Expereience with CZ 550's

Scot E

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Joined
Mar 1, 2008
Messages
1,316
Location
SW Idaho
Looking at buying my son a 6.5x55SM. From the manufacturers that offer that cartridge CZ has the longest barrel and I feel pretty good about their quality based on my experience with their rim-fire guns and a couple centerfires I have shot. I guess the only negative is upgrading later on as far as stocks and barrels. Not even sure who works on CZ's I don't have the cash for a custom so I guess that negative will have to be put aside for now.

Any experience with these you can share? I am especially interested in the difference between their Kevlar and wood stock American versions. Is the Kevlar worth the added $$'s?

Thanks in advance,

Scot E.
 
My Kevlar stocked CZ is a 527 in .223 Rem. It is a prairie dog slayer. With a 9" twist barrel, it also shoots heavy bullets for medium game. The Kevlar stock saves 1/2 pound. Not many heavy barrel varmint rifles come in at 7.5 pounds. The Sako varmint weighs a pound more, and the Savage even more than that.

My CZ550 American in 7x57mm has the standard Turkish walnut stock. I quickly worked up a 0.5 MOA load using A-Max bullets and IMR 4064 powder. It took my 250# mulie buck this year. The single set triggers on the 527 and 550 should not be underestimated for long rage shooting.

I own 5 CZ firearms, and not a single mechanical problem in many thousands of shots.

I would buy the Kevlar if you had to save weight and/or needed the all weather stability. 3 of my 4 CZ rifles have walnut stocks, and they have given no problems so far. Weather is dry here in Montana. Wood does good here.

Why would you need a custom barrel? CZ rifles come with great barrels from the factory. Not much chance you will need to work on a CZ.
 
CZ's have some of the best shooting factory rifles out there. Never heard many complaints about them.
 
The only "problem" I have seen with CZ rifles is in the new free floated barrels in wood stocks. The air gap on either side of barrel is often not even, but it is common on most other brands as well. I have never seen a new CZ where it was touching. That problem generally goes away when you have the action glass bedded. My CZ 550 is slightly off in this manner, but accuracy is not affected. My gunsmith says it will be taken care of this winter when I have the action glass bedded.

I ordered my CZ 550 sight unseen, and the slight misalignment of the barrel does not bother me as I intended to glass bed in the future. The fact it came with near custom quality walnut with lots of figure makes up for the small inconvenience of doing the barrel alignment.

I notice that CZ walnut stocked rifles come in very plain to near custom quality as far as wood goes. If you have a large dealer with several on display or several dealers in your area, you may find a very beautiful walnut stock. I went to 4 different local dealers to buy a CZ 452 American, and bought the one with the nicest stock. It was the cheapest, but the difference in price was worth it.

Phil
 
Thanks for the info guys. CZ's can have amazing wood. I was lucky. I bought my 453 sight unseen as well but the policy of the company I bought mine from was that they would open up 2 boxes and pick the best one to ship. I guess the other one was a plain one and mine was very figured.

My 453 has a slight unevenness to the forearm/barrel area too but it is free floated and doesn't bother accuracy either.

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I wish I could see the Kevlar version in person. It sounds like a worthy upgrade for a field gun but am not sure exactly how well made it is. I will call CZ on Monday and try to find out some specs. I will report here as well in case others are curious.

Scot E.
 
I have a 550 Kevlar in 270 Win. Absolutely love it! Shoots lights out and has quickly become my go to deer rifle. Fit and finish is superb, action is smooth and the trigger is aweome. JF
 
I have a 550 Kevlar in 270 Win. Absolutely love it! Shoots lights out and has quickly become my go to deer rifle. Fit and finish is superb, action is smooth and the trigger is aweome. JF

Is the stock pillar bedded? Does it have an aluminum chassis inside?

Thanks for the info.

Scot E.
 
I have a 550 laminate stock in a 22-250, first reaload I had it shooting .25'' at 100 yards. Little heavy for hunting but a flat out shooter!!!
 
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