CZ 550 Standard

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 Standard Rifle Review

CZ 550 is a civilian bolt-action rifle designed after the famous 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 larger, 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 one. It comes equipped with a single set trigger which can be pushed forward to reduce trigger pull. CZ 550 Standard houses a medium-size action. It was discontinued in 2019.

CZ 550 Standard

Figure 1: CZ 550 FS .308 Win. Source: https://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=479562

CZ 550 Standard is chambered for the following calibers:

.22-250 Rem.
.243 Win.
6.5x55 SE
.270 Win.
7x57
7mm Rem. Mag.
7x64
7.62x51 NATO300
.300 Win. Mag. (Medium Lux, Hunter or Ultimate Hunter Only)
.30-06 Spr.
.308 Win.
8x57 JS
9.3x62

Caliber choice depends on the variant.

CZ 550 Standard is available in the following variants:

Standard
Scandinavia
Minnesota
Lux
Medium Lux
American
FS
Battue Lux
Varmint
Varmint-Laminated
HA 550 Hunter

Most CZ 550 variants 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 Standard

Figure 2: CZ 550 .308 Win. receiver

CZ 550 Standard

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 Standard are the following:

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

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 Standard are the following:

Brno ZKK 600
Brno ZKK 601
Brunner 19
CZ 557 LA
CZ 537
CZ 555
Brno ZG 47

Our recommendations for mounts

Fixed mounts

We recommend this steel one-piece mount from Kozap, a company which is also from the Czech Republic, so this mount is a great fit for a CZ rifle.

Detachable repeatable mounts

We recommend this steel one-piece repeatable INNOMOUNT mount since it is of good quality and slighty cheaper than the rest.

Picatinny rails

We recommend this rail because it is made of steel, the same material as the rifle receiver and is relatively inexpensive.

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