Thoughts on the CZ 600 Series?

[skydiver386]

Not a fan of the new 600 series.

The first 600 I was able to handle was last spring at the local SCI banquet where several of various calibers were being auctioned or raffled off. Fit and finish was decent, but the sights were the worst I'd ever seen on a factory rifle. Not only is the rear sight to far forward on the barrel, the front sight looks like the idea of a couple of 8th graders in shop class.

Everything about the magazines were not worthy of a CZ product.

The stock design and checkering were not to my liking, but obviously a European styling was what they thought would sell.

I find the old 550 receiver design and scope mounts preferable to the round top, but to be fair both had advantages and disadvantages.

The controlled round feed and magnum length action will be missed more as time goes on, but for non DG calibers a crf is fine for most.

The shorter barrel puts it in the carbine class in my opinion. A 24in barrel should be standard, possibly longer in magnum calibers. I know a lot of companies are going to shorter barrels, but to me these are only valuable if they are threaded and intended for use with a suppressor.

I was able to fire one and can't say I was impressed with the trigger or the accuracy. Most of the bottom end Savage and Ruger rifles would produce better accuracy than the one I was able to shoot.

I had made my mind up over a year ago that I wanted a new rifle in 30-06, and the CZ was one of the first that I wanted to look at. My budget was 3k, and I looked at every rifle new and used and ended up with this NIB CZ550.

 

[ZG47]

Do they make blunt 223 bullets? Asking for a fiend.

Flat nose probably stops at 6.5mm. It was quite an effort for Norma to produce a PPC (later rebranded as Vulcan) projectile of such a small diameter. Sierra makes a 60 gr round nose. I suggest that the 'fiend' looks at Hornady, RWS and Norma selections before going deep into the internet search 'weeds'. Do they need to come in boxes with an image of the 'horned one' given that he/she is a fiend?

 

[mark-hunter]

Is the 600 really a step down over the former 557?

In my opinion, yes.
557 had a dove tail as a scope basis, 600 does not have.

 

[HWL]

Not worth to have a look at....
American market gets what it deserves...

HWL

 

[MS 9x56]

Not worth to have a look at....
American market gets what it deserves...

HWL

Unfortunately true. If we stop buying cheap junk we may start getting quality guns again. But as long as they sell, suppliers keep making junk.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

It is one thing to design a hunting rifle that is cheap to make ... as long as it still looks like a "normal" hunting rifle (e.g. Remington 700 and Savage) but anyone who knows anything about hunting rifles should be able to look at one of these and know something is goofy ... without even picking it up, let alone firing it. I don't have a problem with round top receiver or push feed bolt. That's become the norm and both are functional enough. It's the other stuff that tells me this is a gun designed by someone who knew nothing about guns: too short barrel, crossbolt in wrong place, iron sights that are junk and poorly situated, etc. So I'm supposed to buy a gun that I know from looking at it is defective in design? It may be a tack driver but the odds are it's not. Poorly designed rifles are generally a recipe for headache. CZ has shot themselves in the foot badly with this "innovation." Tried too hard to fix something that wasn't broken.

 

[HWL]

CZ has shot themselves in the foot badly with this "innovation." Tried too hard to fix something that wasn't broken.

....so true!

HWL

 

[mauser98]

I have had all three, the 550, 557, and 600. Sold the 600. Personally didn't like it due to many of the reasons pointed out by other members.

Mine was accurate, smooth, the the CRF feature is neat but the 557 while a push feed, is a much nicer rifle.

In saying that. Ellwood Epps out of ontario has a mint CZ 557 in 8x57 listed on thier site at a decent price.

https://ellwoodepps.com/cz-cz-557-lux.html

 

[Northern Shooter]

I have had all three, the 550, 557, and 600. Sold the 600. Personally didn't like it due to many of the reasons pointed out by other members.

Mine was accurate, smooth, the the CRF feature is neat but the 557 while a push feed, is a much nicer rifle.

In saying that. Ellwood Epps out of ontario has a mint CZ 557 in 8x57 listed on thier site at a decent price.

https://ellwoodepps.com/cz-cz-557-lux.html

Might go take a look at this, thanks!

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Might go take a look at this, thanks!

Keep in mind those are Canadian dollars. I just bought an Envoy in Montana to replace the Jimmy that smashed the deer two weeks ago. I moved $4700 into my US checking account to cover purchase price plus $200 for a night in motel waiting for funds to arrive from my Canadian bank. $6800 Canadian = $4700 US! My butt hurts today.

 

[Northern Shooter]

Keep in mind those are Canadian dollars. I just bought an Envoy in Montana to replace the Jimmy that smashed the deer two weeks ago. I moved $4700 into my US checking account to cover purchase price plus $200 for a night in motel waiting for funds to arrive from my Canadian bank. $6800 Canadian = $4700 US! My butt hurts today.

Yup, can confirm, am Canadian.

 

[MED]

I have owned a CZ 600 Lux (.223) for a year. My friend has the same rifle but in 30-06. We have noticed many similarities. Let me start with the good things:
* A beautiful rifle at a relatively affordable price (I guess you could say 1400 EUR in Europe is now considered a really reasonable price for a rifle).
* The "controlled feed" action is suitable for hunting.
* Accurate and compact, convenient for hunting beavers, roe deer, and other small game (.223).


And now, the things I don't like:

* It's not a big deal for me, but the fact that this series had a recall is concerning. I understand the reasons, but it was a strange start for the new CZ era.
* CZ stated that these rifles have a "700 Remington footprint." But that's not true; only the screw holes for the scope rings are same with the 700REM. Moreover, the .223 has completely different hole placement. So aftermarket chassis, stocka cannot be used. Okay, no biggie, but then why overpromise?
* The walnut stock on the Lux version is nice but very, very soft. I understand that you can't expect much at that price, but the walnut on the CZ 457 series is much harder, and those aren't premium rifles either. Something is off with the wood – you can leave a deep scratch on the stock even with gentle pressure from a fingernail. And I've noticed this on several CZ 600s. After a year of use, the grip on my stock is already polished and dark black, and this isn't my most frequently used rifle.
* After removing the iron sights, four holes with exposed steel remain on the barrel. The manufacturer didn't provide anything to plug them. They quickly started to rust. I cleaned them and installed small screws (FYI: M3x3mm). Nothing tragic, but still..strange attitude from manafacturer.
* The receiver is made of very thin, I guess aluminum. Any scope ring screws will need to be filed down to prevent them from scratching the bolt. And here we come to my main complaint. When I secure the rifle in a tripod clamp (I use a BOG Deathgrip), without even overtightening it, the stock creaks. And the thin aluminum receiver yields, compresses and the bolt starts to bind. No other rifle I own (Tikka, Sauer, Blaser, Mauser, and even the aforementioned CZ 457) does this! The receiver is incredibly thin and soft. This makes me question whether it will always withstand the PSI forces generated by firing. Maybe I'm exaggerating, but I've never seen a rifle where a tripod clamp causes the bolt to bind...