Cz 550 Roulette

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Currently have a CZ550 375H&H and love it.
I did have it upgraded at AHR with a #2 package.
Love it so much I'm currently scouring the inter-web for a used 300WM CZ550 Ultimate Hunting Rifle.

This is not the kind of attitude I would expect from you Phil.
Just messing with you.

Seriously, get the 9.3 and if you need a DG rifle, you can sell the -06 for a 416 Rigby.

The kinder gentler me maybe?

 

[spike.t]

Just buy the bloody thing.....too much thinking and procrastinating screws up the brain cells and is bad for you......

 

[PaulT]

JP, the x62mm knocks Sambar down like a freight train.

I have one in Sako Black bear, 20" fluted barrel in synthetic stock with 30mm mounts and dies, cases and ammo for sale at the moment if you are interested.

I agree with Phil that if DG are in your future I would hold out for a .375.

If not, then there is not much a properly loaded 9.3 will do and can do in the world of soft-skinned game.

I also have a x64mm which is just a little more of a good thing, hence selling the 62mm.

Cheers.

P.T.

 

[JPbowhunter]

JP, the x62mm knocks Sambar down like a freight train.

I have one in Sako Black bear, 20" fluted barrel in synthetic stock with 30mm mounts and dies, cases and ammo for sale at the moment if you are interested.

I agree with Phil that if DG are in your future I would hold out for a .375.

If not, then there is not much a properly loaded 9.3 will do and can do in the world of soft-skinned game.

I also have a x64mm which is just a little more of a good thing, hence selling the 62mm.

Cheers.

P.T.

They do that, I've shot a couple sambar with my brothers 9.3 black bear which he's also selling at the moment. I much prefer wooden stocks personally. For what it's worth I'm not one of the folks that thinks bigger is necessarily better for sambar though. Most of the ones I ever killed were with a 270 and 130gn projectiles. Nothing I've ever shot well has gone far.

I'd like to hunt buff up north someday if I can find a way to do it unguided but no plans whatsoever to hunt Africa DG. I'm a data analyst not an oil baron! Haha

I always liked the idea of the x64, brass availability always seemed a pain though. And you rarely see them come up for sale.

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

G'day fellas,

Curious as I've read lots of varying opinions regarding cz 550s. As people who followed my build would know i ended up with a cz 550 after never originally having an interest in owning one. Must say i love it and it performs flawlessly.

I have seen that many people have issues with them as well, mainly feeding and the bolt. I only ask because I've seen a 9.3x62 in 550 that has tempted me but i just don't know whether it's worth it.

By the time i buy it, brass, dies and projectiles it'd be the price of a flight to Africa. If I'm to go in 2021 like i hope i need to be strict on spending. Having said that i don't want to miss an opportunity to get a good medium bore rifle. I currently have noththing bigger than an '06.

It would be bought sight unseen which also makes me nervous.

So people who have had experience, what's your thoughts?

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

Due to the fact that CZ 550 are a very rugged reasonably priced rifle in popular African calibre's. I know a great deal of PHs that use them, most in .458 Lott. I have owned several and I am having one being built in .404J at the moment. Here is my statement out of the box I do not feel that MOST are suitable for DG hunting. With a few hours of work they can become a very accurate and reliable rifle. Every person has different expectations from a rifle, I set my bar very, very high and will accept nothing less. With a quality aftermarket trigger, possibly a "m-70 3 position safety" a proper bedding or a high quality synthetic stock and a few hours of action work. You should have a rifle that can compete with the best!

Personally I would like to see CZ bring back the .404 J. I love the calibre. My wife has totally retired her .375H&H M-70 for her custom .404J.

 

[JPbowhunter]

Due to the fact that CZ 550 are a very rugged reasonably priced rifle in popular African calibre's. I know a great deal of PHs that use them, most in .458 Lott. I have owned several and I am having one being built in .404J at the moment. Here is my statement out of the box I do not feel that MOST are suitable for DG hunting. With a few hours of work they can become a very accurate and reliable rifle. Every person has different expectations from a rifle, I set my bar very, very high and will accept nothing less. With a quality aftermarket trigger, possibly a "m-70 3 position safety" a proper bedding or a high quality synthetic stock and a few hours of action work. You should have a rifle that can compete with the best!

Personally I would like to see CZ bring back the .404 J. I love the calibre. My wife has totally retired her .375H&H M-70 for her custom .404J.

Thanks for the reply,

I guess I'm spoiled in that my only experience with a 550 has been great. My rifle has a beautiful crisp trigger and the set trigger is great for longer range stuff. I've used two and three position safeties but never had a preference. Curious why it's something you change? Mind you I've never hunted something dangerous so I've never needed to give it serious thought.

 

[BeeMaa]

Thanks for the reply,

I guess I'm spoiled in that my only experience with a 550 has been great. My rifle has a beautiful crisp trigger and the set trigger is great for longer range stuff. I've used two and three position safeties but never had a preference. Curious why it's something you change? Mind you I've never hunted something dangerous so I've never needed to give it serious thought.

CZ550 375H&H with AHR #2 Upgrade

• BeeMaa
• Sep 7, 2018

2-position safety replaced with a 3-position wing safety.

The upgrade by AHR put a 3-position M70 style wing safety on the CZ.
The CZ safety blocks the trigger from being moved not the firing pin so is not considered a "proper" safety.
The M70 style blocks the firing pin as well as allowing loading/unloading with the safety engaged.

 

[DmacD]

I can't ever see DG being in my affordability range so I'm not worried about that.
My '06 is my mountain wet weather rifle which is to me just a tool. I'm getting back into open sights hunting more and more so the idea of a nice 9.3x62 for sambar, africa one day (main species is eland) and hopefully buff one day sounds good to me. My internal battle is do i really need it though, my 275 rigby and '06 covers 90% of the hunting i do.

JP,
I am guessing that if you are even remotely interested in the 9.3x62 caliber, that you are looking for more that just a practical rifle. I purchased the 9.3, partly because of it's performance yes, but also for impractical reasons too. I must be a romantic at heart or something, because I also look at this round with a certain amount of nostalgia, an old, school round for an old school place. Something just felt really "right" about loading up those old German rounds on Namibian soil. Hunting for me is a lot of things, not the least of which is to take part in the ritual, custom, and tradition of how things were done 100 years ago.
Life is too short to hunt with a boring gun!

 

[JPbowhunter]

JP,
I am guessing that if you are even remotely interested in the 9.3x62 caliber, that you are looking for more that just a practical rifle. I purchased the 9.3, partly because of it's performance yes, but also for impractical reasons too. I must be a romantic at heart or something, because I also look at this round with a certain amount of nostalgia, an old, school round for an old school place. Something just felt really "right" about loading up those old German rounds on Namibian soil. Hunting for me is a lot of things, not the least of which is to take part in the ritual, custom, and tradition of how things were done 100 years ago.
Life is too short to hunt with a boring gun!

I know what you mean, that's 100% of the reason why i built my 275 rigby. I do personally think a lot of the guns out these days are pretty soulless. My stainless synthetic rifle for example is just a gun. My 275 is precious to me, I still think of Jim Corbett whenever I'm stalking with it.

For the 9.3x62, I guess there is a little of that but in Australia it's actually a pretty common calibre and just makes practical sense. Except for northern territory, Australia doesn't really have a need for large bore rifle's. The 9.3 is sort of the common "big cal" you find here, so brass and projectiles are easy to find.

When i think of africa my mind goes to the 275 rigby and the 404 jeffery. Which almost mirrors my thoughts of india in a 275 Rigby and 450-400. I'll need one of the latter someday!

 

[bruce moulds]

yes you rarely see 9.3x64 rifles for sale.
reason for this?
could be owners want to keep them.
they have more to offer than x62 in performance, and can also be loaded back to x62 levels if you wish.
cases can be obtained in oz.
bruce.

 

[JPbowhunter]

So i decided in the end not to buy it. Then i sat at my desk and thought "stuff it". So it's now been ordered.

Reckon I'll try and track down some norma oryx 286gn if i can.

 

[35bore]

G'day fellas,

Curious as I've read lots of varying opinions regarding cz 550s. As people who followed my build would know i ended up with a cz 550 after never originally having an interest in owning one. Must say i love it and it performs flawlessly.

I have seen that many people have issues with them as well, mainly feeding and the bolt. I only ask because I've seen a 9.3x62 in 550 that has tempted me but i just don't know whether it's worth it.

By the time i buy it, brass, dies and projectiles it'd be the price of a flight to Africa. If I'm to go in 2021 like i hope i need to be strict on spending. Having said that i don't want to miss an opportunity to get a good medium bore rifle. I currently have nothing bigger than an '06.

It would be bought sight unseen which also makes me nervous.

So people who have had experience, what's your thoughts?

I've owned 3 throughout the years, biggest being a 416 rig. That heavy hitter was a MOA rifle, which shocked the crap outta me. The only thing I ever did to any of them were cross bolts. Maybe more as a preventative because before the cross bolts were more standard, big chambered CZ rifles had a habit of cracking stocks. I currently own no CZ 550s, but I've never regretted owning any of them. I'm just a 700 guy, that's all.

 

[JPbowhunter]

Open to ammo suggestions from folks.

 

[Shootist43]

Congratulations on your new purchase. That caliber will serve you well in Oz. If in the future you are able to take it to Africa your PH will be very happy and your rifle will feel "right at home." Please post pics of range results once everything is dialed in.

 

[7x57Joe]

Congrats JP! I hope you will win the wood lottery just as my friend did when he purchased a full stock in .30'06. The dealer told him he was tempted to order another and keep that one.

 

[BeeMaa]

So i decided in the end not to buy it. Then i sat at my desk and thought "stuff it". So it's now been ordered.

Reckon I'll try and track down some norma oryx 286gn if i can.

Congrats on the rifle.
Hopefully a glass of fine Single Malt had something to do with it.

I've used the Norma Oryx, but it was not in 9.3x62 it was in 270WIN and 375H&H.
Very accurate in both rifles.
In addition to the Oryx (232, 285 & 325 grain) , Norma also offers a 275gr Solid, 286gr Swift A-Frame and a few more.
Just the Norma ammo should keep you busy for a while.

Good luck with it and a range report when you get a chance would be nice.

 

[DmacD]

So i decided in the end not to buy it. Then i sat at my desk and thought "stuff it". So it's now been ordered.

Reckon I'll try and track down some norma oryx 286gn if i can.

Congratulations! My 9.3 has quickly become a favourite for sure. I really don't think you can go wrong with a 550. I think that they discontinued it because it was just too expensive to manufacture and still sell at a profit, which is a damn shame, but the way of the world unfortunately.
I use the Prvi Partizan stuff for range practice, and save my hunting budget for the Norma stuff. Good luck with the "new classic".

 

[JPbowhunter]

Congratulations! My 9.3 has quickly become a favourite for sure. I really don't think you can go wrong with a 550. I think that they discontinued it because it was just too expensive to manufacture and still sell at a profit, which is a damn shame, but the way of the world unfortunately.
I use the Prvi Partizan stuff for range practice, and save my hunting budget for the Norma stuff. Good luck with the "new classic".

Funny you should say that, I'm in the big smoke for the next couple of days and was planning on getting some prvi for target and maybe oryx to hunt.

 

[PaulT]

Whatever you do don't buy the PPU stuff unless it's just for target practice.

About 1/3 of the ones I have have failed to go off on the first firing costing me a couple of deer before I retired them for range work.

They certainly knock deer down but the penetration is lacking. I've had no exits even side on shots on does at 30 - 50yds. One medium Spikey took three before going down. Too soft.