I just bought a CZ 550 full stock in 7x57 and am quite pleased with the quality (with the exception of the crummy plastic follower and floor plate). I�ve looked at the CZ rings and they are too high for my taste. I want to mount a Leupold 1x4 scope low over the bore. I have two questions. First, what rings would you recommend and two, will low rings from Talley or Warne clear the bolt handle on this rifle?

Thanks in advance.

Rick,

I have a pair of Warne 19 mm BRNO rings quick-detachable rings; they make them in medium and high. As far as I can tell "medium" is as low as they make in this mount. They are available if you want to try them.

I don't know what Talley is currently making, I have some of their low rings on another rifle.

jim dodd

Rick,

I don't have any info for you about scope mounts, but I do have some about the plastic floorplate and follower. I have been thinking about a 550 and when I read your account of the plastic floorplate and follower I got a little nervous. So I called CZ USA. I spoke with their gunsmith and he told me that if you come across one with the plastic to take the parts off, send them to him, and they will replace it with steel. You can contact them at 1-800-955-4486. I thought you might be interested since you didn't seem happy about the plastic, I wouldn't have been either.

Hope this helps,
Bob

RickMD: I have the Talley Rings in a medium height I believe and they clear the bell-housing on my Leupold VariX-1 just fine. My rifle is the CZ 550 American in 7x57mm Mauser. My little brother has a rifle exactly like yours in the same caliber. With 48.3 grains of H414 and a Nosler Partition 160 grain bullet (the 1x8.66 twist in these rifles are best suited for the heavier bullets, not the light ones)he gets 1MOA at 100 yards and the bullet is going 2,765 fps. Duffy has the regular CZ rings (higher than an arched cat) on his rifle and a Burris 4x12 fullfield scope. The bolt handle clears the scope just fine. With my CZ an the 162 grain Hornady SST seated to .01 off the lands, and 48.9 grains of powder, I get an average of 2,855 fps. I have to do a lot more testing on this load, but it so far has given me a three-shot group of .216 inches center-to-center. I glassbedded the action and about 1.5 inches of the barrel chamber area, free floated the barrel, refinished the stock in Lindspeed Oil and polished the bolt handle and then had the bolt jeweled in the small herringbone pattern. It is one drop-dead beautiful rifle. My brother's full stock is not glass bedded, but the barrel is free floated. Duff talked his buddy into getting a CZ 550 Full Stock in 7x57mm and I handloaded some cartridges for it. The fellow uses it for everything from elk to turkey in Texas. By the way, if you call Mike at CZ-USA and explain you have a rifle made in 1999 or earlier and it has a plastic floorplate and magazine follower, CZ will replace them for free when you send them the old plastic parts. That is what they did with me. CZ-USA is located in Kansas City, Kansas. Call information and you can get their phone number, then call them and talk to Mike. They were pretty good about it. Just don't send them the holder pin for the floorplate, as they don't send a pin back with the new blue steel floor plate. Be sure to tell Mike you have a 7x57mm Mauser because the followers are marked with calibers. They are steel as well. Good Luck ... Tom Purdom

Bob & Jim:

Thanks for the information! Called CZ and they are replacing the follower and floor plate with steel. I'm still looking for low rings...

Rick,
Leupold says they will be shipping rings for the CZ 550 to wholesalers by the end of the month.
This should give us one more option.

Rick,
I have the Talley's on my CZ550 (9.3x62) fitted with a Leupold 2.5-8x32 with no bolt clearance problem. They are quality rings and have held the scope perfectly through 500+ rounds and a trip to/from Africa.