Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa 3 position safety for CZ550

I recon I am the odd man out here, and do not reccomend this practice to others. In most cases when shooting is imminent my safety is off on approach to game. My safety is my trigger finger being out of the trigger guard until sights are covering game.

I have various safeties to deal with but since I am familiar with them, moving them from safe to fire has never held me up.

Not intending to flame anybody here, but after years of reading things like this in magazines and here, am I the ONLY one who doesnt have trouble getting accustomed to different safeties on different rifles?
Ive read and heard so many stories of the safety not being pushed off cause the shooter "forgot" it wasnt his favorite rifle, and forgot how to work the safety...
I dunno, different safeties, different rifles, hammer on lever guns, yada, yada, yada...I just never had an issue with any of them...

No, you're not alone.I've never reached for a M70 safety when shooting grouse....

I've never had problem with different safeties.

From the standpoint of shooting firearms professionally in combat, over the last 23 years, its been continually hammered into my head that you will fall back onto your training. From my experiences, this has always proved true for myself and those I've been around, you kinda go on auto pilot and quite a few things that you may give conscious thought towards when things are calm, become muscle memory and auto pilot when the gunfire begins.

I can truly see where someone like a Phil Shoemaker, who must routinely go alone into a thicket after a huge bear wounded by one of his clients, and who may have a few different rifles that he may interchange throughout the season. I can see where things can go bad really quick in such a professional situation, and I can fully understand why someone like Phil would take his many years of experience to fine tune his tackle to interchange without straying too far from the same KISS operation. I could easily see where he may fall back on his years of experience and go on auto pilot where many of the small movements throughout the shooting process are done through muscle memory. Having a different operational safety system on each bolt rifle only adds to the complication and takes you further away from KISS.

Best:)

The 550's aren't backward. Rear/Safe, Forward/Fire. My son's .22 however is bassackwards. Anybody know of a conversion?

Oops. Posted before I noticed there were a couple of more pages.

My point exactly, but better said by you. Great post.

Me too... I have used the old Brno "backwards" safeties, and so-called "standard" safeties, without problems. I don't have the same concern about the odd safeties as others.
However, I have hunted many times with buddies who muffed good opportunities because their "safety was on" - All that means is that they have very little familiarity with their gun, combined with bad habits!

Actually, with an ass backwards safety, my real concern is the opposite, ie thinking the safety is applied when its not....

I've got the Gentry safety on my 550 in .375 H&H, and would have one my .416 if he still shipped them to Canada.
Moveing the safety to the bolt opens the door to eliminateing the overly complicated set trigger, though so far I haven't bothered.

I've hunted a lot with both a 9.3x62 and .416 Rigby 550, and all I did on each was adjust the "overly complicated" set trigger to fire without being set at around 3 pounds. That eliminates the set feature.

Have shot each rifle hundreds of times, perhaps 1000 for the 9.3x62, and haven't had the slight complication from either trigger or safety, in all sorts of weather from sub-zero in Montana to wet Alaska to dry and dusty Africa.

I like the set feature on the bench,but am tired of haveing to readjust the trigger continually as it wears.How soft is that metal anyway? I'd swap to a simple model 70 type trigger if I could find one.

It's not the setting of the trigger thats complicated, its haveing 50 parts when 3 would have worked.

M70Guy,
CZ had a bad batch of trigger sears, and IIRC, they will replace them for free.
I have shot several thousands of rounds through my '06 550 with no problems what so ever.

And if you want something simpler, Timney makes a very good replacement trigger.

Well said. I have a NECG trigger on mine with the LaPour safety installed by Ed LaPour himself. Stout and simple, plus completley encased in a steel housing with just a small sear inspection window opening. I am pretty sure Ed LaPour will ship his safeties up there. Great guy to deal with as well.

Well said. I have a NECG trigger on mine with the LaPour safety installed by Ed LaPour himself. Stout and simple, plus completley encased in a steel housing with just a small sear inspection window opening. I am pretty sure Ed LaPour will ship his safeties up there. Great guy to deal with as well.

Mark,
How have you been keeping?
Both triggers sound like they are worth looking into. I'm taking the .416 to Australia in July to look for a dozen buffalo, and theres a couple of things that aren't exactly what they could be. It's not like the old girl hasn't earned a trigger and/or a safety.

I have been mostly well, save for a recent and ongoing bout with 'chronic endemic bursitis'. Got a MRI Brain Scan done today.

Have not been back to africa since that last trip with our group. Hoping to get back over there with the new wifey (you know, the one who LOVES me...) in a couple of years as in when my alimoney payments aka home improvement loan pmts go away. Thaks for askikng!
Howz about youz? Still killin lots of stuff?

Yeah, still killing stuff. Went down to Argentina in April for stags and buffalo, shot 3 of each and some other stuff, then up to Alaska for grizzly. A few more months and it's off to the Territories for muskox, then Australia for buffalo and cull buffalo in July.
Got my 1/2 mile range built, and still ordering barrels by the handful. Life's good.

Life is good indeed!

Glad to hear of things going so well for you. I hope we can hunt together again some day, I genuinly enjoy your company and conversation, you are a great hunting partner.

Merry Christmas to ya!