Got my back up gun for Africa!

[Paul Raley]

Ya this is quite the throwback thread….both of those rifles look quite different these days. The 375 has hunted quite a bit and the 458 is prepped and ready for Zimbabwe in a few months.

Seeing that this thread has been resurrected give us some feedback of what has transpired since the original message . What have you done to the rifles and what have you hunted with them ? Sounds like you have been busy with them , might make for some interesting feedback .
Post photos too .

 

[EXECUTIVE HUNT AFRICA]

Seeing that this thread has been resurrected give us some feedback of what has transpired since the original message . What have you done to the rifles and what have you hunted with them ? Sounds like you have been busy with them , might make for some interesting feedback .
Post photos too .

Hahaha. Thank you for this save, great idea. You know, in SA you can nowadays get a death certificate and later a resurrection certificate, when you wake up again. Hahaha. Have a great day!

 

[Brandon.Gleason]

@Paul Raley :
The .375 H&H was sent to Wayne Jacobson of American Hunting Rifles in early 2015 for an Upgrade 2. This was paired with a CZ-sourced Aramid stock and originally fitted with a Leupold Euro-30 1.25-4 scope. That rifle has been a long on every big game rifle hunt I've ever taken, starting in 2011 with a hog hunt in NC, through various whitetail deer hunts in CT, NY, NC, and SC. It accompanied me in 2015 on an unsuccessful black bear hunt in ME. In 2017 it went on its maiden voyage to Africa (RSA), now fitted with a Swarovski Z6i 1-6EE, and harvested cape buffalo and blue wildebeest. It ventured to Newfoundland in 2019 for a successful eastern Canadian moose. 2021 found it back in RSA for a number of plains game, with waterbuck and bushbuck to its credit (accompanied by another AHR modified CZ 550 in .300 Win Mag for the remainder. This rifle will travel with me again to Africa this year (Zim) as a back up gun to the .458 Lott, loaded with CEB 300gr Safari Solids and 275gr Safari Raptors.

The .458 Lott realllllly lingered in my safe for a long time. I ended up buying a Merkel 140.2 AE in .470NE for my large bore for the 2017 cape buffalo hunt. After that 2017 hunt, I realized I just do not shoot that rifle well enough to take it on future dangerous game hunts. Some of that is practice related, I'm sure, but I'm just way more comfortable with a bolt gun. When I booked this year's coming elephant hunt, I pulled the Lott back out of the safe, fitted it with a B&C-sourced stock (same as the CZ Aramids) and mounted a Kahles Helia RD on an AHR QD mount for the front bridge. With Wayne no longer performing conversions due to the volume of custom builds he currently has, the rifle was sent to Matrix Gunsmiths in Colorado (trained and endorsed by Wayne) for an Upgrade 2. I'm hoping to christen this rifle on bull elephant and hippo in early May in Zimbabwe, loaded with CEB 500gr Safari Solids and 470gr Safari Raptors.

.300 Win Mag, .375 H&H, .458 Lott (top to bottom)

The .458 in better light:

 

[Luvthunt]

Hi Brandon
Did you fit the B&C stock and if so how much did it take to get a good seating?

 

[Brandon.Gleason]

@Luvthunt I had the stocks bedded as part of the upgrade. I have a CZ550 in .308 Win in a B&C Medalist varminter stock that is NOT yet bedded and still shoots phenomenal. No fitting required for that one, thus far. Will likely send that off to Matrix this year to set up as a suppressed deer/hog rifle for my son.

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

I probably should start a new post, but I thought I would just add to this since it seems interesting enough that people have been reading it for what 8 years?

Here in Zimbabwe. I repair and rebuild many rifles mostly CZ 550 for our CAMPFIRE program. I would like to say that I am really a believer in CZ 550s yes almost all new ones (not CAMPFIRE owned) need work done. They may satisfy many people, but not me. I have found a possible flaw in them that does have me concerned. The ejector blade is spring loaded and fits in a slot in the receiver. There is a small amount of material above that slot at the rear of the magazine cut out. I have just came across the second one that the receiver had cracked just above that slot. When this took place the metal in that area actually closed a few thousands, thus pinching the ejector blade in the retracted position, Of course this left the rifle without a functioning ejector blade. Both rifles were in .416 Rigby. One had maybe one box of cartridges fired through it (owned by a PH) the other a severely abused CAMPFIRE rifle. You might want to take a look at your CZ with a magnifying glass.

The second item was a question asked by Luvhunt. I have installed close to ten B&C stocks sorced in RSA on CZ550 magnums. None have required any fitting the front barrel lug could be bedded, but so far I have had no problems. A wood stock usually last CAMPFIRE 2 years before it has its firs break. I would recommend that the action screws are properly installed twice and the second time blue lock tight or even red used on action screws.

Lon

 

[EXECUTIVE HUNT AFRICA]

@Paul Raley :
The .375 H&H was sent to Wayne Jacobson of American Hunting Rifles in early 2015 for an Upgrade 2. This was paired with a CZ-sourced Aramid stock and originally fitted with a Leupold Euro-30 1.25-4 scope. That rifle has been a long on every big game rifle hunt I've ever taken, starting in 2011 with a hog hunt in NC, through various whitetail deer hunts in CT, NY, NC, and SC. It accompanied me in 2015 on an unsuccessful black bear hunt in ME. In 2017 it went on its maiden voyage to Africa (RSA), now fitted with a Swarovski Z6i 1-6EE, and harvested cape buffalo and blue wildebeest. It ventured to Newfoundland in 2019 for a successful eastern Canadian moose. 2021 found it back in RSA for a number of plains game, with waterbuck and bushbuck to its credit (accompanied by another AHR modified CZ 550 in .300 Win Mag for the remainder. This rifle will travel with me again to Africa this year (Zim) as a back up gun to the .458 Lott, loaded with CEB 300gr Safari Solids and 275gr Safari Raptors.

The .458 Lott realllllly lingered in my safe for a long time. I ended up buying a Merkel 140.2 AE in .470NE for my large bore for the 2017 cape buffalo hunt. After that 2017 hunt, I realized I just do not shoot that rifle well enough to take it on future dangerous game hunts. Some of that is practice related, I'm sure, but I'm just way more comfortable with a bolt gun. When I booked this year's coming elephant hunt, I pulled the Lott back out of the safe, fitted it with a B&C-sourced stock (same as the CZ Aramids) and mounted a Kahles Helia RD on an AHR QD mount for the front bridge. With Wayne no longer performing conversions due to the volume of custom builds he currently has, the rifle was sent to Matrix Gunsmiths in Colorado (trained and endorsed by Wayne) for an Upgrade 2. I'm hoping to christen this rifle on bull elephant and hippo in early May in Zimbabwe, loaded with CEB 500gr Safari Solids and 470gr Safari Raptors.

.300 Win Mag, .375 H&H, .458 Lott (top to bottom)
View attachment 511187

The .458 in better light:
View attachment 511188

I will not exchange my Lott for anything! I load it with Vihtavouri N 530 and get 2300 fpt's with a 500g DGX Bonded bullet and it hits on the spot. Still space left to hear the powder when you shake the cartridge. It's a CZ 550 and it's lighter wight than my CZ 550 in .375 Enjoy your trip to ZIM