Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles CZ 550 LH in .375 H&H??

Friends,

I was (just this afternoon) offered a "barely used" & MINT CZ-550 Left-Hand rifle in .375 H&H Magnum, with as handsome of a walnut stock as I've seen on a factory rifle in quite some time.
It's offered at an "attractive discount" off what I've seen these advertised for on the www sites like www.gunbroker.com.
(The current owner won the rifle in a gun-club raffle in JAN18, took it onto a range in Hayes County, TX & simply says, "It kicks way too much for me. I shot it exactly 4 times." - - - - The 4 empty cases are in the box with the unfired rounds.)
The "deal" includes a nice hard-side aluminum alloy/fitted case.

I would be pleased to hear of the experiences of members, who own & hunt with the CZ-550 in .375 H&H, as I'm planning a hunting trip to southern Africa next Fall & can afford another rifle W/O putting a cramp in our budget.
(I've never owned a rifle in a caliber heavier than my treasured 9.3x62mm, Model 760, Remington pump-rifle.)

yours, tex

some years ago i was going bison hunting, and had a new excuse for a rifle, the cz550 375H&H. A scope was attached and it was right on holding a good group right away. I think it is well made. BUT, mine did not come with a cross bolt through the wood under the reciever. They do now. And by bad luck the rifle was leaning up against the wall and fell over cracking the stock. It had been fired maybe 15times. CZ blew me off on stock replacement, so i have that big beautiful stock you mentioned cracked, in the garage someplace.
I replaced it with a fiberglass stock and had it bedded.
But i still have a grind towards cz for their response on the stock. I think under that beautiful finish, the wood is cheezy.

I owned its predecessor, the BRNO 602, in 375 H&H and it was a fine rifle. The current version is a well proven rifle the world over. What would you be hunting with it?

EdM,

Cape Buffalo (and perhaps should I decide to go hunting in AK) the bigger bears & moose. = Oddly, my lady asked me the same question, as I already have the 9.3x62mm.

yours, tex

RoninPhx,

The rifle that I've been offered has TWO through stock bolts, so my guess is that CZ was having a common problem with their stocks cracking.

yours, tex

I have only handled them but I would say yes definitely buy it. Only complaint is they are fairly heavy not unlike the M70 375 as they were designed for larger cartridges. The price seems to be going up and I think they may be on a limited schedule for production. I wish I was in the market as I would jump on it immediately. It would make for a nice mismatched pair the M70 and CZ both in 375.


Once you recoup from your trip I would send it off to AHR and have them do their magic on it. After which it would be an heirloom rifle.

Tejano,

Pardon my ignorance (after googling "AHR" & finding nothing "firearms related") but I don't know that abbreviation. Would you care to explain??

yours, tex

American Hunting Rifles

http://americanhuntingrifles.com/upgrade-your-cz/

I had an AHR 9.3x62. AHR does a great job, prices have gotten pretty high.

The CZ is a solid gun, although a bit on the heavy side.

DF

AHR 9.3x62

Dirtfarmer,

Your stock has more stripes than the average tiger. = NIFTY.

The one that I'm considering has what looks like CROTCH grain, with swirls/whorls/stripes, too.

I plead GUILTY AS CHARGED to liking GAUDY-striped stocks.

AHR's prices are TOO STEEP for me.

yours, tex

Me, too.

I traded for this AHR, later traded it for something else.

It was a great shooting, slick looking rifle. Just a tad heavy, which is OK for shooting full house 9.3x62 loads off the bench, just not that slick to carry all day and too pretty to get in the briars.

DF

Dirtfarmer,

You traded off that PURTY thing???

NOT me. = IF I buy the CZ 550 LH, my daughter can figure out what to do with it when I'm dead & gone.

yours, tex

If the weight works for you buy the rifle and you will be happy I am sure. My BRNO was lighter than the current 550. My current 375 H&H is a tweaked SS M70 in a Brown Pound'r stock and has been to Alaska for brown bear and will head to Burkina Faso come February for buffalo and roan. I load the 270 gr TSX for it. Buy it and plan the hunts...

New owner is very happy, loves the gun.

In the trade, I got a Bobby Hart 7-08 M-700, now in a Hunters Edge. It's my go to WT rifle at the moment.

Of course, it wasn't an even trade.

DF

your comments are part of the reason for the beef against cz. I think they were well aware of the problem but just didn't want to deal with it.
I like cz products in general particularly their handguns.

RoninPhx,

It also could be that the delay in fixing a problem was what is called "bureaucratic paralysis". - The mistake in the first few cracked stocks was NOT immediately replacing the stocks & THEN figuring out if it was one lot of bad wood or a commonplace problem.
(YES, I know it's NOT a firearm but in 1970 I bought a VW Beetle, in West Germany, that the dealer couldn't fix permanently. - After several return trips to the dealer & providing me another new car to drive each time, the dealer refunded my $$$$$$ & I later learned that the car was returned to the factory for a tear-down & diagnosis.)

yours, tex

I had a BRNO 602 for a while. I never hunted it but it was a superb piece of gear, as was my CZ 550 American in 9.3x62. Neither was the smoothest action that I've ever used, but they slicked up nicely after I cycled the bolts a few hundred times and both were very accurate.

A proper Mauser in 375 is never wrong, so I'd grab this one if the price is right. I'd grab it even faster if I were left-handed, since left-handed CRF actions are so darned scarce. I also think that CZ is moving away from the 550 action, so this rifle is likely to increase in value.


Okie John

I have the CZ 550 in 375 H&H (right hand). As already stated it is a club, but never been hampered by it. Mine shoots great and action works pretty well for not having anything done with it. Last summer I loaded it to the gills (5 down, 1 up) and emptied it in about 20 seconds. No issues with feeding, binding or me short-stroking it.

Being heavy like it is, it's pretty comfortable to shoot. I can do a range session on the bench and go through a box of shells and shoulder never really gets sore.

Heeler,

THANKS for your report. - Sounds FINE to me.

Fwiw, I've decided to buy it BUT he & his wife are out of town & the DIL says that she doesn't know when they'll be back from LA.

yours, tex