CZ 550 scope rings?

Talley, Warne or something else? Fixed or QD? Low, medium or high? 1” or 30mm? I don’t have a scope yet, but looking for expert opinions on the mounting variables. Thanks!

Your scope will determine height needed, mostly to clear the bolt handle and clearance for the front bell off the barrel. CZ also sells rings. Leupold too.

Figure out the scope you want and then put it together.

CoElkHunter said:

Talley, Warne or something else? Fixed or QD? Low, medium or high? 1” or 30mm? I don’t have a scope yet, but looking for expert opinions on the mounting variables. Thanks!

Click to expand...

I highly recommend Alaskan arms rings. Until you select a scope you can’t decide height, diameter, etc.

sestoppelman said:

Your scope will determine height needed, mostly to clear the bolt handle and clearance for the front bell off the barrel. CZ also sells rings. Leupold too.

Figure out the scope you want and then put it together.

Click to expand...

Thank you!

I agree with the Alaska Arms. Have them on my AHRs “.416 Ruger and .458 Lott) and they are great.

I had Warne QR rings on a CZ, and would highly recommend them.
That said, any of the above mentioned QR rings will provide excellent service.

The quality of QR rings have come a long way form their beginnings.
In today's world, I don't see any real advantage to fixed rings on a hunting rifle.
But not having QR rings and needing your scope off because it became damage in the bush...
They are worth the extra money and peace of mind.

I prefer Warne QD rings which is what I have on my 550. As an aside I’ve never seen low rings work on a CZ 550.

I’ve got Alaska Arms. They make left handed QD rings

I have Warne QD rings on my CZ 550 and BRNO ZKK 602. Height of ring and diameter is scope dependent.

Another vote for Alaskan arms.

Another Alaska Arms fan for CZ, QD rings here. If I remember correct, he guarantees 1/4 MOA when you take the scope off and put it back on.

Talley on my 550 and 602. Have worked for me

Scope tube diameter...

As you likely know a 30 mm tube will not really give you a better light transmission in a significant way over a 1" (25.4 mm) tube. A rifle scope is too short for the small diameter difference to have a meaningful impact on transmitted light.

What a 30 mm tube gives you is an increased range of internal mechanical adjustments. With modern long range shooting, people think: "ability to click more corrections." This is true enough, but originally this really allowed for scopes that were not mounted perfectly parallel to the axis of the bore, to still be zeroed without having to shim the rings, upward or sideways. Very useful!

This usefulness continues to this day as it is notoriously difficult to mount bases perfectly aligned with the bore axis, and there are many barrels screwed not perfectly in alignment with their action. These too benefit from the increased range of internal scope adjustments, even though the scope may be perfectly aligned with the action, because the scoped action may not be perfectly aligned with the barrel

What scope to choose - Why do optics numbers matter...

What is really important, optically, beside the quality of the glass, is the diameter of the front objective.

Few people know why traditional European scopes were 4 x 28 mm, 6 x 42 mm, 8 x 56 mm, etc. It is because the typical human eye pupil at full dilation is generally around 7 mm in diameter. Therefore, the formula to calculate the front objective diameter that allows a light beam 7 mm wide to reach the shooter's 7 mm pupil at dusk or dawn, is to multiply the magnification by the pupil diameter.

Therefore, 4x magnification x 7 mm pupil size = 28 mm front objective; 6x magnification x 7 mm pupil size = 42 mm front objective; 8x magnification x 7 mm pupil size = 56 mm front objective, etc.

In so many words, variable scopes start transmitting less light than a typical human eye can use at dusk or dawn, when the objective diameter (expressed in mm) divided by the magnification drops below 7. For example, a 50 mm objective 3-15x variable scope provides at dawn and dusk less light than the human eye can use when it is cranked up past 7x (50 mm / 7x = 7.1 mm light beam but 50 mm / 9x = 5.5 mm light beam, 50 mm / 11x = 4.5 mm light beam, etc.).

You can check this easily for yourself at dusk. Crank any scope at full magnification in the last minutes of light and while looking through it, crank the magnification down slowly. The image will become visibly brighter as the magnification decreases.

What this means is that if clarity/brightness at dusk and dawn is important to you, you need to keep these numbers in mind.

Keep in mind too that the human pupil contracts to about 3 mm in full sun light, so in bright daylight, any combination of objective diameter and magnification that still delivers a 3 mm light beam is sufficient. For example, that same 50 mm scope cranked all the way to 15x still delivers a 3.3 mm light beam. This is perfect at high noon.

What magnification do you actually need for big game hunting?

I have personally never understood why anyone could possibly need more than 6x magnification for hunting big game, all the way to 400 yards, but modern marketing has me soundly defeated

I chuckle seeing even Zeiss succumb to fashion and put out 6-24 hunting scopes on the market. To hunt what? Squirrels at 800 yards? The old 1.5-6 x 42 mm was likely the very best compromise, but the modern 2-10x (or 2-12x, or 3-15x) x 50 mm can be cranked down in low light, so why not...

I personally do not spend money on scopes featuring a variable mechanism with a ratio exceeding 4. To me a 1.5-6x variable (4 times 1.5 = 6) is perfect. So is a 2.5-10x (4 times 2.5 = 10) although I do prefer going down to 1.5x on the low end because I can shoot really quickly, up close, with both eyes open. A 3-12 (4 times 3 = 12) is still fine I suppose.

Therefore, TO ME, the Z4 (Swarovski) and V4 (Zeiss) generations were the optimum costs/benefits rifle scopes because I do not really see the need for more than 6x or 10x for big game hunting.

Variable mechanisms with a 5 ratio (Swarovski Z5) or 6 ratio (Swarovski Z6, Zeiss V6, etc.) or 8 ratio (Swarovski Z8, Zeiss V8, etc.) are TO ME excess cost over reduced benefits for three reasons:

But as I said, the frenetic marketing of ever bigger telescope-sized rifle scopes as me utterly obsoleted, and that is quite fine with me. At least I know and understand why I am buying what I am buying. Varminting or military sniping are obviously different applications that require different optics... But here too I am likely obsolete because I do not subscribe to transforming hunting into sniping. I would rather hunt closer than shoot further. To me 400 meters / yards is plenty far enough. I shoot enough steel at 1,000 meters to know the actual chances of a clean kill at 600 or 800 yards from a field position. 'nough said...

Rings for the CZ 550...

Regarding scope mounts, the double square bridge of the CZ 550 has a dovetail machined into it. You need neither swing mounts nor claw mounts, nor extra bases, etc. The strongest, tightest and safest scope mounts - detachable with levers, or not - (also the cheapest at $100) are those that clamp directly into the dovetails.

Warnes, Talley and Alaska Arms are equally good. Others may not be as strong, or may be too high etc.

• The rear ring recoil lug is located at the front edge of the ring on the Talley, so the Talley ring seats in the middle of the rear bridge. This is ideal. The recoil lug is located in the middle of the ring on the Warnes, so the rear ring seats at the front edge of the rear bridge. This may be a bit in the way when top loading. The Talley have a flat top. The Warnes have a pointed top. Different looks...
• Both Talley and Warnes have the lever on the right side and the recoil lug on the left side, which means that the recoil lug is not part of the moving clamp but it is part of the ring itself. This is preferable.
• Conversely, the Alaska Arms have the lever on the left side and the recoil lug is part of the moving clamp. This is less repeatable. However, the unique lever camming system of the Alaska Arms make them the easiest and fastest to remove.

They are all great. Take your pick.

I personally started with Alaska Arms rings and moved to Talley rings because the Alaska Arm levers on the left side occasionally dug into my side when I carried the rifle on the sling with a light shirt. I also prefer the Talley flat tops to the Warnes pointed tops, and I prefer the rear ring to be centered on the rear square bridge.



Picture: Talley Manufacturing.

The other big advantage of NOT adding swing or claw mounts, etc. to the CZ 550, and using the bridge dovetail for the rings, besides strength, is that it keeps the scope low over the bore.

Rings height

In terms of rings height, the classic American view of the best height is the lowest possible height that clears both the scope bell objective, and the bolt handle. The reason for this is that the lower the scope is above the bore axis, the less difference is involved in calculating long range point of impact above or below point of aim. Low scope mount makes perfect sense, especially for shooters, like American shooters, who must crawl their stock and bend their neck hard to reach the sights because the typical American rifle stock profile is higher and does not have the drop of the "hogback" of the typical European stock.

German shooters typically viewed things differently in the past. Their scopes were generally mounted quite high because they did not care so much about long range shooting, but they wanted scopes mounted in a location where they could quickly acquire a sight picture when snap shooting at driven game at short or medium range. A high mounted scope does not require bending one's neck to align the eye with the glass.

Conversely, keep in mind that high rings put the scope closer to your forehead when the rifles rotates up and back under recoil. Beware getting hit by the scope on high recoiling rifles...

When all is said and done, rings that are 0.5" (half inch) high from the top of the base to the bottom of the scope tube generally provide the best compromise for CZ 550 rifles. They allow up to 57 mm objective bells, and clear comfortably, but not excessively, the bolt handle with the wide oculars such as Zeiss or Leica.

A few words of caution regarding scope selection for the CZ 550

Regarding mounting scopes on the CZ 550, you likely already know that CZ produced two 550 action lengths. So-called "American" or "Express" rifles have a "standard length" (30-06) action, and so-called "Safari" rifles have a "magnum length" (.416 Rigby) action. In both cases the scope bases are integral to the action front and rear square bridges. This is one of the advantages of the CZ 550 action over other actions: these bases will never come loose, as screwed-on bases tend to on magnum calibers. This also means that the position of the rings is fixed, and you need to pay close attention to the measurements of the scope tube to make sure that it is long enough between the front objective and rear ocular bells to fit over the magnum action.

For example, the section of 30 mm tube on the 1.5-6 x 42 Schmidt & Bender is too short for the scope to mount on the CZ 550 Safari magnum length action. Depending on your scope this may or may not be a problem, but it is worth checking. The length of the action between front and rear bridges may be longer than the section of 30 mm tube on many scopes - especially the new generation of short scopes produced in the last 2 or 3 years - and some newer scopes, like the Leica Magnus 1.5-10x42 or 1.8-12x50, may not fit between the bridges because their tube is be too short.

I will spare you a lot of time and frustration by sharing this little drawing I put together regarding the scopes requirements for the CZ 550 magnum-length action:



If the tube length "B" is not at least 5.31”/13.5 cm long, the scope is too short to mount over the CZ 550 magnum-length action with rings that clamp directly into the bridge dovetails. If the objective bell length "C" is longer than 4.9”/12.5 cm it will collide with the rear iron sights, with 1/2" high rings that keep the scope low over the barrel as desired. If the objective bell diameter "D" is wider than 2.25”/57 mm it will collide with the barrel, with 1/2" high rings that keep the scope low over the barrel as desired. If the ocular length "A" is significantly longer than ~4”/~10 cm, the risk increases for the scope to hit you under recoil.

When I scoped my 3 matching CZ 550 (.300 Wby, .375 H&H, .416 Rigby), the desirable scopes with light-gathering 42 or 44 mm objectives included:



I am sure that there are plenty more (Night-force, Vortex, etc. etc.) but I use only Leica, Schmidt & Bender, Swarovski and Zeiss scopes myself, and I see no point in paying for a Z8 or V8. Regardless of which scope you chose, it will pay the check if it fits in the above table

Straight tube scopes?

The classic way to eliminate the challenge is to mount a straight tube scope that does not have an objective bell at the front - they all fit – but, until recently these scopes did not offer more than 4x magnification, with is a little low for the .300 and even the .375 H&H when used on plains game (PG) with 250 gr or 235 gr bullets. Variable scopes now exist with straight tubes and 1-6x, or more, variable magnification, so this solves this problem. However, and more importantly, straight tube scopes have by necessity very narrow objectives (typically 24 mm) and their light-gathering capability is minimal at dawn and dusk when a 42 or 44 mm objective is much preferred.

Straight tube desirable scopes for the CZ 550 magnum-length action include all straight tube scopes with ~1x magnification at the lower end of the variable range: Zeiss Conquest V4 1-4x24; Zeiss Conquest V6 1.1-6x24; Swarovski Z6 1-6x24; Swarovski Z8 1-8x24; Leica Visus 1-4x24; Leica Magnus 1−6.3x24; Schmidt & Bender 1.1-4x24 Zenith; Schmidt & Bender 1.1-5x24 Stratos; Schmidt & Bender 1-8x24 Exos; as well as a number of Leupold, Vortex, etc. scopes.

What I have on my own CZ 550s...

On my .300 Wby and .375 H&H CZ 550’s I have two Leica ER i 2.5-10x42 because, besides being excellent quality scopes by any measure:


On my .416 Rigby CZ 550 I have a Leica Visus i 1-4x24 because, besides being an excellent quality scope by any measure:


I hope this was useful

@One Day... 's posts on optics and CZ rifles have been fantastic. He helped me imensely in choosing a scope for my CZ 550 in 300WM. I've had a set of Warne QD's on my 375 for 10 years and have yet to have an issue with them. I travel with the scope detached and have never had a return to zero issue with the rifle. I will likely go with the same rings again once I get my Z6 for the 300.
Another interesting option that's been presented on other forums has been using factory steel rings from CZ and replacing the screw with a hex head screw, then carrying a small ratchet in one's pack for quick removal in the field. Not quite my cup of tea, but another option nonetheless.

One Day... said:

I hope this was useful

Click to expand...

It was very useful and a very clear explanation of exit pupil. Can i ask you a question, are the scope mounts exactly the same for a standard action length and a magnum action length ? I assume the distance between mounts will be different but can you interchange mounts and scopes between actions ?

I use Talley QD rings. The guy at Talley can recommend height if you email him the info on the scope you choose. I use the lowest possible for proper cheek weld to the stock.

Nhoro said:

It was very useful and a very clear explanation of exit pupil. Can i ask you a question, are the scope mounts exactly the same for a standard action length and a magnum action length ? I assume the distance between mounts will be different but can you interchange mounts and scopes between actions ?

Click to expand...

Yes they are, and totally interchangeable

Actually, it you mount a scope on a magnum-length action at the very rear of the front square bridge, the mounted scope can also be used on a standard-length action, with the front ring coming all the way to the very front of the front square bridge.

The scope obviously would need to be re-sighted but conceivably, if you record the change of sighting, one scope could be used for example on a .375 and on a .30-06. You would keep a little card with the scope stating, for example: to go from .375 to .30-06 click 4 left and 8 down. It works.

Scott CWO said:

I use Talley QD rings. The guy at Talley can recommend height if you email him the info on the scope you choose. I use the lowest possible for proper cheek weld to the stock.

Click to expand...

Actually, Talley offers only one height for the CZ. It is .410″ for 1″ tube scopes and .500″ for 30mm scopes. If you need higher rings, Warnes does offer 2 heights. Their "medium" is .425" and their "high" is .535" for both 1" and 30 mm scopes.

The only issue I ever encountered was with the .410" Talley rings for 1" scopes. The 40 mm objective of a Zeiss 3-9x40 cleared the barrel with plenty of room to spare, but the ocular piece did not clear the bolt handle. Conversely, I never had an issue with the 30 mm rings, and by my calculation, they will clear up to 56 mm objectives.

One Day... said:

Yes they are, and totally interchangeable

Actually, it you mount a scope on a magnum-length action at the very rear of the front square bridge, the mounted scope can also be used on a standard-length action, with the front ring coming all the way to the very front of the front square bridge.

The scope obviously would need to be re-sighted but conceivably, if you record the change of sighting, one scope could be used for example on a .375 and on a .30-06. You would keep a little card with the scope stating, for example, to go from .375 to .30-06 click 4 left and 8 down. It works.

Click to expand...

That is exactly what i am thinking. I want to to take a hippo with a 458 lott. I use that rifle with open sights for walks and dangerous game protection so just want to temporarily mount the scope for the hunt.

One Day... said:

I will spare you a lot of time and frustration by sharing this little drawing I put together regarding the scopes requirements for the CZ 550 magnum-length action:

If the tube length "B" is not at least 5.31”/13.5 cm long, the scope is too short to mount over the CZ 550 magnum-length action with rings that clamp directly into the bridge dovetails. If the objective bell length "C" is longer than 4.9”/12.5 cm it will collide with the rear iron sights, with 1/2" high rings that keep the scope low over the barrel as desired. If the objective bell diameter "D" is wider than 2.25”/57 mm it will collide with the barrel, with 1/2" high rings that keep the scope low over the barrel as desired. If the ocular length "A" is significantly longer than ~4”/~10 cm, the risk increases for the scope to hit you under recoil.

Click to expand...

@One Day... Do you perhaps still have this drawing of the scope requirements for the CZ 550 magnum which you can share?

I've been looking everywhere for a schematic which shows the distances between the bridges without success.

X3 for Alaskan Arms LLC QD rings …