CZ 550 STD IN 308 - YAY OR NAY?

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Re: CZ 550 STD IN 308 - YAY OR NAY?

Post by JimTom » 13 Jul 2019, 12:03 pm

madang55 wrote:Purchased one last week. 550/308. Yay? Today gave it back to the shop to send back to Winchester (supplier) I am hoping, really hoping it is OK, and they can fix it, but......the magazine will not hold a single, by itself, round. As soon as I noticed the problem I made some dummy rounds. Projectile no powder, no primer. Its like setting a mouse trap. You put the 1st round in v e r y c a r e f u l l y. If yr not careful, it just pops out. The second round goes in....no problem, 3rd 4th 5th. OK. Eject the rounds 1, 2, 3, and when the 4th is ejected, the 5th i.e. the 1st round you put in the mag, jumps out as well. If you load one round, and it stays, tap the stock and it jumps. aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrgggghhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!.
Any ideas on that one?
P.S. 550 Rings/mounts are different. Harder to get. I have ordered a rail (Also particular to the 550) so I have the choice of Weaver style rings etc.
I also own a 527/Ebony .223. I am going to have its children


Mate have a think about the Warne vertical split rings. I use them almost exclusively. I have a set on my CZ557 in .308.
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Re: CZ 550 STD IN 308 - YAY OR NAY?

Post by madang55 » 22 Jul 2019, 6:32 pm

Warnes, yes I do like them. Looking at QD's though, so I can swap between scope and red dot. have same set up on the 9.3x62. Also I meant "Weaver" style mounts to fit the pic rails.
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Re: CZ 550 STD IN 308 - YAY OR NAY?

Post by madang55 » 25 Jul 2019, 7:28 pm

Got my 550 308 back from Winchester, easy fix, magazine "lifter" was out of shape...Had instructions also which basically said, DONT BE GENTLE WHEN YOU CYCLE THE ACTION, ok, I can do that. Now we go and play.
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Re: CZ 550 STD IN 308 - YAY OR NAY?

Post by madang55 » 31 Jul 2019, 6:11 pm

madang55 wrote:Warnes, yes I do like them. Looking at QD's though, so I can swap between scope and red dot. have same set up on the 9.3x62. Also I meant "Weaver" style mounts to fit the pic rails.

The rail from EGW doesn't fit. Was told to file the corners. Did that, looks ugly. Have gone with the Warnes. Looks real good. Shoots nice as well.
Is it just me or are the actions on these new CZ's stiff as...especially when the bolt is all the way back. Feel like I want to load up some polishing compound and spend a few hours cycling the action. My 527 is the same with the Magazines, not smooth at all.
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Re: CZ 550 STD IN 308 - YAY OR NAY?

Post by JimTom » 01 Aug 2019, 7:18 am

I have used a 550 on several occasions mate and have found the same. Controlled round feed never as smooth as a push feed in my limited experience either. Pretty sure both the 550 and 527 are both controlled round feed.
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Re: CZ 550 STD IN 308 - YAY OR NAY?

Post by madang55 » 01 Aug 2019, 10:22 am

Yup
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Re: CZ 550 STD IN 308 - YAY OR NAY?

Post by Kumaabear » 02 Aug 2019, 9:55 am

I spent some time polishing the feed lips on my CZ527 magazine with wet dry and then buffing compound.
It did not make it as smooth as a push feed, but it does now feed reliably and does not jam.

I also pulled the magazine follower spring out and gently bent each coil back on its self to slightly reduce the spring pressure (don't go too far do it a bit at a time) Before this I had noticed fairly deep gouges in my brass caused by the sharp feed lips and high spring pressure adding extra friction.

(the above may be specific to just my magazine)


As far as the action goes:

I have noticed you really want to make sure that when you push forwards on the bolt you are not putting upward pressure on the bottom of the bolt knob, this will cause the bolt to tilt forward slightly and want to bind.

It took some getting used to but i just make sure when I push the bolt forward I'm also pressing down and left, its hard to describe what I mean but if you play with the action a bit you will notice that running it with this motion it suddenly smooths out. Also run it like you mean it, it likes it quick and firm haha :lol:

It will take some practice but now mine runs great, I sort of like that it has quirks to it. I also find it fun that handing it to a friend leads them to have rough feeding, yet taking it back off them I can run it slick and quickly with no issues.

I just keep in mind the following

1. Its a old world gun, old design guns often had to be run in a particular way for them to work correctly, look at any of the millsurps and loads of people have little tips/tricks/tweaks to make them run nice. The counter to this is more money spent on tighter tolerances, but that's not going to be at this price point. My FN Win M70 runs as slick or slicker than any push feed ive played with.... was also twice the price of the CZ

2. The labor that went into making the gun the old world way VS the amount they charge for them is well worth having to "tune" them to run nice in my opinion anyway.

Sorry for the wall of text.
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Re: CZ 550 STD IN 308 - YAY OR NAY?

Post by madang55 » 03 Aug 2019, 12:43 am

Best reply I've had. Cheers
p.s.
527. . I have the original 3rd mag and a 5rd. Both have "hard to feed issues" and I have thought about exactly what you have done. I might try that now, especially the springs.
I have a Rem700 in 223 and the 527. They shoot completely differently. The Rem like a 223...The 527 like a big un, but nicer to shoot than the Rem. The Rem is for sale, going cheap if anyone wants. I will get around to advertising for real later. Too many toys in the box.
550. .I will pay more attention to the way the action cycles. I think we are all spoilt when we pick up an "old" 98 action and love the smoothness. We forget that it has been worked many thousands of times already.
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Re: CZ 550 STD IN 308 - YAY OR NAY?

Post by bigpete » 03 Aug 2019, 1:54 am

Funnily enough I've never had any of the above problems in mine.......
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Re: CZ 550 STD IN 308 - YAY OR NAY?

Post by jovialjosie2002 » 19 Aug 2019, 9:32 pm

In my opinion, the reason why these cz's are soooooo much cheaper now is because word has got out about how bad the feeding issues are. My cz527 has been back to winchester 3 times.....I ended up getting a tool maker to look at it. He tried everything, polished the feed lips, played with the follower, loosened the spring, then tightened it. In the end he believes its the sharp taper on the 7.62x39 case, hence he installed a "wedge" (piece of wood shaped like a "V" wedge) at the bottom of the magazine so that the rounds would feed better. Amazingly this has worked.....however....it is sooooo stiff and rough. My Howa in 204 is as smooth as silk....I sure wish I'd bought the Howa and not the cz.
Cz also advertise the cz527 as "shoots steel case better than brass" .....I believe that this is salesman spin for "feeds brass poorly....try the lacquer coated Hornady steelcase and it will feed better"....Like other people have mentioned the bolt moves around when you are cycling the bolt....placing your thumb on the end of the bolt and your index finger on the bolt handle is the best way to close the bolt.....IN SHORT, DO YOURSELF A FAVOUR AND BUY A HOWA!!!!
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Re: CZ 550 STD IN 308 - YAY OR NAY?

Post by jovialjosie2002 » 19 Aug 2019, 9:38 pm

Do you really want to buy something made in czech or made in Japan.....there is a reason why toyota outsells skoda 100:1 in Australia.
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Re: CZ 550 STD IN 308 - YAY OR NAY?

Post by Diamond Jim » 19 Aug 2019, 11:31 pm

Wow, a heck of a lot of BRNO and CZ rifles have given great service since the end of WW2 throughout Australia and the rest of the world so they must be doing something right.

I have a CZ550 in .270Win and a CZ527 in .223Rem both are very accurate rifles. My brother has a Howa .223Rem and it's a very accurate rifle as well - he's a better shot than I and is also more diligent with load development than me. The Howa has a truly awful trigger - it's a shocker, heavy, gritty and just awful. Brother admits it but he's learned to live with it. To fix it means sending it away for a trigger job The CZ's are fully user adjustable and both are "set trigger" designs - no contest.
Quality? - I say (my opinion only and I'm biased) CZ wins hands down. Value? The Howa cost a half of what I paid for either of my CZs and does equally well at putting rounds where you want them.

YMMV, Jim
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Re: CZ 550 STD IN 308 - YAY OR NAY?

Post by Sergeant Hartman » 20 Aug 2019, 6:16 am

Umm most I'd not all Toyotas are made in Thailand
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Re: CZ 550 STD IN 308 - YAY OR NAY?

Post by jovialjosie2002 » 20 Aug 2019, 8:07 am

"Wow, a heck of a lot of BRNO and CZ rifles have given great service since the end of WW2 throughout Australia and the rest of the world so they must be doing something right."

Yes Jim you are correct....however...many of the cz's these days have problems....an interesting side note is that cz and howa cost about the same price in USA. .....here the cz is twice the price....
I cant fault the accuracy or trigger on the cz....however....as many people have stated...IT'S THE FEEDING ISSUES THAT LETS THE CZ DOWN BIG TIME!!!!!!!!!
SO MANY FRUSTRATING HOURS SPENT WORKING ON THE MAGAZINE/SPRINGS/FOLLOWERS....MANY PEOPLE END UP ACCEPTING THAT THEIR CZ IS A SINGLE SHOT...
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Re: CZ 550 STD IN 308 - YAY OR NAY?

Post by jovialjosie2002 » 20 Aug 2019, 8:09 am

Ziad wrote:Umm most I'd not all Toyotas are made in Thailand

Very good point.....however....it still has Jap quality at an affordable price.
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Re: CZ 550 STD IN 308 - YAY OR NAY?

Post by Member-Deleted » 29 Aug 2019, 12:09 pm

Thanks again for all the input fellas, good to hear all the pros and cons. So i did my 1000 hours of internet research and procrastinated too long and those CZ 550s were all snapped up by other buyers who knew a good thing when they saw it.

But, there is a God and he wants us to be happy and so I found one at another LGS for the same price but even better to me is that it is the internal mag with floorplate, not a box mag. With Queensland's sensible 'like-for-like' policy, I traded in my existing 308 for it and walked out without waiting. I took a small haircut on the trade probably but when weighed against the hassle of selling the first one, then a new PTA etc, I consider it square.

And it is beeyootiful !! The walnut is choice and first impressions handling it are that it has not been built down to a price.

I love my Howas and always will and they are shooters straight out of the box, even with the rubber Hogue stocks. But I feel like I'll be handing this one down to my son one day.
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Re: CZ 550 STD IN 308 - YAY OR NAY?

Post by Member-Deleted » 29 Aug 2019, 2:38 pm

Hmmm, new gun
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Re: CZ 550 STD IN 308 - YAY OR NAY?

Post by JimTom » 29 Aug 2019, 7:01 pm

Nice one mate. Great rifle. Enjoy.
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Re: CZ 550 STD IN 308 - YAY OR NAY?

Post by mickb » 30 Aug 2019, 8:14 am

jovialjosie2002 wrote:
Yes Jim you are correct....however...many of the cz's these days have problems....an interesting side note is that cz and howa cost about the same price in USA. .....here the cz is twice the price....
I cant fault the accuracy or trigger on the cz....however....as many people have stated...IT'S THE FEEDING ISSUES THAT LETS THE CZ DOWN BIG TIME!!!!!!!!!
SO MANY FRUSTRATING HOURS SPENT WORKING ON THE MAGAZINE/SPRINGS/FOLLOWERS....MANY PEOPLE END UP ACCEPTING THAT THEIR CZ IS A SINGLE SHOT...


Not sure I buy into "MANY PEOPLE ACCEPT THEIR CZ IS A SINGLE SHOT" . It would be a pretty huge warranty issue. I will agree CZ quality is not the same as the old brno though.

As to CZ and howa prices in the USA, CZ are still running more on average.
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