Cz550 375 H&H 20"ish barrels

[AHughes]

Hey fellas I've been digging in the archives and digging and digging some more, I'm looking for any pics or personal experiences yall may have on some 550s with shorter ish barrels for one of my project rifles, the one I'm about to go Frankenstein on is my 375 cz550 and I'm interested in what length some of yall who've chopped them down to, I'm open to anything in the rang from 18" to 21" lengths ... I've shortened crowned and installed sights on several other rifles of mine I'm just trying to decide on length at this point and what other have run into or like for consideration,,, thanks fellas and I know there's been posts on this and I dont mean to beat the dead horse just getting all the ideas i can thanks again
Anthony

 

[Forrest Halley]

Interested. I'm considered going to 16" on my .375.

 

[Newboomer]

Interested. I'm considered going to 16" on my .375.

Will a 16' bbl burn a full load or will a lot of it burn outside the bbl in muzzle flash?

 

[Forrest Halley]

Will a 16' bbl burn a full load or will a lot of it burn outside the bbl in muzzle flash?

This I don't know. I'm considering it. I'm not committed. I'm afraid the velocity loss will kill the cartridge.

 

[AHughes]

I've seen folks down in the 21" range but I wanted to go a bit shorter and my experience with my marlin 1895 was pretty easy to find a powder it likes with a 16" barrel , I'm just not sure with a 375 how short Is too short? So I think I'm in the same boat as you , I want it short I just know I can't glue a few inches back on if i pass that proverbial line in the sand so to speak

Another forum a fella said he had an 18" factory sako carbine alaskan model

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

18” or less is going to give one hell of a muzzle blast and will sure bring a bit of light to a leopard blind.

 

[AHughes]

Hunting in and out of boats ,trucks ,4wheelrs etc I have learned to love a short rifle and that's 90% of what I'm doing , not sure I'd take this one in the leopard blind (if I ever get to hunt one) but I have my 45/70 truck gun and love it and really wanted my 375 to be as or near as handy .... I'm not touching my 416rigby I'm leaving it standard length but I think I'd grab the 375 more if I wasn't fighting that long broomstick in and out of the ol jeep lol

 

[Newboomer]

Hunting in and out of boats ,trucks ,4wheelrs etc I have learned to love a short rifle and that's 90% of what I'm doing , not sure I'd take this one in the leopard blind (if I ever get to hunt one) but I have my 45/70 truck gun and love it and really wanted my 375 to be as or near as handy .... I'm not touching my 416rigby I'm leaving it standard length but I think I'd grab the 375 more if I wasn't fighting that long broomstick in and out of the ol jeep lol

Get a standard length bbl and cut it an inch at a time and see what happens.

 

[AHughes]

Actually that's not a bad idea... I can shoot it over a chrono too each time and put that debate to the test too! My bet is I'll stop around 20-21 I'm sure all these manufacturers know a little more than me about barrel length

I shoot 4064 with my 300g loads usually what's a good standard powder most use? With all this powder hoarding and such I'm limited on my choices of stock on hand

 

[Angelo_orygun]

Actually that's not a bad idea... I can shoot it over a chrono too each time and put that debate to the test too! My bet is I'll stop around 20-21 I'm sure all these manufacturers know a little more than me about barrel length

I shoot 4064 with my 300g loads usually what's a good standard powder most use? With all this powder hoarding and such I'm limited on my choices of stock on hand

Please do this!

I am going to chop my Lott this summer and am planning the same thing.

 

[AHughes]

Will do ... it's looking like rain today so I'll start on it tomorrowish and that will let me make up a few diff rounds, I have some 270 grainers as well so I'll see how or if it varies between the bullet weights

 

[Angelo_orygun]

Can’t wait to see the numbers.

I am going to do 400 gr handloads and 500 gr factory Ammo with mine.

 

[AHughes]

This is the 375hh I'm cutting down so I'm not sure how to compare the two cartridges but in my simple mind they should show at least the trend , I've heard soo many different stories on fps loss on every inch but , then with all the different powders and such I found it easy to get my fps back up on my other cartridges .... the thing I'm not so smart on is bullet twist rates and stabilizing, so if I lose too much barrel how that will react on keeping the lead flying the right direction

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

Hunting in and out of boats ,trucks ,4wheelrs etc I have learned to love a short rifle and that's 90% of what I'm doing , not sure I'd take this one in the leopard blind (if I ever get to hunt one) but I have my 45/70 truck gun and love it and really wanted my 375 to be as or near as handy .... I'm not touching my 416rigby I'm leaving it standard length but I think I'd grab the 375 more if I wasn't fighting that long broomstick in and out of the ol jeep lol

What do you intend to use the rifle for (What ever you want). I certainly agree with how handy it will be. I think 20” might be as short as I would go.

Many years ago I spent a few years slowly having a CZ 550 built for me. Caliber .404j, barrel length 20” front sight similar to a .303 enfield. Rear flip up peep. Upper barrel wood. Side swivels. A leather covered adjustable recoil “assembly” purchased from Brownells. Light, handy and like shooting a 12 gauge. I had to sell wish I had it today.

 

[Andrew62]

I had my Kimber Talkeetna, .375H&H, cut down from 24" to 20", had the barrel tapered, so now with a Leupold VX3 2.5-8 scope, it weighs 7lbs 12 oz. At my shooting range I put on a muzzle brake and Limbsaver recoil pad, then when I hunt I remove both items. I'm lazy, I prefer carrying the lightest weight rifle I can. I really do not feel recoil when shooting at a buffalo or elephant.

 

[AHughes]

What do you intend to use the rifle for (What ever you want). I certainly agree with how handy it will be. I think 20” might be as short as I would go.

Many years ago I spent a few years slowly having a CZ 550 built for me. Caliber .404j, barrel length 20” front sight similar to a .303 enfield. Rear flip up peep. Upper barrel wood. Side swivels. A leather covered adjustable recoil “assembly” purchased from Brownells. Light, handy and like shooting a 12 gauge. I had to sell wish I had it today.

I mainly hunt pigs here in florida , I'm either on the ground or on and off my airboat and in swamp country , its honestly overkill by all means on our hogs but I love the gun its reliable and just down right fun to shoot. Same with my lever guns and they are probably more what i use but i am planning an african trip and hopefully a bear hunt too so I'm trying to use my 375 as much as i can to get where it's as easy to work off muscle memory as my ol lever marlin , so when I do track to other continents it's like an extension of me not fumbling over a new rifle , hell I've had this gun for 13years or more and hardly shot it at game so either gonna use it or sell it and I'm thinking use it would be more appropriate

 

[TTundra]

Few tests out there where guys cut, recrown, and shoot again. The average velocity loss on the 30 cal magnums was 20-25fps per inch, likewise very similar to 375's. If you reload, you can make most, if not all, that back up to the factory loads. A 23" barrel feels like a musket to me now...

 

[Lone Star Bluegrass]

You’ll save about 5” of OAL if you switch to a single shot or double rifle.

 

[AHughes]

Just got a double in 45-70 and love it .... was also looking at a ruger tropical I just haven't pulled the trigger on one , I need to handle one and see If I'd like it
I do love a single shot although all mine were cheaper ones like the ol h&r or nef

 

[F. Vaccaro]

A standard length #1 .375 will be about as short as a 22” bolt rifle. Just a thought.