Ok, I am looking into getting a CZ 550 Safari in .458 Lott, and I would appreciate any input on the firearm, is it reliable? is it well made? I am purchasing this firearm for my son, as a graduation present, and I would like to know how it fares, before I spend the money on it. Thanks in advance.

I havn't looked at the 458 Lott, but did check out one of the Safari 375's at a gun shop in Spokane, WA a few months ago. It was a really nice gun for the price.

I've got two CZ's, a 527 Varmint in 204 Ruger and a 452 Lux 22 long rifle. Both are just excellent. Accuracy is superb with both of them and my old hunting partner was so impressed with my 204 that he just bought one just like it.

My personal opinion is that the CZ rifles are the sleeper bargain of the year.

The guys on accurate reloading have been talking about the stocks splitting, and needing to add bedding and recoil lugs on the big calibers. Nothing that can't be dealt with, but you need to take a brand new product and alter it...

Ruger makes a big bore bolt action, and I have a Ruger #1 in Lott. Work great.

ShootersChoice7,
I can't speak to the CZ's, but I do have Ruger RSM in 458 Lott. I haven't weighed the rifle, but guessing 10-10.5 lbs. And even at that, it's a tough one to pull the trigger on. What does the CZ weigh in that chambering?

I've heard a lot of good about the CZ's, and with them offering the 505 Gibbs and other stout kickers, you'd think they'd have stock issues worked out. The Ruger is going for $1700+ I believe; what is the CZ going for?

That would be a nice present! ;)

ShootersChoice7,
I can't speak to the CZ's, but I do have Ruger RSM in 458 Lott. I haven't weighed the rifle, but guessing 10-10.5 lbs. And even at that, it's a tough one to pull the trigger on. What does the CZ weigh in that chambering?

I've heard a lot of good about the CZ's, and with them offering the 505 Gibbs and other stout kickers, you'd think they'd have stock issues worked out. The Ruger is going for $1700+ I believe; what is the CZ going for?

That would be a nice present! ;)

Shawn, here the CZ's are going for $770. I keep looking at their 550 in .375 H&H or the FS in 30-06.

Shawn, here the CZ's are going for $770. I keep looking at their 550 in .375 H&H or the FS in 30-06.

That's certainly one strong incentive for the CZ...half the cost!

Everyone of the 550 Safari's I've looked were simply beautiful and compare to almost any rifle I've seen for twice the price. I don't know about any cracking problem, but If I bought any bigbore I'd sure get in and piller bed and glassbed it prior to doing any serious shooting.

I do that always to my center fire hunting rifles after I've checked what they do at the range out of the box. Most times glassbedding will bring an average of 10 percent better accuracy and sometimes much more.

I recently picked up a CZ .458 WinMag while on va-ca in Alaska. Topped it with a Leupold 2.5x compact, have found that it shoots very well. Have about 85 rounds through it now and no sign of any cracking. A friend who has an identical rifle did have the cracking issue when he ran the first box of ammo through it; glass-bedding and adding an additional crossbolt seemed to cure that. Overall it is a well-made and accurate rifle; I would buy more in a heartbeat.
Mark

Is your son going on safari? A 458 anything is pretty stout.