CZ550 Safari SCORE!

[Jeffrey]

very satisfied with my alaska arms rings. the only rings talley makes are a little too high for your scope, imho (they seem more height appropriate for 50mm front objective scopes). heard great things about warne, but no experience.

 

[mark-hunter]

Now, after all of this, my question is about rings. Should i put quick detachable rings on and if so by who? i have a contact at WARNE MFG but i can buy any brand. What is the rings you all would go with?

Detachable, of course.

If the point is to fix the scope on the rifle, by means of rings, with intention to hold zero, and not get loose while shooting you have good reccomendatios already.

But, if the point is to mount the scope, in a true DG hunting manner, and honor arguably the best bolt action system ever created, (by mauser), follow the tradition, and fully utilise dove tail feature that you have on that rifle, then the answer is:
German swing mounts, made of steel, fitted on the dove tail.
At least front ring to be with 6 screws to hold under magnum recoil.
Try EAW, or Rusan.

 

[Nhoro]

If you are going to mount the 1.5 variable scope then yes-detachable mounts.

But might I suggest another route- Get a true 1-6 variable with a red dot. Mount it with normal scope mounts and simply turn it to 1x and shoot with both eyes open. It works like a red dot. Then you can zoom it up to 6 or so for longer range. Vortex do a cheaper scope and others do the more expensive and fancier ones. Your Leupold will find a home somewhere I am sure.

 

[Deleted member 74279]

Go with Warne QD mounts.. no question

 

[Bigugly]

Great score, you could spend $10,000.00 more and not get a better, stronger rifle.

Note, most 550s start out with a bit of a rough action. The good news is you can smooth this out yourself or just shoot the rifle (a lot)!

I do recommend that you remove the action/stock screws, add a drop of locktite
to each screw and properly tighten.

Thank you for that advice!

 

[spike.t]

Did CZ Discontinue the 550 Safari ? They dont seem to be on the CZ website and there are none to be had on Gunbroker..

Hi...and yes they are discontinued...so you were lucky...Nice find...and another yes to QD mounts

 

[C.W. Richter]

Now read Kevin Robertson's books and heed his instructions on how to properly accurize this $1K gun! (action bedding, bolt polishing as suggested above, trigger job, etc.) It's been so long, but if you were holding a 550 to my head, I'd say "Africa's Most Dangerous." He literally has an entire section on improving the 550s. And, be mindful of how the clamped, 22/weaver-style rings are mounted to the integral bases (your face will thank you later! Heed any torque/loctite advice-on this gun, i'd step up a "color" of loctite.) I think the Sako has similar mounts, but a better design. I personally would've opted for the M70 (or Dakota as-is) and had it customized to my specs. Agree on the Alaska QD rings (should be easily obtainable by you) Warne or Talley and the 1-6x Trijicon (your 1K gun will be 2.5-3K before you know it!-why the semi-custom factory guns are $2K-3.5K. Ok 3.5K if you don't handload and buy 5 boxes of ammo.) When will this gun be making its entrance to Africa, and for what? SS/synthetic might've been more desirable if you plan on hunting AK? Keep that sucker well-oiled and furniture-polished! Consider Norma PH ammo (350 gr softs/solids) if you plan on hunting DG as it behaves more like a .416. Enjoy!

 

[Bigugly]

Now read Kevin Robertson's books and heed his instructions on how to properly accurize this $1K gun! (action bedding, bolt polishing as suggested above, trigger job, etc.) It's been so long, but if you were holding a 550 to my head, I'd say "Africa's Most Dangerous." He literally has an entire section on improving the 550s. And, be mindful of how the clamped, 22/weaver-style rings are mounted to the integral bases (your face will thank you later! Heed any torque/loctite advice-on this gun, i'd step up a "color" of loctite.) I think the Sako has similar mounts, but a better design. I personally would've opted for the M70 (or Dakota as-is) and had it customized to my specs. Agree on the Alaska QD rings (should be easily obtainable by you) Warne or Talley and the 1-6x Trijicon (your 1K gun will be 2.5-3K before you know it!-why the semi-custom factory guns are $2K-3.5K. Ok 3.5K if you don't handload and buy 5 boxes of ammo.) When will this gun be making its entrance to Africa, and for what? SS/synthetic might've been more desirable if you plan on hunting AK? Keep that sucker well-oiled and furniture-polished! Consider Norma PH ammo (350 gr softs/solids) if you plan on hunting DG as it behaves more like a .416. Enjoy!

Thank you for the advice. I will be looking for kevins book right away.

 

[John Telford]

Definitely take the time to refinish the 550.
I would bed the stock and lock all the threads. I did this with my CZ 550 as a preventative measure against stock cracking etc. I must however say that I’m not really a fan of the European “hogsback “ stock shape especially not for a .375. Perhaps you should replace the stock with a laminate surrogate for your Africa trip and then swap back when at home. I have bought a few stocks on line for $100 odd .

 

[mark-hunter]

@John Telford

What stocks did you use for cz550?

 

[Randy F]

Congratulations! Nice character on that one.

 

[Proneshooter]

Nice wood!
One thing to be aware of is ring height. I like fairly low scope mounting so my eye lines up correctly when my cheek is in firm contact with top of stock. I have the same Roman nose stock style on the predecessor to the CZ 550, the BRNO ZKK 602. They both have basically the same stock geometry with that style stock. I used standard, medium height Leupold ring bases on mine and the scope height seems maybe 1/4" too high for me. I do not know if shorter ring bases are made for the CZ 550 / BRNO 602 or not? I couldn't find any available at the time I needed to mount the scope. I added a lace-on cheek pad which raised the cheek just enough for the sight line to be more correct and it is comfortable.

The Leupold ring bases work well and are foolproof simple. Just be certain to lock down the ring bases very snugly with the tab correctly positioned in the slot cut-out in the receiver. Also, you will discover any roughness or feeding issues pretty quickly if they exist in your action. The CZ/BRNO rifles tend to be pretty accurate right out of the box. Good luck!

1st pic BRNO ZKK 602 scope mounting. BRNO ZKK 602 bottom rifle in group pic.
View attachment 445270
View attachment 445271

Why are all the scopes on your rifles mounted incorrectly? Adjustment turrets should be at 12 & 3 O'Clock or am I just seeing things.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Why are all the scopes on your rifles mounted incorrectly? Adjustment turrets should be at 12 & 3 O'Clock or am I just seeing things.

Makes it easy to see the serial number though.

 

[RTG]

Why are all the scopes on your rifles mounted incorrectly? Adjustment turrets should be at 12 & 3 O'Clock or am I just seeing things.

I believe it helps see your surroundings better depending on the hand you shoot with and which eye is dominant. Nothing is one size fits all

 

[Randy F]

Why are all the scopes on your rifles mounted incorrectly? Adjustment turrets should be at 12 & 3 O'Clock or am I just seeing things.

Sometimes interference with an ejected casing can happen, particularly with low mounted scopes. Turning the scope so the turret is up eliminates the problem as is just as functional.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Nice find with good looking wood at a great price! I love my CZ550s!

 

[Bigugly]

So i am a rifle hoarder by trade. I have Sako's, Savages, Tikkas and Winchesters. This is my first CZ. I am actually pleasantly surprised by the fit and finish as many described them as being a little rough. The wood and metal finish is easily as good as any Winchester 70 safari i've looked at in the last couple of years and the price at $1150 couldn't be beat. I figured i was going to have to shell out $2k or better so i was happy when i saw this one for $1150. It was mostly due to the positive reputation they have on the AH forums! Everyone spoke highly of the Control round feed mouser action for a DG rifle. The .375 will be part of my 2 gun battery going to Africa. I figure its good for Buff and eland for sure possibly a lot more.

 

[Aaron N]

Great find! If you have some time on your hands there is a thread on here about how to smooth things up yourself.

 

[Neil Molendyk]

Did CZ Discontinue the 550 Safari ? They dont seem to be on the CZ website and there are none to be had on Gunbroker..

Yes they did. December 2020 was the last time that they had them on their website, January 2021 they were no longer presented. The only place that I have been able to find them, and rarely, is on firearms dealers websites, Prophet River in Alberta for one. You now have a collectors rifle. Congratulations, I have QD rings on my CZ550 416 Rigby, Talley I believe, work very well. Take the scope off and back on and they are dead on. You've got a great rifle at a great price. Enjoy

 

[fourfive8]

Why are all the scopes on your rifles mounted incorrectly? Adjustment turrets should be at 12 & 3 O'Clock or am I just seeing things.

You mean like this?

Simple! All my scopes have two turrets and all have regular, symmetrical reticles. Rotating 90 degrees left gets the windage turret out of the way of the loading/ejection port. Makes it easier to load the magazine, especially under stress, and reduces chance of ejected cartridges hitting the turret.