CZ 550 American 7x57

Saw this beauty this morning at a local shop, & just loved the way it looked & felt on the shoulder. Have been wanting a 550 to sort of round out my CZ armory, but admit I didn't know much about the caliber, or whether the price was right. Did a little homework over lunch & decided the caliber was just right, & the price was quite good. So back to the LGS I went...

It's stamped with an 11, but was being sold as new, so I was a bit confused. It sure looked new, but where had it been for 5-1/2 years??? Guy at the shop didn't know & the owner is out of town, so he went back & got the box. Sure enough, the test target is from August 2011. Bolt & rings were still sealed in their wrapping, & all the paperwork was there, including a blank warranty card. Guy said it had only been there a couple days. Head scratcher, but no matter as I was going to buy it anyway.

Fit & finish are really good, barrel is well floated back to the receiver. 4 $1 bills slide easily, 5th gets snug. Good thing, that's all the bills I have .

Toy fund is seriously depleted, so it'll have to wait a while for it's own scope. Gives me some time to think about what I want to put up there. Meanwhile will "borrow" one from another rifle so I can get it to the range.

Think it'll look really good with a Leupold/Redfield/Weaver something or other, & one of the leather Rhodesian slings (a darn good shooting aid, btw) like I put on the 527.

Thank you for all the replies.

Will likely handload for it to get a bit more than most factory ammo can offer. Though I'm sure even the weak factory stuff is plenty adequate for whitetail, assuming a decent bullet.

It does have the single set trigger, which I'm familiar with from my 527M in 7.62x39. ~4 lbs & a good bit of creep out of the box, but I adjusted last night since the action was out of the stock for cleaning & waxing. Just a few minutes of adjusting yielded 35 ounces, no creep, little overtravel, & a nice clean break... just how I like a hunting trigger. 16 ounces when used as set trigger.

I do get the arguments for the practicality of .270 Win, .30-06 Sp, 7mm-08 Rem etc. Effective, versatile, & widely available cartridges, no doubt. For my usage scenarios, though, I have practical rifles/chamberings well covered.

.357 Magnum - Widely available ammo in an assortment of weights/configurations. I reload for this round, & Titegroup + 158 grain coated lead round nose bullets = really cheap shooting (very nearly as cheap as .22LR) with very little recoil. W296 + XTP or FTX bullets = short range whitetail hunting. My kids love this one.

7.62x39mm - Widely available ammo, most of it cheap. Hornady steel case SST gives me repeatable sub-MOA groups with enough energy to be effective on whitetail beyond the distances I'm ever likely to shoot in the thick mid-south woodlands I hunt.

.22LR - Widely available ammo now that the drought is past. Have enough on hand that I'll never be without (learned my lesson). Small game, plinking, marksmanship training.

This rifle is more of a luxury than a need. Don't get me wrong, it'll get used plenty, but will not rack up a super high round count. What I wanted from the "next" rifle that turned out to be this one:
- Good for whitetail (check)
- Good for potential black bear or elk hunts that may or may not ever materialize (check)
- Some very non-practical traits that I didn't demand when purchasing other rifles; beautiful walnut stock, great fit & finish, & something that makes it somewhat unique or interesting (check, check, & check)

Cool factor is rarely a consideration, but it was this time. Wanted something that made me say wow when I saw it & handled it.

Factory ammunition isn't that scarce; Google showed me plenty of it in stock from online sources, ~$0.80 to $2.00+ per round depending on the flavor. Whole 'nother story I guess, if you live where mail order ammunition is forbidden. No such restriction here in the commonwealth. A far cry from the factory options available in .270 Win, but also a far cry from .218 Bee.