I made the call to Prophet River this morning,and the rifle is on the way.I will mount one of the Kahles CL 3-9x42 scopes,and I should have a great package for coyotes.I have a selection of 50 and 55 gr bullets on hand,some VV-133,and some Benchmark,so I should be able to work up a load in short order.
Tell me about CZ Centerfire rifles
- Thread starter weldboss
- Start date
350tracker
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Interlake Manitoba
I had the CZ 527 Kevlar for a short while. I found the length of the magazines matches well with the length of the chamber. One thing that I didn't like on this rifle was the finish of the barrel. I now have the CZ 527 American and looking forward to using it for coyotes this year...
NorthernPF
Regular
- Location
- Ramore, Ontario
I love my CZ550. I have mine chambered in .375 H&H and I will never sell this rifle. Very accurate and well built. Actually going to be using it on whitetail this week.
I have looked at a 452, and absolutely would love one in 17 hmr or something. I have a BRNO No.2 that has more gopher kills than anything else I own, except maybe my pair of 9422's.
Sorry to get so far of your original post weldboss. I knew I liked CZ/BRNO but I just realized I tend to lean that way more than I thought. I have a couple winnies, only one rem(LTR), one Marlin GG, and the rest are CZ/Brno. Anyway, I have never had anything to do with the 6.5 but I'm sure you'd like it.
Back to the plastic followers, my 30-06 had one and I had no problems, as mentioned, but what problems have come up with them? Anyone had one break in the cold or anything? Mine worked flawlessly all fall and winter when needed.
KO
I own 2 550's, and they are great rifles. Very, very accurate for wood-stocked bolt guns and a great value for the money IMHO. My .375 H&H Safari is hands-down my favorite rifle.
However - before you buy one I have one caveat. My 550 American has been a bit of a headache. Apparently some of the early 2000's manufactured versions were shipped with a one-piece firing pin spring nut that was held in place with a teeny little wire clip that fit into a detent in the threads on the firing pin. I figured this out only after the rifle suddenly stopped working after about a couple hundred rounds. I had successively light primer strikes that eventually led to a total failure to fire. Turns out that either the little clip broke and fell off during dissasembly/cleaning (and I never noticed) or it was never included with the rifle in the first place. With successive recoil the firing pin spring nut worked its way forward and decreased the spring pressure enough for the rifle to FTF.
Replacing it has been a major hassle. CZ-USA was next to useless when I called them (warranty had expired), and suggested using a section of coil spring off of a ballpoint pen fit into the detent. They can't or won't send me a new wire clip, and the newly manufactured 2-piece versions have a different thread count, apparently, and won't work with the existing firing pin. I've been trying to order a new firing-pin subassembly, but CZ-USA won't ship to Canada directly, and all the importers want too much $$$ for importing the part for it to be worthwhile. For the moment I've loctited the spring nut in place and it seems to be holding - about 60 rnds down the barrels so far and no misfires.
In a nutshell - buy the 550, you won't regret it - but only if it has the two-piece firing pin spring nut that is apparently now back to being standard. My 550 Safari has this on it and has been 100% reliable.
However - before you buy one I have one caveat. My 550 American has been a bit of a headache. Apparently some of the early 2000's manufactured versions were shipped with a one-piece firing pin spring nut that was held in place with a teeny little wire clip that fit into a detent in the threads on the firing pin. I figured this out only after the rifle suddenly stopped working after about a couple hundred rounds. I had successively light primer strikes that eventually led to a total failure to fire. Turns out that either the little clip broke and fell off during dissasembly/cleaning (and I never noticed) or it was never included with the rifle in the first place. With successive recoil the firing pin spring nut worked its way forward and decreased the spring pressure enough for the rifle to FTF.
Replacing it has been a major hassle. CZ-USA was next to useless when I called them (warranty had expired), and suggested using a section of coil spring off of a ballpoint pen fit into the detent. They can't or won't send me a new wire clip, and the newly manufactured 2-piece versions have a different thread count, apparently, and won't work with the existing firing pin. I've been trying to order a new firing-pin subassembly, but CZ-USA won't ship to Canada directly, and all the importers want too much $$$ for importing the part for it to be worthwhile. For the moment I've loctited the spring nut in place and it seems to be holding - about 60 rnds down the barrels so far and no misfires.
In a nutshell - buy the 550, you won't regret it - but only if it has the two-piece firing pin spring nut that is apparently now back to being standard. My 550 Safari has this on it and has been 100% reliable.
Suggest you email directly to CZ both Canada rep and the Czech too. Keep up the barrage. I have had some luck with distributors but you have to be persistant enough that they know you are not going away. Make them honor a screwup. It would have been a warranty issue if you had discovered it early enough but truth is-they messed up and should fix it. If they are not going to stand behind their product then neither will we. Let them know that over and over and over.... Eventually they get tired of you and deal with it. Maybe the next person will be dealt with quicker. Break some ice, pave the way... I just did the same thing with Henry and now have probably the only large loop lever for a Henry Golden Boy 22 in Canada. A stubborn streak pays off. What about your dealer? Is he/she involved?
This coming from the SKS toting bear hunter.
.
Damn right. It's important to keep your mind open. And SKS is still one of my favorite hunting rifles.
lejarretnoir
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- 162km from Connaught
Just received my CZ 527 Carbine 7.62x39 Monday from Frontier Firearms just in time for Ontario Whitetail hunting. After zeroing in with irons and scope during a lunchbreak I have to say this rifle is accurate. 3 shot cloverleaf groups @ 100yds are showing up with handloads and the Leupold VX-II 1x4. Need to test other bullets, but the Hornady .310 123 gr V-Max seems to be shooting well. Hope to nail a nice Buck this year with it and see how the bullet performs. As to the handling of this gun in thick brush it beats anything else I've ever owned, short and light weight. It has now become my go to gun for this type of deer hunting where shots between 25 and 100yds are the norm. 
- Location
- Central Alberta
I was lucky enough to find a minty, barely used 550 Premium .30 06, I paid dearly, but hey, minty Czech quality is worth a fair price. Someone was silly enough to sell it.Love it, will never sell it, it had a VX II 3-9 when I bought it, but it now has a Meopta 1.5-6, Very happy with it. The moose and deer don't care for it much though.....
lineofsight
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Lower Mainland, BC
Have a warranty issue with them too, addressed with London Arms while they were the rep, handed off to CFRAM while they are the rep. Dealer (Reliable) also involved when it was with London Arms.
No joke its been nearly a year to get two screws. I asked for the specs so could source my own screws but that is apparently proprietary... hence the DW Commander Bobtail and 527 Varmint I planned on purchasing will become a Kimber and a Sako.
When and where did you find it? It sounds like the one I foolishly got rid of a couple years ago. Regretted it since. Have substituted it since with a new mod 70, but never felt like I replaced it.
I spent a half hour tonight modifying the bolt handle to clear the Kahles scope,and a few minutes to adjust the trigger travel to greatly reduce the creep.The scope fits great,the trigger feels good at 40oz,and I just need to make up some loads and make a trip to the range.I think that I am going to enjoy this CZ.
I have two CZ550's. One in 416 mag that other is a 300 win Mag Lux model. Both Shoot very well. The 416 is the European Bavarian stock in Dark Turkish Walnut and has a steel floor plate. The 300 win Mag is in walnut wit the plastic floor plate. It had a plastic follower, but I made one in steel. Try to post some pics later.
- Location
- Central Alberta
KO, just got your PM, yup that was your rifle!
Yup see that. That's funny. Small world indeed. Keep on enjoying!
KO
Slooshark1
CGN frequent flyer
I currently own 2 CZ550 rifles; one in 9.3 x 62 and an FS in .270. These rifles cycle well, are reliable and shoot accurately. The only problem that I find is that the safety is really loud. I've tried to slowly take it off using two fingers and it still makes a loud click. If you're sitting in a treestand on a quiet morning, it's really loud. I've tried sitting with the safety off and the bolt handle up but that's loud too. This week I sat in my stand with my rifle across my lap with the safety off. I was not very comfortable with this arrangement but when you can only see 50 yards in any direction, that safety will definitely spook your opportunity. I think the 3 position wing safety like the M70 or Ruger Hawkeye is much better.
