Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only CZ550 length

thinking about cutting my CZ550 magnum barrel down from 25 inches to 21 inches what do you think about that? I know velocity will drop a bit but it will balance better and be handier in the bush

I have a CZ 458 Winchester/Lott that has a 22" barrel and a B&C stock. I like the 22" but would not have an issue with it a 21".
I have some 24" larger medium/big bores, but prefer the 20-22" ones.

Finn Agaard wrote about cutting the barrel of a M70 that was 25" to make it handier. He said the eidle never handles well for him after cutting the barrel

I prefer longer barrels

It's really a matter of personal preference. I cut my CZ .375 barrel from 25 inches to 24 inches and that improved handling for me. Obviously you will lose some velocity, maybe 100 fps or so, if you go to 21 inches.

I have a CZ 550 Carbine in 30-06 that I just picked up. It has a 20.5" bbl on it. The gun is about 7.5 lbs and feels anchored when shouldered. These are really quite the solid gun and was lucky to come across it.

How long is your shotgun barrel?

My shotguns mostly have longer barrels like 26-28 inches. But for most uses, shotguns are pointed, not aimed, while rifles are almost always aimed. Longer shotgun barrels tend to swing better so shotguns designed for hunting birds or shooting clays have longer barrels.

If you were only using a big bore rifle as a close range stopper then a shorter barrel might make sense. And of course double rifles are shorter overall because of their design, even if they have 24 inch barrels.

I tend to like 24 inch barrels on my hunting rifles so I'm not generally a fan of short rifle barrels. But as I said, it's mostly personal preference and how the rifle balances for that person.

Close dangerous game hunting requires a rifle that swings weill
Balance is more important than length in my opinion.
Double Rifles have 2 barrels which adds weight for a rifle that swings wells.
If you want a short bareel rifle in my opinion it needs to be designed from the ground up to balance well with the shorter barrel length

Which cartridge is your rifle chambered for? Do you use it as a DGR at ranges of 50-60 yds or less? IME barrels shorter than 23-24” don’t make a big difference unless the rifle is very well balanced, with respect to quick target acquisition. Butt heavy short barrel DGRs don’t settle on target quickly IMHO. YMMV, but I would think through why you’re shortening the barrel.

I had Cloward shorten the barrel on my 550's in .416 Rigby and .458 Lott. In my opinion they are much handier in the bush and balance well. (I have the laminated stock on them for what it's worth.)

caliber is 458 win mag, my shot gun for birds is 26in and my coyote pump is 24in and my 30.06 is 18in but I run it suppressed and it is perfect for balance

I had a LH CZ550 converted to 458WM using a factory barrel. IMO the biggest change to handling you can make to that rifle is re-modelling the thick, heavy, unwieldy factory stock. I had the barrel trimmed to 23” but it’s the stock changes that made it more lively.

And that is why the "extra meat" is to accommodate personal fitting! Get with the program!

my 550 is the Safari Magnum Classic and does not have a large bulky stock and feels good, but just getting back from Africa 2 weeks ago I think it will get cut to 21-22 inches probably 22 to help clear brush and then look for another banded front sight

If you’re happy with the CZ banded front sight you can have it re-fitted once the barrel is shortened.

My CZ 550 Safari Cassics, 458 Win / Lott, 22" barrel, with a Bell & Carlson stock, and a Swarovski EE 1-6x24mm with lens covers:
weighs 9 lbs 12.4 ounces on my scale. Not a lightweight by any means. It seems to handle pretty well to me.

To me, the synthetic stock feels a bit trimmer than the standard factory walnut.

I’m having a smith cutting a 35 Whelen and a 375 to 20.5”. They will be wearing a suppressor. I hope that’ll work out ok. I will try it both ways. I hope to have them all set for this fall.

Two of my most used rifles have 20" barrels, 375 & 416 Rugers.
I am giving serious consideration to trimming a 24" 458 Winchester to 21".

I’m having my 35 Whelen and my 375 Whelen AI cut back to 20.5”, but they’ll be threaded for a suppressor. I’m anxious to try them suppressed.

depends on the barrel contour