CZ 550 Magnum

About the CZ

CZ firearms or CZ (which stands for Česká zbrojovka) is based in Uhersky Brod, a small town in the southeastern Czech Republic. CZ has its start in 1936 as a subsidiary of CZ Strakonice, which was itself a subsidiary of Zbrojovka Brno. The arms industry was growing quickly in Czechoslovakia at the time, and Uhersky Brod was chosen since it was secluded and lay beyond the range of German bombers, which, in case of an invasion, would target the arms factories first. The factory initially mostly produced pistols and small-caliber rifles; however, when German forces occupied Czechoslovakia in 1939, the company was renamed to Böhmische Waffenwerke and was forced to make machine guns, such as LK-30 and MG-17, for the German military.

After the end of World War II, the Soviets gained control of the region and the company was nationalized by the communist government, producing air weapons, machine guns, submachine guns, motorcycle and sewing machine parts. In 1957 the company started production of the Model 58, and in 1961 they introduced the world-famous Model 61 Škorpion machine pistol. The year 1975 marked the release of yet another popular model, the CZ 75 pistol which many manufacturers have since used as basis for their own products.

CZ once again became an independent company in 1992 following the fall of the Soviet Union. In the decades after, they have continued production of a variety of weapons seizing the market of law enforcement and military firearms with service pistols, assault rifles and grenade launchers with which they also helped equip the Czech army. They have strived to widen their presence on the international markets, opening a facility for assembly and repairs of CZ pistols in Peru and spreading production of their firearms (certain models of the CZ-P10 pistol) to the United States in 2019. As of 2021 they employed around 1500 workers.

CZ 550 Magnum Rifle Review

CZ 550 is a civilian bolt-action rifle designed after the famous Mauser Karabiner 98k and was first introduced in 1997 when it replaced CZ 537. Its controlled-feed action system is made of high-grade steel and features a bolt with 3 locking lugs: two main lugs at the bolt head and a third safety lug underneath the bolt handle which acts as backup, providing further safety when the bolt locks into the receiver. The recoil notch is located under the rear mounting surface, to the left. To the right of the receiver are an emergency gas pressure release valve and a horizontal two-position safety catch, which locks the bolt and sear. The rifle features a fixed magazine for most calibers but for some it also comes with a removable magazine. It comes equipped with a single set trigger which can be pushed forward to reduce trigger pull. CZ 550 Magnum has a magnum-size action. In 2019 it was discontinued.

CZ 550

Figure 1: CZ 550 Safari Magnum .458 Lott. Source: https://sportingclassicsdaily.com/cz-550-safari-magnum-458-lott/

CZ 550 Magnum is chambered for the following calibers:

7mm Rem. Mag.
.300 Win. Mag.
.300 RUM
.338 Lapua Mag.
.375 H&H Mag.
.416 Rem. Mag.
.416 Rigby
.458 Win. Mag.
.458 Lott

Caliber choice depends on the variant.

CZ 550 Magnum is available in the following variants:

Standard
Lux
Safari Magnum
American Safari Magnum
H. E. T.

Most CZ 550 models come equipped with a 19 mm dovetail rail with a recoil notch under the rear mounting surface, to the left. The dovetail is flat on top. The exceptions here are the Minnesota and Scandinavia models which instead feature 4 mounting bores and no dovetail or recoil notch.

CZ 550

Figure 2: CZ 550 magnum action receiver

CZ 550

Figure 3: CZ 550 receiver

A: /
B: /
C: /
D: 19 mm
BHU: 0 mm
Ø: /
R1: Prisma 19
R2: Prisma 19

Which rifles have interchangeable mounts

Two-piece mounts

For two-piece mounts to be interchangeable the mounting surfaces of the rifles must match in every dimension except the action length which can vary. This is because the distance between the two pieces of the mount is not fixed. If the mount has a recoil stopper, it must fit the recoil notch on the receiver. Rifles that have two-piece mounts interchangeable with CZ 550 Magnum are the following:

Brno ZKK 602
CZ 550 Standard
Brno ZKK 600
Brno ZKK 601
Brunner 19
CZ 557 SA
CZ 557 LA
CZ 537
CZ 555
Brno ZG 47

One-piece mounts

The necessary condition for rifles to have one-piece mounts interchangeable is that the mounting surfaces of these rifles match in every dimension. Rifles that have one-piece mounts interchangeable with CZ 550 Magnum are the following:

Brno ZKK 602

Our recommendations for mounts

Fixed mounts

There is only a small choice of fixed mounts for CZ 550 Magnum, but one of the few producers that do manufacture mounts for this rifle is Kozap. Kozap is also from Czech Republic, so their Slip-on mount is a great fit for a CZ rifle.

Detachable repeatable mounts

There is no other choice than Recknagel mounts, so we recommend their One-Piece Swing mount.

Picatinny rails

There are only 2 manufacturers producing mounts for this rifle. Both are made of steel, the same material as the rifle receiver, so we recommend Rusan Picatinny rail because it is less expensive.

Help us build our riflescope mounts database

If you happen to own this or any other rifle, we would appreciate it if you could help us expand our database by sending us some photos of the rifle receiver (the bare mounting surface of the rifle without the mounts installed). For your help, our company offers a fair return in terms of practical rewards.

Please send us an email for more information. You can contact us here: info@optics-trade.eu