CZ Feed Issues

[colorado]

If Mauser had come out with their magnum action rifle 10 years ago and chambered it in 500 Jeffery or 505 Gibbs I would've saved up and bought one. At the time, the choices for a 50 caliber dangerous game rifle were either custom or incredibly expensive (Hartman and Weiss, etc.) absolutely beautiful guns. I'm happy I went the way I did, learned a lot and ended up with a perfectly functioning, very accurate and attractive rifle for under $3000. Part of it was due to my persistence, but a lot if it was because I was lucky. Probably wouldn't do it again.

My CZ 550 in 500 Jeffery



A gorgeous Hartmann and Weiss in 505 Gibbs

 

[Jarrod Todd]

I have a CZ550 in 375 H&H that I purchased second hand last year. The stock has a nice grain, which is what attracted me to this rifle.
The rifle had been previously bedded by a gunsmith around the front recoil lug and rear tang, and had the barrel screw removed to float the barrel.
When developing loads using different weight projectiles the point of impact changes seemed to be extreme to me.
So I took it home, dremeled out the old bedding material and full length bedded the action. The change to accuracy immediately improved as did the point of impact shift between projectiles.
As previously discussed the rails are a little rough where the bolt slides, so I used wet and dry paper on a peice of flat timber to the same width as the rails and removed just enough to get rid of the tooling marks. The bolt now slides very smoothly and is a joy to shoot.
I have not had any feed issues with this rifle and I do cycle a lot of rounds through each time I practice shoot.

 

[colorado]

Nice looking rifle!

 

[brettp]

One thing i do enjoy in those dangerous game calibre CZ's is that magazine capacity!

Yep. My Lott holds 5 in the mag. That's 2,500 grains of bullet. Pretty impressive.

 

[bpcr]

I had the same problem with a CZ550 Safari Magnum in.458 Win Mag. I sent it to AHR and had a rail job done which helped but didn't cure the problem. The 400 grain Speer and the 500 grain Hornady interlocks with a lot of lead exposed would still seemed to " grab" in the entrance to the chamber. I contacted Triple River about this problem and they said it could be fixed under warranty and my rifle is about 6 years old. It's on their shelf waiting repair. I will let y'all know how it goes.

 

[colorado]

Hope it goes well. Harlan at Triple River is a true gentleman. He has always done right by me.

 

[Dr Ray]

I agree with you Velo Dog. All three of my CZ rifles are scary accurate and my CZ 550 in .375 will consistently group well under 1 moa with Barnes 250 gr ttsx hand loads.
After the CZ importers fixed my feed issue, at no cost, the rifle is as close to perfect as I could want. The bolt has, after 100 or so rounds, become very slick and I can work all five rounds quickly from the magazine with zero malfunctions every time.
If I had to replace the gun it would be with... another CZ 550 in .375

Try a Sako with its controlled feed, lovely timber and great accuracy. I get the gunsmith to get the trigger pull lightened.
I've tried lots of brands but truly love my Sakos.

 

[Bo-ona]

Sakos are nice and usually very accurate! I saw two Safari Grade Sakos yesterday, one a 450 Rigby and the other a 416 Rigby, very nice wood, these large cartridges use the over size action that Sakos makes, very nice, but the price is scary, over $10,000 each. For that kind money I would get a fully custom rifle for less. There was also an Alaskan 375 H&H on the rack, with a laminated stock for a little less than $2000, this was at the Berreta store in NYC. Too bad Sako doesn't make a gun in African calibers for the same or a little more than the Alaskan model.

 

[SWARA]

@Bo-ona. Sako do make the Brown Bear with the XL action in .416,450 Rigby and 500 Jeffery. It has the laminated stock and a normal floor plate type magazine (4 rounds) as opposed the the detachable magazine used in their other models, comes with a 22 inch barrel. If the laminated stock is not your cup of tea you could always have a walnut stock made up for it and still have change left over from what the Safari would cost you. If you did get one best to plan to change out that horrible recoil pad
I have seen them on Gun Broker for around $2500 new, not seen any used.

 

[otsego44]

Agree, send it back to CZ to have it fixed. They will probably just send you a new one that doesn't have the issue. Down the road if you want any additional work done, Wayne at AHR is very good. I had Wayne add a 3 pos M70 type safety and single stage trigger to my CZ 550 375 H&H (nothing wrong with it, just personal preference). Later, Harlan at Triple River Gunsmithing rebarreled / rechambered my 375 H&H to 500 Jeffery and also did a lovely job. (they do almost all of the CZ Custom Shop work)

I've had Harlan do various work (custom) on my CZ 550 .375 H&H and I've been extremely satisfied. Since then, I've sent other rifles for service/work. Can't beat them.

 

[otsego44]

I've been considering the CZ for my big bore rifle, and watching the threads closely. It's obvious that there is a very good chance a new one would need work. Looking at .458 Lott options. What I haven't seen is any recommendations for the Kimber. I have the Kimber Caprivi in 375 H&H and I Love It. For the price of CZ + custom "fix it", isn't the Kimber a great option? Would love to hear from some of our experts on here. For a "lower" budget, I've looked at CZ, Ruger #1, Kimber and M70's as initial options. Any comments?

I've never had any issues with my CZ 550 375, all work done on it was elective.

 

[Bo-ona]

Swara
I ended up getting 2 CZ 550's one from the CZ Custom Shop and the other a standard CZ Safari. Both feed fine with no issues yet. I have had Sakos in the past, and see why people are love them. When I wanted a big bore a friend of mine had two that I liked, and got both, it's tough to decide on one rifle sometimes!

 

[D.M.V]

My big 550S A 416 RIGBY and 375H&H. The 416 is Ok. the bolt hangs up when cycling the action dry but cycles semi ok with a round in it. i sent it back and they sent it back to me saying it was fine. My local gunshop owner said its such a big bolt and action it needs the round inside to alline action, I dont know, it does cycle ok, on the other hand. The 375 is like butter , dry or loaded. Some day i might send it off for some fancy upgrades. All my other CZs and i have many, are great. I really love there products.

 

[bpcr]

I had the same problem with a CZ550 Safari Magnum in.458 Win Mag. I sent it to AHR and had a rail job done which helped but didn't cure the problem. The 400 grain Speer and the 500 grain Hornady interlocks with a lot of lead exposed would still seemed to " grab" in the entrance to the chamber. I contacted Triple River about this problem and they said it could be fixed under warranty and my rifle is about 6 years old. It's on their shelf waiting repair. I will let y'all know how it goes.

 

[bpcr]

Well gentlemen,
I got my rifle back from Triple River and it's still did not feed the 400 grain Speer or the 500 grain Hornady round nose interlock when the cartridge was coming from the left side of the magazine. In desperation I put the original follower spring, which I had manually stretched by hand longer, back in the magazine and now it works fine. I hear they make stronger springs but I haven't been able to find them. I know a lot of people would say get another rifle, however, this thing shoots really accurately and it can really handle some power house .458 win mag loads. Another feature I like,that I haven't seen in any other bolt action, is the take down bolt. This could be real handy in a freezing hunting climate where the oil in the bolt may congele causing problems. I'm sorry men but I just got to keep it even it kills me.

 

[colorado]

I've read that in a Mauser action, the magazine, follower, spring, etc has to be custom fitted to each particular cartridge. I don't think CZ does that. I had lots of issues with my 500 Jeffery, a notoriously bad feeder. It's fabulous now, but I had more than one day when I thought why did I go down this road. Glad yours is working right now.

 

[Velo Dog]

I've read that in a Mauser action, the magazine, follower, spring, etc has to be custom fitted to each particular cartridge. I don't think CZ does that. I had lots of issues with my 500 Jeffery, a notoriously bad feeder. It's fabulous now, but I had more than one day when I thought why did I go down this road. Glad yours is working right now.

+1

 

[Bruce]

Hi Underdog, I received my CZ back from the SA importers, Formalito, and it now feeds perfectly.
Kudos to them for fixing my gun with no charge. Sure it was under warranty but it is still pleasing when such are honored.
Let us know how you're coming along with yours.

Can't you let us know what Formality did to rectify this feed issue?

 

[gizmo]

Wow, I've heard of the larger caliber CZ's having issues like the 458's and 505 but not the 375's. Apparently for the first time in my life I got lucky and my CZ 550 375 H&H feeds like a champ. The only odd thing I've had with that rifle is that where the barrel goes into the action I get some corrosion build up on the joint. Idk what causes this but it's the only rifle I own that does that. I have dehumidifiers in my safes so idk??????

 

[Mekaniks]

Wow, I've heard of the larger caliber CZ's having issues like the 458's and 505 but not the 375's. Apparently for the first time in my life I got lucky and my CZ 550 375 H&H feeds like a champ. The only odd thing I've had with that rifle is that where the barrel goes into the action I get some corrosion build up on the joint. Idk what causes this but it's the only rifle I own that does that. I have dehumidifiers in my safes so idk??????

Is it close to a door seal where moisture could come in and be the first place the moisture collects? Maybe try moving it to a different position in the safe and see if it still does it?