Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Surprised at CZ550 prices!

I think Ruger is a fine rifle, I'm just simply a fan of CZ. I will agree however that they are pricing themselves into a whole other market group.

A CZ 550 is a decent $400 rifle, but it's not a $800 rifle. I bought a CZ 550 american in 30-06 few years back when I had my FFL, $375 wholesale if I remember right. Out of the box I have to admit I wasn't too impressed, the stock needed about a pound more wood taken off of it and a decent finish instead of the stuff they stained it with. I wasn't impressed with the set trigger, too complicated and unneeded on a hunting rifle, and the supplied scope rings looked like they were only half finished, very rough. It shot okay, 1.5" groups, but no better than most out of the box bolt actions. It's not a mauser but has a lot of mauser features. A true M98 action is more desirable in my opinion. All in all I didn't hate it but it didn't impress me that much. A decent working rifle but nothing to get all wet about. I wouldn't look twice at one for $800, there are much nicer rifles out there for that money.

The CZ 550 is "not a Mauser"?

Anyway, I too got mine about 7 years ago for $400. Action is very smooth (jeweled bolt) and trigger is good for a factory rifle...shoots great too.

Wood is nothing to write home about though there might be some good figure hiding under that thick finish!

It is my only hunting rifle but I can't imagine $800 for one...I doubt I'd pay that much for any hunting rifle. Heck even Savage rifles are going up these days!

No, it's not. Many on these forums like to describe it as a mauser action but it's no more so than a springfield 1903 or a M70 winchester. It's got some similar features but many differences also. It's very much a stretch to say a CZ550 is a mauser action.

Depends. The Mauser 98 pretty much set the pattern for every bolt action rifle ever made after that in many respects. It was revolutionary at the time it came out. Just about any bolt action sporting rifle out there, except for something like a Blaser, can loosely be described as a Mauser 98 type action. Of course most mean by that, a 98 style CRF rifle, and some will only use that description if it's essentially identical to the original military or sporting Oberndorf Mauser 98 action. I guess we can place you in that last category.

I don't know what makes it "not a Mauser" but i always heard it describrd as a Mauser action with some "improvements". Then again I suppose that would be subjective.

I would be interested to know what the differences are?

bigsqueeze,

I know there are a lot of Ruger fans out there. I have just become soured on them. Life's too short and there are other brands.

I know Ruger makes a quality product, you just can't prove it by my history, and yes, my nephew's rifle was purchased this past spring.

So, if it's my money, I would choose CZ over the Ruger.

The main difference is probably the location and/or design of the ejector. Probably not much else.