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CZ550 in 6.5x55 Swede...Anyone ever have or had one? Looking at a new one and it looks sweet! What do the experts say....

I have the full stocked version in 6.5X55. It is a fantastic shooter and as solid as a rock! In fact, the only complaint I have about it is that it is too heavy. Compared to its 'grandfather', my Brno 22F, it's downright clunky. There is a guy that will put your CZ550 on a diet by slimming down the stock considerably, but I don't dislike the weight badly enough to pay the $300 or so that he charges.

I believe CZ made a serious error when they discontinued the 550s.

Not a gun writer but ....my 2cents FWIW since I do have experience.

Exact rifle and cartridge I picked for my Dad after he finally agreed he needn't take the punishment of his 7 mag.
He had shot my 270 CZ550 and liked it. His has some wonderful walnut and he adored the rifle.
Both his and mine shoot everything you feed it well. Can tweak that to excellent- but nothing it has been fed shot what I would term "poorly". Super consistent rifles. His is a more limited sample since he used store bought ammo.
They are known for usually having nice wood but it can be hidden behind a pretty tough factory finish that can make them look a bit bland if you happen to have an eye for wood.


Trigger is tight out of the box and adjustable. Neither of ours had any travel to speak of and broke crisp. Guess around 3lbs or a hair under - but never needed to tinker as I felt it perfect for the field. The set trigger makes it less needed and it is a wonder but will freak you out first time you use it. About the time you get on target and think about squeezing- 'boom'. It makes you jump but 2-4 shots later you are wearing this big S-eating grin as Dad would say. Just loving it.

It isn't a lightweight and barrel is 23.7" long if I recall. Doesn't exactly feel heavy, just not 'light' to me. A bit Old School. That is a notion the bolt reinforces with its heft and extractor. Some can be a little rough cycling. My 270 has smoothed out some but his was slicker from the get-go.
Safety works opposite of some other manufacturers.
They came with heavy rings that work fine and I never replaced. Stout and secure .

Bolt lift seems somewhat high and can get close to the scope ocular but it hasn't been a real issue.

Anyway, just some thoughts form some random guy on the forum...

Dad had one and sold it. Wish he kept it.

So Ron........did you grab that CZ or ? ? ?

Guess saying you were looking at 'NEW' 550 may have been a misnomer ?

I guess I'll be the bad guy. I had a CZ550 and it was extremely accurate. However, it was too big and bulky. It felt cumbersome. One of the reasons I got rid of it. I used it to hunt elk, but it felt unbalanced. My elk hunts are the best time to really test a rifle and weed the ones out I do not like. After shooting a couple elk, the CZ just didn't cut it. Another funny thing about CZ is a lot of them used plastic followers that did not allow for smooth feeding. They did offer a free replacement because of this. I contacted them and they sent me a stainless follower. After that, if fed much better. As for the safety, ken mentioned above that his was backwards. Mine was not. It functioned just like any American made firearm would: Push forward to fire. The CZ550 is a big action and houses bigger cartridges wonderfully, but a smaller cartridge like a 6.5x55, no I would not be on board. The one I sent packing, because of its downfalls, was a 9.3x62mm. Also, be careful of those factory triggers, they are weak and have been known to break. Ask Dirtfarmer about that. All this coming from a guy that loves the m1917 and Ruger m77. Those are both big bulky receivers, but I'd take one of those over a CZ 550 any day of the week and twice on Sunday.. The CZ 550 reminds me of a slightly more refined version of the Interarms MKX or Zastava m70. If one were so inclined they could have AHR work one over for a hefty sum. They can modify or replace the bolt handle, install a nice wing safety, install a better trigger, trim down the stock or replace with a Mcmillan or other custom stock. Basically build to suit your needs. That's the "good, bad and Ugly", as far as I'm concerned..

BSA,

My experience with CZ 550s is very different from yours--especially in 9.3x62. Bought mine 20 years ago, and the only "bulk" about it was not the action but the factory stock, which even though made of very plain walnut weighed around 40 ounces--which is far more than most American plain-grade factory stocks.

I liked the rifle well enough in other ways (especially the safety, which I'll get to later), and when the company that's now Kilimanjaro Rifles offered to restock it in very good European walnut, laminated by their process which makes the lamination almost invisible, I took 'em up on the offer. (Once showed it to a well-known country singer who's a rifle loony, and he couldn't find the lamination "joints" until I pointed them out.)
But the main thing is the new stock weighed a LOT less than the bulky factory stock, even though made of a much fancier and denser blank. With scope in steel rings, the rifle weighs 8 pounds on the nose, which I do not consider too heavy for elk hunting.

I also discovered the single-set trigger became a very crisp single-set trigger once the "unset" pull was adjusted down to 3 pounds. Have hunted with the rifle from Alaska to Africa and a bunch of places in between, and the trigger hasn't broken. Maybe I got lucky.

Also really like the safety, which on that era of 550s is a 3-position "rolling" safety on the right-hand side of the tang--which is not "backwards," and unlike the 3-position Model 70 type safety locks the firing pin when pulled back to either "safe" position. It it isn't nearly as likely to be knocked into a different position due to the much lower shape, or snag on vegetation.

AHR offered to work the action over, including installing a new trigger and Model 70 type safety, but by that time I had already hunted with the rifle enough in various places to think it over only briefly, and say no thanks.

Have also owned 550s in 6.5x55, .270 Winchester and .416 Rigby, and did find the 6.5x55 and .270 too heavy for my tastes, but had other rifles in those chamberings so didn't bother slimming or replacing the stocks. The .416 Rigby, of course, was the 550 Magnum action--which is indeed considerably heavier and bigger than the standard 550 action. Yet after I slimmed the "Bavarian" style stock down and refinished it, the rifle weighed 9-1/4 pounds, exactly the same as the famous Rigby .416 that Harry Selby used for decades in his career as PH in Africa--which I
also found to be a pretty handy weight for a "big" rifle. (I know this due to having fired and weighed the Selby .416.) Hunted with the .416 considerably in Africa, and the trigger did not break.

Edited to add that I've seen more CZ 550 Magnums in the hands of various African dangerous-game PHs in recent years that any other newer model rifle. Quite a few carry older rifles, whether doubles (some given as tips by clients), but when accompanying a friend on a Cape buffalo hunt in 2007, BOTH the PHs had 550 Magnums--one a .416 Rigby, and the other one rebarreled to .458 Express, a slightly shorter version of the .458 Lott, which is apparently somewhat popular over there.

I have a CZ 550 American in 6.5x55 SE, which is extremely accurate. Nice stock as well. Mine has a single stage trigger. My only gripe, as others have stated, is that the stock is a bit bulky and as a result the rifle is heavy. The stock could certainly do with some slimming. Overall, it's a nice CRF rifle and I would definitely buy another if I could find one.

I too like the rugers 77's over the cz 550s.

Never had an issue with cz 550 triggers in some of the most extreme conditions a bolt action could be subjected to.

But I sure didn't like loosing a bolt knob off the dmn thing, into a muskeg pond.

I don't like that threaded bolt knob on the cz 550s, and prefer the one-piece bolt of the rugers.

Also, the bluing on my handful cz 550s was paper-thin dog sht. They rusted up quick.

The rich/deep bluing on my ruger African resists rust much better than my handful of 550's ever could.

Hmm.

The first trip I took my 550 9.3x62 outside of Montana was on a spring brown bear hunt on the north side of Lake Iliamna. Can't remember if I treated the metal with some sort of miracle oil before the hunt, but probably did, as was experimenting with that in several ways around that time, when going on hunts where rust was likely. Didn't have any problem, even though it rained a lot during 11 days of hunting.

But when Serengeti offered to restock the rifle in one of their laminated stocks, I also had the metal Cerakoted--and by a professional, who applied it correctly, including heating it to the correct temperature. Have heard on the Campfire from a bunch of people that Cerakoting isn't any better than spray-paint--which is true, if it's not cured by heating.

Apparently quite a few "gunsmiths" just spray it on--but the Cerakoting on my rifle is barely worn after months spent hunting in various places around the world. The only time it was suspected of allowing any rusting was when an African PH (who was a nitwit in several ways) claimed it was rusting on a hunt in Tanzania, which edged into the beginning of the October rainy season. But the "rust" was red dust on the steel--which I proved to the nitwit by rinsing it off with water. Which is one reason I tend to get any rifles that might be used hard in wet weather coated in something to prevent any problems.

But whatever.

My CZ 550FS in 6.5x55 I bought new in 1999 for less than $500. Wish I had bought more of them, seeing what they sell for now. It is one of the most accurate rifles I own. Shoots everything well and my loads extremely well.

Didn’t buy it. Was on Gunbroker. Bought 2 ARs and a Rem 700 in 222 mag. I’m broke now!

The 6.5 Swede was cool way before the guy that thought up the 6.5 Greedmore was even a twinkle in his daddy's eye.