Okie John,
I like this thread and have asked the same questions. For me, I've decided on Mauser actions, but I like the M70's as well. Great concept.
Okie John,
I like this thread and have asked the same questions. For me, I've decided on Mauser actions, but I like the M70's as well. Great concept.
CZ rifles are like their pistols -- big, strong, heavy and in need of custom work to reach their potential. I have two .416 Rigby and one .458 Lott CZ based rifles.
Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.
Agree with this. My .375 H&H is a CZ and it's a beast, reliable but unrefined. My number one hunting rifle is a custom model 70 in .30-06.Originally Posted by GJM
Glad to help, but it’s not my concept. The idea of the general purpose rifle was probably born about ten minutes after the idea of the rifle itself. This incarnation probably comes from Jack O’Connor as much as anyone.
Midway has cheapo 9.3x62 Remington Core-Lokt ammo for about $40 per box. That’s pretty mainstream.
Herein lies the rub. As GJM pointed out, they’re borderline crude in execution. Mine was much heavier than I expected, which was nice because it soaked up recoil well. The stock was very thick throughout, and I felt that I’d be OK if I ever needed to beat down a door with it. It also had a genuine 1” Pachmayr recoil pad instead of the bogus hard rubber stock extension you find on a lot of guns, which was very nice.
In my rifle, CZ fiddled with the design somewhat. Earlier CZ’s kept the main spring in place on the firing pin with a knurled nut. But in an unannounced change, CZ replaced the knurled nut with a C-clip. The vibration of firing caused the C-clip to work its way down the firing pin, gradually lessening spring tension until the rifle failed to fire. I discovered this just as I had fired two shots and dropped two feral cattle. I cycled the bolt and got a click instead of a bang, which is every bit as loud as we’ve been led to believe. I couldn't figure out what was wrong, and had to finish the hunt with a Winchester 1895, which I despise. I had to lean on CZ USA to get them to make it right, but they went back to the old way and I’ve heard no more complaints about this issue.
Some people worry that the trigger is overly complex, and they may be right, but I never had problems with mine.
Okie John
Okie John, your PM box is full.
I've eyed that little CZ550 Kevlar Carbine in 9.3X62 pretty hard. It seems like it would be a handy little rifle and it's nice that it already has irons mounted and a shorter barrel. The only reason I've resisted the temptation to buy is I've found .308/30-06 to do what I need it to do (this includes taking Moose, Elk, buffalo(american not cape), and Hog as well as numerous large exotics)and I tend to practice a lot more with them due to availability.
Tikka T3 Hunter or Forest. Or, depending on how much you want to spend, the Sako which is the company that manufacturers the Tikka.
.30-06 will dispatch any of the game mentioned.
US Navy Veteran
1961-1965
I don't know if I'd go that far. It's still pretty rare in the US, if only because it's far more gun than 99% of American hunters need. Average Joe isn't going to go grab some arcane German safari cartridge to go hunt Bambi, and the 9.3x62 isn't exactly a long-range cartridge by any stretch of the imagination. It's good for its intended role, which was short-range (i.e. <200y) do-it-all-reasonably-well killing of African game for the German colonial farmer who can't afford multiple guns, much less a fine English double in a heavy caliber. In the US, it's the opposite. The 9.3 is a niche gun here, and while I think it's an excellent bear/moose/elk cartridge and certainly workable for deer in some situations, it'll never compete with the '06 as an all-around, do-anything North American cartridge. You don't need the 9.3's heavy bullet in the US other than in those niches, and so the '06 is a far more versatile choice, available in nearly identical-sized guns with the same magazine capacity.
The .375 H&H was developed specifically to compete with the 9.3x62mm, and surpassed it in popularity long ago, despite the lower magazine capacity and requirement for a magnum-length action. The 9.3 is still common and well-liked in Europe, but the US has different needs and different preferences, and I doubt the 9.3 in any form will become as ubiquitous as the .308 or '06. That said, seeing Hornady, Federal and Remington making factory loads is a great thing, and all the major projo makers offer good bullets (Swift A-Frame, Barnes TSX, etc).
For cheap practice fodder, I've stuck with Prvi Partizan. I'm re-using the cases with their projos for even cheaper practice fodder. When it's time for my safari, I'll use some of the once-fired cases I've hoarded along with some Barnes TSX projos and take them.
That said, I really do like it. It kicks like a heavy-bullet '06 and kills like a .375 H&H. I've been using it in the local safari matches (next one's on Sunday 29 March if anyone in the area is interested) and I've won the last three, mostly because I never have to reload on a 5-round stage and I'm shooting a gun/ammo combo capable of MOA accuracy and a 1-6x variable optic against dudes with 1880s-vintage black powder double rifles and iron sights.
I'm not much of a rifleman so with a pound of salt; super high velocity doesn't catch my eye. Longish rifle bullets plowing along about 2200-2300 do for some reason. Probably because of my affection for the .30-30.
“Remember, being healthy is basically just dying as slowly as possible,” Ricky Gervais
The flip side is, for hunting in the mountains or on tundra, a .300WM or .270 Weatherby sure makes 300-400 yard shots easier.
Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.
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