Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only .375 H&H CZ550 vs. Ruger's M77 MII RSM

In .375 H&H

(not! the new .375 Ruger)

CZ550 vs. Ruger's M77 MII RSM

Opinions please. Which would those with much DG experience prefer?

Stong and weak points of each?
CZ and Ruger both have great reputations.

Has anyone owned, or possibly fired both of these rifles??

Any information would be appreciated.

i cannot help w/ the rugers...
but the cz's are EXCELLENT.

ANY over the counter mass produced rifle is a START, imo
all need to be "TWEAKED" to get full performance/personal satisfaction...

CZ's are an excellent baseline w/ a proven track record behind them

this is not to say they are not fiully capable right out of the box...

i am partial to cz.

my $.02...

X2. The CZ is a fine rifle out of the box. I am not sure what system the RSM uses to anchor the receiver to the stock, the standard Ruger angle screw system is no good. The CZ sits in the stock securely, and the accuracy shows.

Do not own a Ruger, fondled them and did not like the balance although it appears to be very well made.

Bought a CZ this winter in 416 Rigby. For me, great balance and feel. Nice finish, action needs tweaking, pretty accurate.

This winter it's going to a gentleman I know that does very good work for crossbolts, glass bedding, and action truing and tweaking.

For about half the cost of the Ruger the CZ seems like a better rifle considering they would both have needed "tweaking" after purchase.

It is a fine rifle right now, it will be a fantastic rifle after this winter.

I have a CZ-550 in 416 Rigby and the Ruger RSM in 416 Rigby and 458 Lott. I like the CZ, however it seems to me that the Rugers seem a little better built to me. Just my opinion. My CZ has a Bavarian stock and it doesn't do anything for reducing felt recoil. Both Rigby's are very accurate, shooting under an inch at 100 yards out of the box. I guess the Ruger wins for smoothness of action, although I am sure the CZ could be polished up and tweaked to be just as good.

Here is another vote for the CZ 550; I really like mine. I have no experience with Ruger rifles however.

The CZs have had some problems though. The have had a problem with stock breakage; I had mine glass bedded to prevent this. Also, shooting 500 grain bullets with mine, a Leupold scope ran out of adjustment before I could get it on at 100 yards; a Nightforce scope with a lot more adjustment solved that problem. I believe the scope problem was from improper milling of the scope mounting grooves but this problems has probably been solved by now.

I looked at both rifles a few years ago and went with the RSM and I couldn't be happier with it. Spent a total of 250.00 having the pad changed, trigger tuned and ivory front sight installed. No stock issues and very accurate. The RSM does not use the angled forend stock screw. They're both fine rifles and you won't go wrong with either one.

I much prefer the Ruger Safari model...It has all the bells and whistles you find on custom rifles, the intregal quarter rib on a custom rifle runs from $1500 to as much as $3000..The barrel band front swivel and front sight is a nice touch and expensive and the quality of the wood is normally pretty good, that is a lot of gun for the money..The CZ IMO just took too many short cuts in manufacturing....BTW, any DGR needs tweeking IMO....

I built myself a 404 on a CZ action a couple of years ago and I just didn't like the gun, it was just too bulky and rough and required a lot of tweeking to suit my needs..It just didn't cut it with me...but that is why they make fords and chevys and Winchester and Remingtons, Colts and S&Ws..so we have a choice.

Someone on one of these boards mentioned the other day that CZ was going to (or had) slimmed up the stocks on their rifles. That has been my main criticism of CZ rifles all along.

Now, can anyone confirm if CZ has put their stocks on a diet?

Thanks,

Landrum

Can't speak to the Safari models, but when I ordered my 550 American in 6.5 Swede a couple of months ago there were 2 older models on the rack in 30-06 and 300 WM to compare to and yes, the new 550 American stock has definitely been slimmed down.

Hi Puddle when do you think that occurred? I took delivery of my CZ 550 American Safari Classic in March? I don't really have anything to compare it to but my 700 BDLs in 270 which are much slimmer.

Chuck

It must have occurred sometime in 07 as my CZ had a test target dated in December. But perhaps they decided to keep the Safari models unchanged? dunno.

Oh, and either on purpose or by accident the wood on mine is quite nice. The two older rifles had what you'd expect for standard.

All in all, fit and finish was excellent, lovely to look at and lovely to hold. Shot six brands of factory fodder thru it with Federal blue box grouping an inch or better, Winchester the worst grouping two inches or more and with 2 instances of failure to feed, and the other 4 brands all grouping at or under 1 1/2". Happy camper.

Couldn't stomach those factory rings though....I went with low Talleys....

The wood on mine is nice too. So can you tell by looking if I got the older stock shape or the new one?



Thanks Puddle,
Chuck

The two older, used CZ's on the rack had blocky fore-ends where yours looks nicely rounded, like mine, even though the checkering on my stock is different.

And based on the wood figure in the pic, I'd say the upgraded wood on mine was no fluke, if that wasn't a special upgrade order.

So, all in all, even though a H&H should have a beefier stock than my Swede, I'd guess you got the new & improved version.

Thanks Puddle, I ordered some upgrades (dual crossbolts, glass bedding, high vis front sight, action job, recoil reducer and then and just asked them "to pick me out a nice one" so my total for the gun ran to just under $1200 with tax. I then had AHR do their CZ #1 upgrade, plus replaced the rear sight and put an extra recoil lug in so I do have $2k into the gun sans scope ... but I'm happy with it.

Chuck

The ruger has all the flashiness and details someone looking for a good rifle, with a little more "bling" to it. Of course there are different stocks available for the cz 550 that more or less differ the price, but the cz 550 are a basic good quality work horse. If your someone who likes a GOOD QUALITY rifle that won't fail you, and you don't have to worry about dinging it here and there, go with the cz 550. If you want a flashy rifle that will look good while hunting, get the ruger. Keep in mind that the magnum actions in the cz 550 rifles have been tested in chamberings as big as .600 overkill successfully, and are readily available from cz in rounds up to .505 gibbs, and all the nasties below it including the .500 jeffery. Cz rifles are rated for much bigger rounds than the ruger, which is one of the first things a gun buyer should observe about a maker. It is a general rule of thumb that the company offering the biggest chamberings general have the quality to accept those chamberings. Sorry for the long post, but if you want a GOOD rifle, go with the cz 550. Not that the ruger wouldn't serve you, it just seems more flashy and less sturdy a platform sold for twice the money. I have handled both.

Schewe, The quality of the action has nothing to do with "accept those chamberings" in this case. Most all the rounds that you mentioned are relatively low pressure rounds that were designed for old military mauser actions, or, for the larger rounds, the Magnum Mauser actions of the era. As to pressure, the Ruger or CZ will handle any modern safe load for any cartridge designed for a modern production action. The issue becomes the actual size of the action, as opposed to the quality. And, as I understand it, the Ruger will handle most any of those big cartridges you listed.

The stocks needed sliming for sure, but the CZ actions are very bulky, big for caliber, and they are pretty rough. I just don't like them for myself..I do like the Rugers, but in the end I am a dyed in the wool Mauser 98 fan for any DG rifle and their is no changing that.:)

Well I wouldn't doubt ruger couldn't handle bigger rounds then are available in their magnum, I know that cartridges like the .375 H&H .404 jeff, .500 jeff, .505 gibbs operate at relatively low pressures, but you still need a more powerful heavier action to handle that size round and the energy it produces. And cz uses the same types of actions in both their magnum safari and standard cz 550 safaris. I'm not saying ruger isn't bad, in fact I love ruger, and i know my opinion and experiences will differ with both than others but I just like the cz 550s.

500 Jeffery (375 H&H Conversion)
458 Lott
416 Rigby

Love them all. Never have liked the feel of a CZ. All my rugers shoot great, look great. I love the 500 with 3 rounds in the mag. Too bad Ruger didn't ever go this big.

Brad