BRNO Z rifle opinions

[VolkFra]

Hello, I found a second hand BRNO Z cal.458 WM rifle with a Swarovski 6x42 habitch on sale near me. I have been to see the rifle in person and it looks in very good condition, it's weight is lesser than my .270 Winchester.
I am thinking to buy it for likely use in the next african hunts.
Is 600€ a good deal for this rifle?

Thanks

 

[93marlin]

Here, in the U.S. that would be screaming deal!! And it would be in my hands in an instant!

 

[93marlin]

And welcome to the forum!

 

[russ473]

Excellent buy, you wont get a bargain like that in a hurry again.... welcome aboard the AH forum

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Yes, that would be a good deal, especially with that scope. Make sure it's not stolen goods. Seriously.

 

[VolkFra]

Yes, that would be a good deal, especially with that scope. Make sure it's not stolen goods. Seriously.

Hello it's impossible it could be stolen, here in Italy the gun law is very strict and every gun owned is registered at the local police station.

Who is selling the rifle inherited it from a friend time ago and can't give me information about because he never used it.

 

[fourfive8]

Yes, excellent deal. One thing about the geometry of those is that they were designed for line of sight cheek weld for iron sights. Most also have scopes that are mounted far too high and that appears to be so with this one. If that proves to be an issue, three possible remedies. Change to scope friendly stock with higher sight line comb. Add cheek pad to raise cheek weld. Change scope and mounts to lower mounting.

 

[VolkFra]

Yes, excellent deal. One thing about the geometry of those is that they were designed for line of sight cheek weld for iron sights. Most also have scopes that are mounted far too high and that appears to be so with this one. If that proves to be an issue, three possible remedies. Change to scope friendly stock with higher sight line comb. Add cheek pad to raise cheek weld. Change scope and mounts to lower mounting.

Thanks for the valuable advices!

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Yes, excellent deal. One thing about the geometry of those is that they were designed for line of sight cheek weld for iron sights. Most also have scopes that are mounted far too high and that appears to be so with this one. If that proves to be an issue, three possible remedies. Change to scope friendly stock with higher sight line comb. Add cheek pad to raise cheek weld. Change scope and mounts to lower mounting.

I would choose the last option ... if possible. But doesn't CZ have proprietary scope bases/grooves? Changing the rings to lowest possible would be my choice IF you can find some that mate to CZ and IF the bolt handle and bell on the scope have enough clearance. Hmmm. I see another possible issue. The short tube length required "extended" forward ring. You may have difficulty finding a low extended ring (or any extended ring). I had the same problem when I mounted a short tube Nikon scope on my Springfield. I wanted quick detach rings and no one made extended quick detach rings. So I changed from two piece bases to a one piece bridge base with multiple ring slots. That allowed me to move the forward ring back over the loading port for proper eye relief.

You could use low nonextended rings and change to a low power scope with no bell on the front. Then the forward ring could be mounted ahead of the loading port. Probably not a bad idea considering the purpose of that rifle is not long range hunting. You could then sell that fancy scope for half what you paid for the whole setup.

 

[VolkFra]

I would choose the last option ... if possible. But doesn't CZ have proprietary scope bases/grooves? Changing the rings to lowest possible would be my choice IF you can find some that mate to CZ and IF the bolt handle and bell on the scope have enough clearance. Hmmm. I see another possible issue. The short tube length required "extended" forward ring. You may have difficulty finding a low extended ring (or any extended ring). I had the same problem when I mounted a short tube Nikon scope on my Springfield. I wanted quick detach rings and no one made extended quick detach rings. So I changed from two piece bases to a one piece bridge base with multiple ring slots. That allowed me to move the forward ring back over the loading port for proper eye relief.
View attachment 607572
You could use low nonextended rings and change to a low power scope with no bell on the front. Then the forward ring could be mounted ahead of the loading port. Probably not a bad idea considering the purpose of that rifle is not long range hunting. You could then sell that fancy scope for half what you paid for the whole setup.
View attachment 607573

Thank for the advice, it's a nice idea to use a scope without front bell

 

[VolkFra]

In case of dangerous game hunt should be better to use it without a scope?

 

[Pirkan]

It´s always hilarious to see Americans and South Africans get all excited over the prices we have on used rifles in Europe. That´s a good price for that rifle, especially with the optics and rings, but it´s definietely not unheard of. I bought my 602 in 458 win mag (rechambered to lott now) for 400 eur but I got only the rifle. It has been drilled and tapped and is a very rough 1990 specimen but it´s always fun to imagine what some of you would´ve paid for it.

 

[skydiver386]

If it's weight is close to a .270 Winchester, it might be a good idea to shoot it with the iron sights first, or at least keep your eye a long way away from the ocular (rear) lens of that scope. Lightweight rifles in African calibers have been known to bite people.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

If it's weight is close to a .270 Winchester, it might be a good idea to shoot it with the iron sights first, or at least keep your eye a long way away from the ocular (rear) lens of that scope. Lightweight rifles in African calibers have been known to bite people.

With that high scope setup, getting bit in the brow is certainly a possibility. Puts the shooter up off the gun.

I wouldn't rule out a scope even for dangerous game, but low profile and low magnification is usually much better for thumper guns used for that purpose. A quick detach setup, like the rails and low Warne QD rings on both my guns above, gives you the option of switching to iron sights as conditions dictate. Acquiring scope or iron sights is almost the same gun mount with that setup.

Edit: The rifle on the ground is my plains game/deer 30-06 Springfield. The rifle laying in grass is the 404 Jeffery I built last year on a standard action 98 Mauser. It is wearing 1-4x Bushnell and Springfield is scoped with 3-9x Nikon.

 

[VolkFra]

If it's weight is close to a .270 Winchester, it might be a good idea to shoot it with the iron sights first, or at least keep your eye a long way away from the ocular (rear) lens of that scope. Lightweight rifles in African calibers have been known to bite people.

It's lighter than my BSA CF2 .270 win

 

[Lance Hopper]

I don’t know if this was stated in any of the follow-up posts, but just be aware that the safety on these rifles, work backwards from others, you pull it back to take it off safe. Can be a stickler for some people.