375 H&H CZ 550 vs. Winchester Safari Express

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CanadaBoy

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I have decided to buy a 375 H&H, I have narrowed down my choice to only two rifles. They are the CZ 550 Magnum Lux (Bavarian stock, not American) or the new Winchester M70 Safari Express.

I am looking for opinions on which rifle is best, AND WHY it is better.

For what its worth I am getting the rifle for a hunt in South Africa. The species I will hunt are not finalized and may not be until I am there, so I have chosen the H&H because it will work for anything I end up hunting and I will be able to easily get appropriate ammo wherever I am. After having researched many other makes and models in great detail I am 100% set on one of these two rifles, so I am not really interested in other suggestions.

Unfortunately here in Nova Scotia these rifles are hard to come by so I do not have the opportunity to try them out before deciding what to order. I would appreciate any information at all that may help me make a decision.

Cheers,

--Derek
 
The action on my new model 70 in .270 win is very smooth. I will also be purchasing an H&H .375 in the Win model 70 later on this year. For the price it seems to be a good dollar value. What sold me on the win was the safety type and crf. I have a CZ bolt gun as well and its nice (its not a 550 type) but I found the bolt is alittle stiff and the wood quality is just average.

Also search this forum, a few weeks ago somebody bought a brand new Win 70 Safari grade and posted some info on it.

The only minor negative I can come up with so far on my model is the Super Grades pad is Pachmayr type, which is nice and all but its alittle "sticky" so fast shouldering with some types of shirts migth be fractionally slower. I think it shares the same pad with the Safari grade as well. I cured mine with alittle bit of wax added to the pad surface.
 
I've got both, they all shoot and function. My Czs in .375 and .416 Rigby have considerable miles on them, with everything from steinbuck to elephant.The .375 is propped up in the rebarreling rack right now.

The CZs can use a little slicking up, but nothing that a couple thousand rounds won't take care of. There is a certain appeal to a .375 that holds 7 cartridges. I switched the safety to a Gentry M70 style, which I prefer.

My M70 in .458 is a relatively new arrival, and has no hunting history at all. Even so, I like it better because it practically feels nimble compared to the 550s. I like the fit and looks better, and it has the easy familiar feel of dozens of "ordinary" rifles. There was also next to nothing to change, even the LOP and pad work for me.

I'll say to go with the M70, even if I have to feel like a traitor for saying it.
 
Hey Dogleg, how are the iron sites on the Win? Are they useable as is or do they need an upgrade?
 
USP said:
Hey Dogleg, how are the iron sites on the Win? Are they useable as is or do they need an upgrade?
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With the disclaimer that I'm not a real iron sight guy; I think they are alright. Much better than those on the CZs for my eyes, at least I can see the bead.
The brass bead covers 5 inches at 50 yards and is quite visible for a fast sight picture. Useing a 100 yard small bore target that has a 2" white bull inside a 6" black bull I just set the white dot on top on top of the bead and was able to shoot 3/4" groups. Granted, that was only at 50 yards, but that is definitely minute of elephant.;) With the .458 sighting for the 6 o'clock hold at 50 works out to the same hold at 100, and bullets would drop into the center of the bead at 200 not that I'm likely to shoot that far. I might even try to pop a buffalo with the irons this July for giggles, but the chances are good that the irons will stay in a backup capacity and never get used again.
 
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I went the Winchester Model 70 route. The CZ is nice too, but I decided on the Win. It just seemed a little better finished to me. The action was almost Sako smooth, and it was pretty accurate as well. I never used the sites as I mounted a VXIII 2.5-8x36 Leupold on it. I would recommend it.
 
M70 or CZ

I like the M70 personally. I've owned CZ ZKK602's in .375 and .458, but that was decades ago and the 550's are an improvement. I'm very impressed with fit and finish of the latest M70's, I received a Super-Grade .338 WM last November. Our local shop here in Victoria, Island-Oufitters, has a new .375 M70 Safari on the shelf this week. Nicer wood than others I've seen. Cost is about $1,380 I think. I'd buy it myself, but have an old .375 H+H Browning Safari on my rack that "needs" to go to Africa. I have to quit buying more guns if I'm ever going to get there so please, please but that damn M70 at Island-Outfitters! Ask for Al.
Cheers
Geoff
Victoria,BC.
 
Rigby or WBY rounds go in the CZ. Way too big for normal size stuff. I've had several CZs and they are good guns, just realy big. Anything on an H&H case needs the Mod. 70. At 10 lbs scoped they're big enough.
 
Well my gut feeling was that the Winchester might be a better choice for a 375, and that seems to be the general consensus here as well so I think that is what I will buy. If I want a true bigbore in the future maybe I'll go the CZ route then.
 
DIGGER2 said:
I went the Winchester Model 70 route. The CZ is nice too, but I decided on the Win. It just seemed a little better finished to me. The action was almost Sako smooth, and it was pretty accurate as well. I never used the sites as I mounted a VXIII 2.5-8x36 Leupold on it. I would recommend it.
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Sort of the same for me. I didn't have them in 375 H&H but I did have a Brno ZKK 602 in458 WM and a Winchester model 70 Super Express in 458 WM. The Brno shot well but in my opinion the Winchester is finished off much nicer. ;)I still have the Winchester.

Model70Winchester458WM.jpg
 
You can't really go wrong with either. As others have stated the Winchester is a little more svelte and the 550 is a little more substantial. I like them both and with a hard kicker the extra bulk of the CZ is not a negative, although a 375H&H is not what I consider a hard kicker.

The CZ bolts can be a touch rough when you first get them, mine was, I oiled it up and cycled the bolt watching a couple of football games - smooth as silk now. The 6 or 7 rounds in the mag is a plus on the CZ and the plainer straight grain wood, again with a hard kicker, is not necessarily a bad thing.

FME the CZ iron sights work fine, I've used them out to 200 yards with efficiency. I have pretty good eyes still though...:p

I might favour the CZ but not by much.
 
Martin, thanks for pointing out though that for sale listing, I appreciate it. I did see that stainless 375 for sale but as your signature line says "Life's too short to hunt with an ugly gun", and while I admit that its beauty is purely based on personal taste I find stainless and synthetics ugly. Definately appreciate the heads up though and if anyone else knows of any good deals please let me know!
 
I bought the CZ for two simple reasons. PHs who use bolt rifles use CZ 550 or its predecessor the Brno 602. The second is I have used the 375 and 458 as well as the 416 in the CZ before and their express sights line up perfectly every time the rifle comes to shoulder.

The European stock looks different than we are used to but really handles the recoil much better.


Enjoy Africa. There is no comparrison that I have found and I have been hunting almost 50 years.

Randy
 
Dogleg said:
With the disclaimer that I'm not a real iron sight guy; I think they are alright. Much better than those on the CZs for my eyes, at least I can see the bead.
The brass bead covers 5 inches at 50 yards and is quite visible for a fast sight picture. Useing a 100 yard small bore target that has a 2" white bull inside a 6" black bull I just set the white dot on top on top of the bead and was able to shoot 3/4" groups. Granted, that was only at 50 yards, but that is definitely minute of elephant.;) With the .458 sighting for the 6 o'clock hold at 50 works out to the same hold at 100, and bullets would drop into the center of the bead at 200 not that I'm likely to shoot that far. I might even try to pop a buffalo with the irons this July for giggles, but the chances are good that the irons will stay in a backup capacity and never get used again.
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Thanks I was wondering about that. I think if I get this one, I wont put a scope on it and just keep it with the irons.
 
I own a few Brnos and really enjoy the true magnum action thing (with a true magnum cartridge), but the Winchester is quite a bit lighter trimmer and so (I think) more practical. The 375H&His not a heavy recoiler so the weight just isn't needed.
I'm also not a fan of the backward Brno safety, but that is just a matter of getting familiar as you train with the rifle.

As Johnn mentioned the finish of the model 70 is nicer as well.
 
medic11210 said:
I have used the 375 and 458 as well as the 416 in the CZ before and their express sights line up perfectly every time the rifle comes to shoulder.
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FWIW I've got the 550's baby sister - a 452 LUX, and my experience with the natural sight alignment and pointability agrees completely with medics experience. The humpback stock looks a little different, but it works. There is a 550 in my future for sure.
 
X-fan said:
I own a few Brnos and really enjoy the true magnum action thing (with a true magnum cartridge), but the Winchester is quite a bit lighter trimmer and so (I think) more practical. The 375H&His not a heavy recoiler so the weight just isn't needed.
I'm also not a fan of the backward Brno safety, but that is just a matter of getting familiar as you train with the rifle.

As Johnn mentioned the finish of the model 70 is nicer as well.
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I agree the 375 recoil is not excessive, but fine motor control reduces drastically as the adrenalin flows. A big duggah boy comming at you with murderous intent will increase the adrenalin. The extra weight keeps the rifle very stable to shoot. If the intent is non dangerous game the lighter winchester has no deficit. I can describe in detail the bullet impacts, but not the perceived recoil in the above situation.
 
I'd go with the Winchester M70, the new ones being made are smooth and finished quite nicely. A friend of mine bought one and really likes it, accurate and nicely finished...
 
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