Problems with CZ 550 Safari

Looking at buying a 458 Lott and looking at the CZ 550 and hearing about problems with them, what are the main problems with this rifle??

Buy it, shoot it, love it...no problem!

Out of te box reliability, probably the best working rifle out there today, buy it shoot it you'll be happy, I agree 100% Sometimes the actions can be a bit "tight" but working it of by hand or taking it to a gunsmith to smoothen a bit is a minor. I have 2 love'em


My best always

Hi Tucker, I have just finished a safari with Jason Morton from CZ and Petersens hunting (Kevin Steele) Jason used a 458 Lott CZ 550, and it is a great rifle , very good for big game , I myself use a 458 Lott and my 375 is a CZ as well, I can vouch that they are good reliable rifles and you will get the same experience out of them, by far they are great value for money spent on them.

Jason dropped his Bull Elephant at 40yards with his 458 Lott CZ and shooting open sights.

Happy hunting.

Wayne

Originally Posted by Jaco Strauss

Out of te box reliability, probably the best working rifle out there today, buy it shoot it you'll be happy, I agree 100% Sometimes the actions can be a bit "tight" but working it of by hand or taking it to a gunsmith to smoothen a bit is a minor. I have 2 love'em


My best always

Have to agree with the posters above. Great valued rifles. Some need minor work on the feeding, but otherwise you can't go wrong.

I bought a CZ 550 American in 375 H&H for my first Cape Buffalo. Worked great and shot great with Federal 300 grain. Dropped the buff with one shot - went about 40 yards. Never had any problems and would highly recommend the CZ. The set trigger was great for sighting in at the range - that way I knew the rifle, scope and ammo were on. Then, any misses were me not the equipment. Less than 1" groups at 100 yds on bench.

Originally Posted by thi9elsp

I bought a CZ 550 American in 375 H&H for my first Cape Buffalo. Worked great and shot great with Federal 300 grain. Dropped the buff with one shot - went about 40 yards. Never had any problems and would highly recommend the CZ. The set trigger was great for sighting in at the range - that way I knew the rifle, scope and ammo were on. Then, any misses were me not the equipment. Less than 1" groups at 100 yds on bench.

I agree. My CZ .375 shoots 3 leaf clovers at 110 yds. Very accurate rifle if you give it the right combinations to work with.

Just bought myself a brand new .375 from CZ safari magnum, took delivery of the rifle a month ago! on the first five shots it was like a dream. everything worked well.
From then on it still shoots great but my hair trigger is experiencing problems. When i activate it (by pushing the trigger forward) and i fire the shot, the firing pin releases in the bolt but the shot does not go off. thus i need to pull it again on standard trigger to fire the round.

i am sure this is only a small issue and the rifle is on its way back to the gun shop to be repaired
But i would buy a CZ rifle anytime

I agree with everything said here. I bought a 550 CZ in .416 Rigby a few years ago. After the first 4 shots it would no longer fire. I shipped it back to the factory and in short order it was repaired. I forget the details but I talked to the techs and they had a reasonable explanation of the problem and a reasonable solution that should forever fix it. Ever since then it has been 100% reliable and I have no reason to doubt it.

It shoots a ragged hole at 100 yards from a leadsled - possibly the most accurate rifle I own. Feeding is slightly rough from the factory, but not bad. If/when I finally decide to chase buffalo it will get a once-over by someone who knows how to make it purr.

For the money, you can't buy a better big-bore rifle.

Originally Posted by NYAMAZANA SAFARIS

Hi Tucker, I have just finished a safari with Jason Morton from CZ and Petersens hunting (Kevin Steele) Jason used a 458 Lott CZ 550, and it is a great rifle , very good for big game , I myself use a 458 Lott and my 375 is a CZ as well, I can vouch that they are good reliable rifles and you will get the same experience out of them, by far they are great value for money spent on them.

Jason dropped his Bull Elephant at 40yards with his 458 Lott CZ and shooting open sights.

Happy hunting.

Wayne

Jason & Harland (The CZ Custom Shop) built my 500 Jeffery which I am very happy with. It's my favorite hunting rifle now. Feeds/functions flawlessly, shoots sub-MOA when I do my part. It does tend to kill and clean elk at the same time if you have to take a frontal shot however.

I have a semi-custom CZ .458 Lott that I use as a backup rifle when guiding Brown Bear in AK. I had a client that is a gunsmith put a synthetic stock on it, smooth up the action and feeding a bit, and send it away to be fully coated so as to be weather-proof for AK conditions. I also take the rifle to Africa. It is very accurate and I have experienced none of the set trigger problems described in earlier posts.

The only draw back I have experienced is that it does not like to feed certain blunt or flat-nosed bullets at a high rate of speed. This is common to this rifle and is one thing you do not want in a DG rifle. It will hang up with a flat-nosed bullet like the A-Square 460 grain. The beginning of the barrel chamber is quite sharp on my rifle and will grab a flat-nosed bullet. I got around this by going with a Barnes Triple Shock 500 grain softs and Hornady 500 grain solids. These bullets are more spitzer shaped and I have had zero problems since getting away from flatter bullets. Shoot a spitzer shaped bullet and you should have no problem. I can cycle mine as fast as humanly possible now without any hangups.

I really like the extra large magazine box with 5-6 shots without reloading as the main reason I purchased this rifle. Now that I have figured out the feeding/bullet issue, I love it.

Originally Posted by Bos en Dal Safari's

my hair trigger is experiencing problems...

Gerrit, I hope you get it sorted out. I personally don't like a set trigger on any hunting rifle, especially a DG rifle, so I had mine all removed and cutomised.

CZ 550 TRIGGER 004.jpg CZ 550 TRIGGER 003.jpg CZ .375 H+H MAGNUM 006.jpg CZ .375 H+H MAGNUM 002.jpg

thanks Docman, Formalito can only take delivery of the rifle next week as they pass the local store in town. My thoughts was to get it repaired under the warranty. Maybe removing the set trigger is the way to go, just to find a gunsmith worth his salt in my area is bit of a problem. Don't like anyone working on my rifles. I am quite particular when it comes to my babies.

But thanks for mentioning i will look into it.

I had Wayne at AHR do his CZ #1 upgrade on my 500 Jeffery. It includes straighten and fill bolt handle, single stage trigger (a great trigger!) and a 3 position M70 type safety. The best $500 I've ever spent. My 500 Jeffery feeds and functions wonderfully, but like Scott said, you have to make sure it does with the bullet/round you're using. The TSX's feed beautifully as do Barnes Banded Solids, and all of the Woodleigh bullets. I have some 570g A-Frames that don't feed as well (I have no idea why). I'm sure I can have it worked on a bit so they do, but I'm happy with my bullet choices so have no need.

I still have not used my Ceska 550 Lott 458 Safari Magnum, but I've shot with my Ceska ten cartridges Magnum 550 H & H Magnum 375 without any problems.

Oscar.

Oscar,

Where have been hiding? Have not heard from you in a while. Good to see you posting again.