the receiver and barrel were removed (and the caliber marking was engraved on the barrel). Following the other metalwork all the metal was rust blued.



The biggest thing still to add is a Wisner Rigby-style drop floorplate once Jim has a chance to make a few of these. This allows easy use of four rounds in the mag.



Maybe it's just me, but the action modifications give it a bit of a double square bridge magnum Mauser look (possibly just wishful thinking on my part ). It would have looked even better with a quarter rib, but I was trying to keep things in the semi-affordable range . It's certainly looking like there is a nice rifle hiding under all that CZ factory wood and metal.



Jim

How do i post pic`s on here ? i have one of my CZ`s

mbogo375,

Out of curiosity, what is the approximate cost of such refurbishing in the States?

Regards

How much does it cost to add the M70 style bolt shroud/safety to them.

It is interesting that several European rifles copy the basic Wby
shape for a bolt shroud.

Mike

My limited experience with CZ's, (1), the filler / stain combination hides the grain. My 452 American has nice wood but you have to look real hard to see it. What do you use to remove the old finish? Do you clean it clear down to bare wood or leave a little of the filler? This is a project I am giving some thought to doing. DW