Got the CZ blues

Earle

AH veteran
Joined
Jun 9, 2019
Messages
234
Reaction score
324
Location
Ontario, Canada
Media
5
Member of
Orillia gun Club, Bancroft Fish and Game Club
Hi y'all. Hope i'm posting in the right section. Got a brand new 550 chambered in 458wm that i took to the range for the first time Monday. Immediate woe's. As can be seen in the pics, it does not like 450g bullets. Jams every time. I know a lot of you guy's have extensive experience with CZs and hope someone has some suggestions. Try 500g bullets? Take it to a "smith"? Call CZ? Give up and buy a M70 (LOL). Any thots will be appreciated as i am at a loss on how to proceed. My 416Rigby operates flawlessly and it's a 550. Go figure.

IMG_0163.JPG
IMG_0164.JPG
IMG_0165.JPG
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Looks like that lead tip of the soft nose is catching on the lip of the chamber at the top. Gunsmith might be able to just smooth it and problem solved. Happened with my CZ 375 when I first received it.
 
Use 500 gr bullets, it is a magnum action
 
Congratulations on the .458 Winchester Magnum . You should take it to a proper gunsmith , so that it can be made to function properly with all bullet weights . My .458 Winchester Magnum is also built on a Magnum length action ( a Winchester Enfield 1917 action ) . It can feed 475 grain South African PMP loads , 480 grain German Labor Fur Ballistik loads and 500 grain American Hornady DGS loads without any issues . That said , I exclusively prefer the 500 grain loads in my .458 Winchester Magnum .
 
I had those same problems, it hangs up on the chamber mouth.M70 has a coned breech or chamber mouth and so doesnt usually have the problem. I did a thread on this site of my work to get it fixed. You basically have a short cartridge which will not go around the corner and into the chamber. Rigby is much longer cartridge. You can see what I did and to be honest I was still not happy with the feeding of flat nose solids. I found that mounting the bullets out to maximum COL helped but did not solve the problem. Woodleigh round nose solids usually feed-either the 480 or 500 gr. I ended up turning it into a Lott which makes all the angles better. A gunsmith should be able to sort out your rifle to feed round nose softs and solids at least- flat nose bullets may never work. Mine can now feed Hornady Win Mag solids without a hitchbut Peregrine flat nose solids are not great in Win Mag, they work fine with Lott cases. Just better angles on the longer cartridge. Have a look at my post and at least you will see the problem and its solution. And to be honest, feeding problems are common with all big bore actions out of the box, every year the Zimbabwe PH exams, several guys have problems with almost all factory rifle actions.

 
Its very common for CZ rifles to need some work to function 100%.

I would recommend talking to Wayne at AHR, he has a great deal of experience with these rifles. https://hunting-rifles.com/home/

-matt
 
If you are allowed to ship to the US...
Give a call to Wayne at American Hunting Rifles.
Truly amazing gunsmith with the CZ platform.

I had him slick up my CZ550 375H&H with a #2 upgrade.
It was flawless when it came back.
Took 9 PG on our 2019 safari.
 
Lots of good suggestions, so thank you all. I live in Canada, so gunsmiths are a little hard to find, at least good ones. My first move will be to try some 500g bullets and see what happens. If that works i will be happy and leave well enough alone.
 
If you reload then make up a set of dummy case (ie no powder, no primer) and then try seating the projectiles progressively further out. You may find that all you need is a minor change in length to get the issue fixed. If not then you'll probably need the services of a knowledgeable smith.
 
I measured the 450s i have and they are 3.156", quite short of the 3.340 max col listed in the reloading manuals. Does anyone happen to know what factory ammo has the longest col?. I want to try a box and see how they work, but 458 ammo is strictly a "special order" item in my neck of the woods, so i want the longest i can get.
While i have your attention: If a smith becomes my only option, can any one recommend one qualified on CZs in Canada? Shipping to the US is a long and expensive proposition and i would get the gun reamed to a Lott before i went that route.
Once again, thanks to all who respond.
 
Or a 450 Rigby :) I would try longer bullets. If 500g bullets work I would load some dummy rounds with various bullets you think you might want to use. I would then cycle them through, slow, fast, and make sure it's absolutely reliable.
 
I measured the 450s i have and they are 3.156", quite short of the 3.340 max col listed in the reloading manuals. Does anyone happen to know what factory ammo has the longest col?. I want to try a box and see how they work, but 458 ammo is strictly a "special order" item in my neck of the woods, so i want the longest i can get.
While i have your attention: If a smith becomes my only option, can any one recommend one qualified on CZs in Canada? Shipping to the US is a long and expensive proposition and i would get the gun reamed to a Lott before i went that route.
Once again, thanks to all who respond.
@Earle
Give these a try .
8FD8A0DC-B0CD-4359-83E8-D8678DB23E75.jpeg
6252B7EC-EF6D-445A-8C87-B7412CEF2B50.jpeg
 
Wolverine supplies is the warranty dealer, if warranty work applies in this case.
 
Feel your pain. I am dealing with one in 458 Lott. Been to CZ once. At Waynes for second time now. Issue it is having can not get a scope to zero at 100 yards. Run out of elevation in scopes trying to zero.

I would first try contact CZ about it.
 
Last edited:
Having it rechambered to 458 Lott may have some advantages (aside from ballistic issues). Last time I asked on this forum the replies indicated that these days 458 Lott ammo was more likely to be available in Africa than 458 WM and even if only 458 WM was available it can be used in a 458 Lott but not vice versa. If you chose to go down that path you would need to ensure that the barrel marking was altered to show 458 Lott, likewise any registration paperwork that Canada may supply. The reason being that going through firearm entry in Africa your ammo must match the rifle and the paperwork. Any deviation from that causes the sort of problems, and expenses, you don't need.
 
Been looking on-line and 458 ammo is scarce up here. Found one place on the other side of the country that has some Winchester with 500g partitions. Going to call tomorrow and see how long it will take to get them.
 
Well, maybe my luck is changing. Found some Winchester Safari ammo with 500g Nosler solids,in stock and at my local dealer less than half a mile away. Only downside is they are just a bit less expensive than a 5 day toot in Cabo. Oh well, been to Cabo a few times already. LOL
 
I think prophet river has some 458 in stock. I bought a Zastava 458 before I ordered a cz Lott. The Zastava has fed everything nicely, as has the Lott. From 405 grain rem , Barnes , Noslers and I am making up some aframes when I get time to see how they do. I can imagine the frustration in having one that won't feed.


I had some elevation issues in my cz 375 with a Schmidt zenith, could zero it but not a lot to spare with 300 grain, 260 grain no problem. The zenith has very limited adjustments, buy I love the glass and the 4 ret.

Put a razor 1-6 on my cz Lott, that scope has a ton of elevation so no prob at all. Swapping it onto my Rigby only required a small elevation adjustment, windage was perfect.
 
That rifle should reliably feed and cycle a wide range of ammo/bullet types. Something isn't right and, IMO, needs to be addressed and corrected. It is a DG rifle that, by definition, simply has to be the most reliable of all hunting rifles. Changing ammo should not be the fix!

I've had several DG bolt guns over the years, some stock factory and some semi-custom builds, and have been very lucky in that none were unreliable in cycling and feeding no matter the ammo. That even included a couple of lowly Remington 700s... hah!

About ten years ago I had the opportunity to compare, side by side a late New Haven Winchester 70 in 416 Remington and a CZ in 416 Rigby- both factory, unaltered and were in NOS condition. No contest at all! The CZ was rough as coarse gravel and simply didn't seem right. At full rear bolt travel I could tell there was a potential for bind and the overall fit of parts was somewhat crude. I passed on the CZ and traded a $900 handgun for the Winchester. That Winchester proved to be not only slick but 100% reliable in function and cycling. No need to have a specialist work it over to fix bugs! I never found a reasonable load or bullet it didn't like. I can load the magazine with empties and cycle them without a hiccup. Not CZ bashing as I know the reputation and potential for them to be a reliable DG rifle... but sometimes just have to move out of the comfort zone and ask the big ?
 
Last edited:
My Lott did exact same thing. Wayne fixed it. You can't trust it right now in a dangerous game situation. It will eventually jam with all ammo. Take it to him in MT. He will fix it. Mine is great now. CZ can't help you.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
53,632
Messages
1,131,570
Members
92,693
Latest member
ThomasovWoogy
 

 

 

Latest profile posts

Impact shots from the last hunt

Early morning Impala hunt, previous link was wrong video

Headshot on jackal this morning

Mature Eland Bull taken in Tanzania, at 100 yards, with 375 H&H, 300gr, Federal Premium Expanding bullet.

20231012_145809~2.jpg
 
Top