Have a newly built CZ Safari 550 and would like to take off the hood and the front bead to try a different size.
Hood seems a little loose but a couple of light taps to push it towards the muzzle did not budge it.
How do you remove the sight bead and hood?

I thought it functioned just like the rimfire version. Tap to the front.

With the rifle supported in a vise, muzzle facing away from me (more or less), I put my index fingers in the front of the hood and my thumbs in the back.

Then, I spread it slightly while "working it" forward.

There are small tabs on the edge of the hood that ride in the slot on sight island. These tabs fit into recesses inside that slot.

The hood is alot stiffer than it seems and takes a good bit of effort to slide off the front... more effort than I would want to overcome with a mallet anyway.

Once you get it off the first time, it's obvious after that.

Thanks! How about removing the bead?

Break out the writing implements....

To avoid scratching the bluing, I use a retracted ball point pen to push down the small plunger in front of the bead base fully. Then just push the bead forward.

You can leave the hood in place and use the eraser end of a pencil to push the bead forward through the hood.

Hope that makes sense.

You can make a removal tool from a set of snap ring pliers to easily remove sight hoods w/o marring the metal. Set the pliers up to open when squeezed. Wrap a few turns of electrical tape around the snap ring tips. Then insert the plier tips into the front of the sight hood and squeeze. This will expand the hood and release it from the locking grooves. Then just simply pull the hood off forward. Re-install in reverse order.

Bobster,

That is exactly what popped into my mind during my daily walk after reading how to remove it. Great minds think alike, lol.

Don't be surprised if the hood comes off by itself sometime and you lose it.