What would you build with a CZ 550 magnum action?

[richteb]

Hi all,

I have a CZ 550 magnum action, and now I have a conundrum…what caliber of rifle should I build with this?

I have a 375H&H, 404 Jeffery, and a 470 double rifle. It’s a great battery for Africa hunting, but the potential to build a custom rifle interests me.

What would you build?

470 Winchester Magnum.

 

[Riflecrank]

470 Winchester Magnum.

Heh-heh-heh.

I toyed with the idea.
Neck up the .458 Lott to .475 and put a scaled up .458 WIN MAG throat on it and call it the ".475 Winchester Magnum Chapstick"
instead of 470 Capstick ...
I even made a dummy on 2.5" .458 WIN MAG case necked up to .475,
but that has less case taper than the marginal 470 Capstick with 2.85" brass,
and it just did not feed as well as the .458 WIN MAG.
So I ended up calling that the 470 Crapstick.

But seriously now, I have come up with the jewel on the crown of my wildcatting career, the .510 Winchester Magnum.
Perfect for the CZ 550 Magnum action with a .416 Rigby bolt face and a
+3.8"-long, smooth-sided/non-ribbed .458 W.M. magazine box.
I tried the dummies in a .500 Mbogo CZ 550 Magnum that has already been refined with a Wisner safety, Wisner bottom metal, and Timney trigger.
I also have been saving my last Wisner copy of the Winchester African rear sight, and finally found an excellent use for it.

Finished rifle will look something like this .500 Mbogo Number 2,
with "African" rear sight instead:

Awaiting the barrel from Pac-Nor, finally ordered last month after getting the .495 A-Square dies from CH Tool & Die.

1:14" twist Pac-Nor #6 sporter SSSM, 8-grooves/lands, .510"/.500".

I am thinking ".510 WIN MAG" headstamp from Quality Cartridge.
Ol' Peter Cardona did ".395 Tatanka" and ".500 Mbogo" brass for me,
so I hope he is still alive when I can afford another go.
Until then either 460 WBY brass willbe used or .495 A-Square headstamp will do.
I might have my barrel laser engraved thusly:

.510 WINCHESTER MAGNUM (.495 A-Square Improved)

Sample bullets from CEB for first loads: 510-gr Safari Solid and 475-gr Safari Raptor:

Cute, 510-grainers for the .510 WIN MAG,
more fun than 570-grainers at 2500 fps,
and kills just as well on the down range side of the rifle.

One can load it to only 3.6" COL and use it in a Winchester M70,
but that would be unduly crowding like with the .458 Lott in the same action.
Much better in a CZ 550 Magnum with COL anywhere from 3.6" to 3.8".

Finally a backup rifle worthy to accompany the .458 WIN MAG.
Training with it will make one better than ever with King Four Five Eight.
You will never short stroke your SAAMI .458 WIN MAG in a standard length action after training with the .510 WIN MAG CZ550 Magnum.
Cheers !

 

[Riflecrank]

Here is one way to reinforce sheetmetal on a CZ 550 Magnum,
whatever you decide to build.

 

[Riflecrank]

Released to the Gun Trade for the ultimate DGR:

 

[Robmill70]

I had a 450 Rigby built on one

 

[richteb]

Starting load with 500 gr at 2170 fps. Ruger Hawkeye lefty.

 

[1:66 twiste@d]

Hi all,

I have a CZ 550 magnum action, and now I have a conundrum…what caliber of rifle should I build with this?

I have a 375H&H, 404 Jeffery, and a 470 double rifle. It’s a great battery for Africa hunting, but the potential to build a custom rifle interests me.

What would you build?

About anything you have ever wanted. I think for me it would be a 470 Capstick.

 

[Jefferry404]

We were getting ready for spring, but had a wet snow last week, so took the day and thought to make a universal floorplate design with programmable depth and either flat bottom or signature elliptical
ParkWest standard action floorplate up next unless Sprng arrives...

CZ550 Magnum, std depth

CZ550 Medium, extra depth, Four, 416 Taylors down

the insides

and the infamous Dumoulin standard action, extra deep, Four 416 Taylor down.

 

[Certus]

I’d like one in 585 Nyati. Something truly big but loaded mild to match the .577 nitro.

Another consideration would be the .465 H&H (the one based on the .460 weatherby case). If anyone knows where to get a .465 barrel please share.

 

[IvW]

Depends if you want to go up or down.......300 H&H barreled for 200gr bullets or 500 Jeff barreled for 600gr bullets

 

[Beck]

I bought a .416 Rigby with the intention of building a .505 Gibbs and quickly discovered that there are very few gunsmiths willing to take on such a project. I ended up just buying a .505 Gibbs.

 

[Riflecrank]

I started my "CZ Re-barreling" career with a BRNO ZKK 602, same-same really.
I had one of those before I started seeing completed CZ-USA rifles on this side of the pond.
The first CZ 550 Magnum action I came upon was a special one, action only with
SN "AHR 50001" found at Great Northern Guns in Anchorage, AK.
and no roll markings on the left side billboard of action.

That was about the time the .375 RUM had just been announced, and a reamer was available but no rifles from Remington yet ...

A take-off Winchester M70 Classic barrel, .375 H&H was set back an inch and
threaded for the CZ action and chambered .375 RUM, original sights perfectly timed by an expert Gunsmith. Custom walnut stock:

Expert Engraver altered the chambering designation before the Cerakoting.
Magazine box front reinforcement like so:

I had one box of factory ammo to start shooting with for initial zeroing of scope,
Leupold VX-III 2.5-8x36mm:

She was a shooter and quite fast for a 23" barrel with factory ammo.
5-yard velocity 2784, corrected to MV 2798 fps, 300-gr Swift AF.

404 Jeffery has a smaller head diameter.