CZ 550s

Kalahari

Well-Known Member
Really just idle curiosity because it came up in conversation but did the CZ 550 action come in various lengths. I always thought that they came in one length and the bigger magnum action but I recently heard different. There must be a proper rifle builder on here who genuinely knows!



Many thanks,



David.
 
the 527 action are the shorts, 222, 223, hornet, etc.
there was a predecessor to the 527 which was the ZKW 65, mostly seen in 22 hornet,, and was designed as a bigger brother of the brno mod 2 22lr
the 550 is the medium action which caters for everything such as 243 through 30-06
the 550 magnum caters for the magnums up to 505gibbs

the 537 was a short lived version of the 550

the zg47 was the predecessor to the zkk which again is a medium/long action and was a true mauser 98 before the zkk was designed

the 21e/h and 22e/h were the brno predecessors to the zg47 then zkk, and were true mauser 98 actions

of course the 22's were mod 1, mod 2, mod 5 (short lived series), followed by the new modern versions of course

of course the VZ33 and VZ34 were true brno m98 actions of course but were military production

the G33/40 (VZ34) was the M98 action with the weight reducing cuts and was only around 20,000 units produced for the mountaineering troops

Of course brno made military M98 actions on contract for many countries, the best were the one's made for the Persian army

that's a very quick summary and with holes and gaps of course, but 'in summary'...
 
the 527 action are the shorts, 222, 223, hornet, etc.
there was a predecessor to the 527 which was the ZKW 65, mostly seen in 22 hornet,, and was designed as a bigger brother of the brno mod 2 22lr
the 550 is the medium action which caters for everything such as 243 through 30-06
the 550 magnum caters for the magnums up to 505gibbs

the 537 was a short lived version of the 550

the zg47 was the predecessor to the zkk which again is a medium/long action and was a true mauser 98 before the zkk was designed

the 21e/h and 22e/h were the brno predecessors to the zg47 then zkk, and were true mauser 98 actions

of course the 22's were mod 1, mod 2, mod 5 (short lived series), followed by the new modern versions of course

of course the VZ33 and VZ34 were true brno m98 actions of course but were military production

the G33/40 (VZ34) was the M98 action with the weight reducing cuts and was only around 20,000 units produced for the mountaineering troops

Of course brno made military M98 actions on contract for many countries, the best were the one's made for the Persian army

that's a very quick summary and with holes and gaps of course, but 'in summary'...
That was interesting.
 
The 550 action length is the same for 30/06 and 308 ie no short actions but the bottom metal varies especially in the detachable magazine models.
 
The 550 has only ever been available in two sizes, the "medium" and the "magnum".

CZ changed the medium action 550 to 557 in 2012. The 557 (push feed) is quite different to the 550 (controlled feed). The 550 is now only available in the big boy cartridges.

This is today's range:

CZ 527 is the micro action centrefire. Small and lower power cartridges.

CZ 557 is now the "standard length chamberings" medium action, a catch-all for the traditional short and long action non-magnum centrefire cartridges.

CZ 550 is now only the "magnum" action, which is actually the traditional 'safari' big and dangerous game cartridges.

There is a comprehensive reference online somewhere that details all the old models under the 550 badge, probably on the CZ USA forum. Some of the older 550s had an internal magazine that was specifically sized to the cartridge, others had a generic sized magazine, and others had a detachable magazine. Bit of a hotch potch. But all the standard non-magnums had the same "medium" action.
 
I’ve had 550’s in my hands before that were chambered for the 6.5x55 , 375 H&H , 416 Rigby and 505 Gibbs and I honestly can’t say the length was any different . If they were all here at the house I’d compare , but since they aren’t I can’t !
 
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