Hi all,
I have a CZ 550 Safari in 458 Lott, it is having issues with the bullet tip hanging up on the bottom of the feed ramp, it appears that the top cartridge is dragging the bottom cartridge forward with it, and when I proceed to chamber that cartridge it's bullet nose is hard up against the feed ramp. I then have to thumb it backwards to get it to feed.
Is it feasible to put a block in the front of the mag box with an extended ramp for the bullet nose to 'jump' from? I have swapped follower and extractor from another rifle I have, no difference except the other extractor was touching the barrel.
Any ideas on a fix and the above suggestion greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

This should get it feeding!

Shootaway,
Unfortunately, even though you are as funny as you are stupid, I don't reside in the US where money fixes everything. We don't have thousands of 'smiths we can call upon at a whim.
Maybe I should send it to you, and you can pay to have it fixed!?

What a fool.

Cut a piece of wood to fit up front to test. I would think the mag box might just be a little too narrow at the front and the cases aren't stacking right.
Don

does the feed ramp extend over the front of the box giving you a lip? If so remove some metal until you have a smooth transition from box to feed ramp

Thanks for the replies guys.
Ramrod,
There isn't a lip, it feels quite smooth when running a finger from the box to the ramp. I have since my first post swapped mag boxes, it is a little better, but the cartridges are still hanging up. I think it's the feed rails not allowing the cartridge to 'pop up' as it moves forward, but I'm no expert when it comes to how these things feed. It appears if I work the bolt very hard and fast, the shells pop up and clear the front of the mag box, but it still drags the lower shells forward. I think I will try a light weight follower spring and see if that changes anything.
Another question, should the front of the extractor touch the barrel, or should there be some room?
I swapped extractors too, and the other one was touching so hard it was noticeable closing the bolt.

Cheers.

There has been quite a lot of discussion on poor feeding from the magazine of Mausers and Mauser derivatives like the CZ. Often it is the lower heel shape of the extractor that is not allowing the head of the cartridge to pop up onto the bolt face lining up for a straight line feed into the chamber and the cartridge is dragged along the magazine until it is forced up onto the bolt face.

The extractor heel should not be a sharp edge, stone off the edge of the heel until it is beveled and smooth allowing the cartridge to smoothly pop up with the extractor engaging into the extractor groove.

Try feeding a dummy round slowly from the magazine watching the process from the front, not from the rear as is usual when operating the bolt. Hence using the dummy round because the barrel should sit over your shoulder as you observe the loading proceeding to see how the case head is engaged by the extractor.

quote:

Originally posted by 416RigbyHunter:
Shootaway,
Unfortunately, even though you are as funny as you are stupid, I don't reside in the US where money fixes everything. We don't have thousands of 'smiths we can call upon at a whim.
Maybe I should send it to you, and you can pay to have it fixed!?

What a fool.

I have been there done that with 3 CZ`s two Lotts and one 458Win mag.I stick by what I said.To get it to feed properly it will cost you more than you paid for the rifle and a long long long wait.

416, CZ feeding problems are generally easy to fix.

Also, all of them benefit from a bit of ramp polishing /reshaping, which can be easily done with a Dremel tool (if you don't have one, it's one of the best investments you can make to tinker around guns and a million other things).

.458 are notorious for problematic feeding, which is usually corrected with a little work on the ramp and the feeding rails. The only thing is that, since it involves removing metal, it has to be done carefully and slowly - can't put metal back as easily as you remove it!

I'm in the bush right now, will send you a PM in a few days when back in town.

Once that is done, you'll have one sturdy and reliable rifle, you'll like it!

Ok guys, this is not my first or only CZ, it just happens that since I started doing load work up I was single loading each shell while shooting from the bench. I then proceeded to try rapid fire with some factory Hornady 500gr DGX shells, it appears it is more of a problem with these than my handloads with Woodleigh 500gr RNSP, but it still happens. I haven't tried swapping springs yet, my other rifle is off being re-barreled to 416 Rigby which has the lighter spring in it, long story!!
Duane Wiebe is helping me out, so thank you to him and all, I appreciate the help.

Cheers.