matt85
AH legend
after extensive waiting (don't buy from budsguns!) my rifle finally showed up! a fine CZ 550 American safari in 375 H&H which im hoping will serve me well in my future hunts.
this is the first magnum rifle ive owned and while ive fired a few medium bore magnums (mostly 300 win mag) that belonged to friends, ive never dealt with a rifle this powerful (excluding a 50bmg of course). the closest big bore I have to compare this to is a 45-70 gov loaded with a 510gr cast bullets and 70grs of 2f black powder. needless to say im very excited to get to the range! ive got a variety of cartridges loaded up from light loads of 225gr bullets at the low end load to heavy loads of 300gr bullets at upper mid range loads (nothing near max of course). I bought a leupold VX-R 2-7x33 scope along with some warne quick detach rings but I think my first range trip will strictly be iron sights to get me used to the recoil and movement of the rifle.
things i like about the gun:
1. it shoulders well and seems well balanced.
2. the wood is actually decent looking, nothing to write home about but suitable. (ive seen CZs with some ugly wood)
3. the trigger is actually pretty smooth which is a shock cause other CZ rifles ive owned and used have pretty rough trigger pulls.
4. 6 round capacity! how many other bolt guns hold 6 rounds of 375 H&H?
5. it has a single set trigger which i always consider to be a huge bonus and make extensive use of set triggers when they are available. (even when hunting, for the first shot)
6. express sights... no DG rifle is complete without them.
this im not fond of:
1. its heavy! 9.5 pounds unloaded is nothing to sneeze at and im sure during my hikes i will wish it was lighter. according to my bathroom scale: the rifle with 6 rounds, rings, and a scope weighs 12 pounds!
2. the wood work around the barrel is lacking. the stock presses against the barrel at the for-end and on the left side. i suppose this isn't a huge problem since i plan on having it bedded.
3. it came with a sticky bolt, this is a common problem with all CZ bolt guns and it does go away with use but it still bugs me.
overall im happy with the rifle. it may not win any beauty or weight contests but it will be a rugged durable gun that will likely be very accurate (most CZs are). a simple solution i have to the action break in is to dip the bolt in CLP then cycle the action 100 times with upward pressure on the bolt and 100 times with downward pressure on the bolt this only takes about 10 minutes and greatly reduces the bolt sticking. id offer pics but my camera is on the fritz at the moment so it will have to wait for another day.
on a side note, is there any place i can find some decent instructions on the proper stance for shooting rifles with heavy recoil? ive been told that the normal rifle stance will lead to unnecessary pain that can easily be avoided by using a different stance/hold.
thanks for reading
-matt
this is the first magnum rifle ive owned and while ive fired a few medium bore magnums (mostly 300 win mag) that belonged to friends, ive never dealt with a rifle this powerful (excluding a 50bmg of course). the closest big bore I have to compare this to is a 45-70 gov loaded with a 510gr cast bullets and 70grs of 2f black powder. needless to say im very excited to get to the range! ive got a variety of cartridges loaded up from light loads of 225gr bullets at the low end load to heavy loads of 300gr bullets at upper mid range loads (nothing near max of course). I bought a leupold VX-R 2-7x33 scope along with some warne quick detach rings but I think my first range trip will strictly be iron sights to get me used to the recoil and movement of the rifle.
things i like about the gun:
1. it shoulders well and seems well balanced.
2. the wood is actually decent looking, nothing to write home about but suitable. (ive seen CZs with some ugly wood)
3. the trigger is actually pretty smooth which is a shock cause other CZ rifles ive owned and used have pretty rough trigger pulls.
4. 6 round capacity! how many other bolt guns hold 6 rounds of 375 H&H?
5. it has a single set trigger which i always consider to be a huge bonus and make extensive use of set triggers when they are available. (even when hunting, for the first shot)
6. express sights... no DG rifle is complete without them.
this im not fond of:
1. its heavy! 9.5 pounds unloaded is nothing to sneeze at and im sure during my hikes i will wish it was lighter. according to my bathroom scale: the rifle with 6 rounds, rings, and a scope weighs 12 pounds!
2. the wood work around the barrel is lacking. the stock presses against the barrel at the for-end and on the left side. i suppose this isn't a huge problem since i plan on having it bedded.
3. it came with a sticky bolt, this is a common problem with all CZ bolt guns and it does go away with use but it still bugs me.
overall im happy with the rifle. it may not win any beauty or weight contests but it will be a rugged durable gun that will likely be very accurate (most CZs are). a simple solution i have to the action break in is to dip the bolt in CLP then cycle the action 100 times with upward pressure on the bolt and 100 times with downward pressure on the bolt this only takes about 10 minutes and greatly reduces the bolt sticking. id offer pics but my camera is on the fritz at the moment so it will have to wait for another day.
on a side note, is there any place i can find some decent instructions on the proper stance for shooting rifles with heavy recoil? ive been told that the normal rifle stance will lead to unnecessary pain that can easily be avoided by using a different stance/hold.
thanks for reading
-matt
