Con Kapralos salutes the superb CZ600
In 2021 Ceska Zbrojovka, or CZ as its more commonly known, took a bold step into the future with the release of their CZ600 range of sporting rifles. Purists and aficionados of the marque mourned the end of the much revered 550, 555 and 557 as well as the smaller-framed 527 models as a ‘deal-breaker’, yet CZ had to change its rifle portfolio for the betterment of the company on a global scale.
The early 600s did include some very exciting models catering to all rifle shooting and hunting aspects. The Trail, Alpha, Ergo and Lux were some of those and, despite initial setbacks with the interchangeable barrel issue, the models have since gained a worldwide following among shooters seeking a cutting-edge firearm made to the highest quality.
The CZ600 embraced modern materials in its design yet their only ‘traditional’ rifle, sporting a walnut stock and blued metalwork, was the European-flavoured Lux. It was quite continental in design and features and not at home in one of CZ’s biggest markets, the US. The company had to do something about this and introduced the CZ600 American. A traditional hunting rifle made with that market in mind with a clean, straight stock devoid of cheekpieces or Monte Carlo combs, as well as an uncluttered barrel with no iron sights to get in the way of your optics. The CZ600 American was destined to be a hit in the US, not to mention another market where similar rifle tastes abound: Australia.
CZ importer and distributor Winchester Australia sent Australian Shooter a demonstrator model CZ600 American in .308 Win along with a Meopta Optika 5 riflescope. Initial impressions of the rifle were positive, with the handsome Turkish walnut stock adorned by some fancy Fleur-de-Lys checkering and the barrelled action in a nice matte black, anti-corrosion finish. The review rifle (bare) weighs 3.36kg and measures 1025mm with ‘The American’ available in selected calibres from .223 Remington up to .300 Winchester Magnum.
Barrelled action
The rifle comes in three different action lengths to cover the eight chamberings offered. The receiver is milled from steel with a slab-sided profile in a black corrosion-resistant finish. The front receiver ring has a small gas port on the right side to vent away ignition gases, while the top of the receiver has a slightly rounded front ring and flat rear ring to accept Remington 700-style scope fittings.
The end portion of the rear receiver ring is scalloped, which is more aesthetic to blend in with the bolt shroud, while the left side carries the CZ insignia, rifle model and country of manufacture. Removing the barrelled action from the stock, the front split receiver ring and barrel retaining screws are easily evident, though it must be stipulated barrels can only be replaced by Winchester Australia approved gunsmiths and are not available on the open market.
The barrel itself is of a semi-heavy No.3 contour profile and made by cold-hammer forging. In the review rifle it’s chambered in .308 Winchester and 510mm long, finished in the same corrosion-resistant black as the receiver and well matched against the dark woodwork. The 1-in-10 rate of twist is well suited to most popular .30-calibre bullet weights, while the muzzle is threaded M15x1 and accepts any devices the user deems fit.
Bolt
This is of a 60-degree throw which seems to be standard fare these days. However, the lug design is akin to the Weatherby Mk.V with two rows of lugs making up a total of six to provide rock-solid lock-up. The bolt’s also easy to disassemble for ease of maintenance without any special tools and while I don’t know how many hunters would regularly strip a bolt, the process is straightforward if required. One unique feature of the bolt is it’s of a controlled round feed (CRF) design. It’s not a Mauser 98 but engineered to employ a small claw extractor, with the bottom-facing lug being milled back to allow a cartridge case to slide up against the bolt face when it leaves the detachable box magazine.
The ejector in the bolt-head is held in recessed position by a spring until the bolt is pulled all the way back, when the ejector protrudes from the bolt-face and flicks the cartridge well clear of the ejection port. The bot-handle is profiled nicely and comes to the hand well with the walnut knob a nice touch. The bolt-shroud completes the assembly and is tapered to flow in with the rear tang and design of the safety mechanism. The bolt release is a departure from the norm in that its on the right of the receiver just in front of the bolt-handle notch and simply pressing the tab when drawing the bolt back removes it with ease.
Trigger and safety
Safety on the CZ600 (including the American) is of a vertical tang design. It’s been done before on numerous rifles and basically involves a safety mechanism with buttons on top of the tang and bottom, just behind the trigger-guard. To place the rifle in ‘safe’ the button is pressed up from the bottom and to ‘fire’ is pressed down from the top. I found this design somewhat challenging to use, as a linear toggle safety behind the bolt notch (integral to the trigger design) would be preferred by many. Its CZ’s call to make something a bit different and they can’t be faulted for that.
The trigger on the other hand is magnificent, super-easy to adjust with a small Allen key to any of four pre-set positions through the small dial on the base of the trigger unit (in front of the trigger blade). Its single-stage design with miniscule take-up and overtravel is one of the best I’ve used in recent times on a factory-made rifle.
Magazine system
This is of a detachable box design, made from polymer and housing the rounds in a double-stack manner. In .308 Winchester calibre it holds five rounds and works perfectly, clipping into place easily and sitting flush with the underside of the stock. The release button is also smartly designed, as it allows the magazine to be locked into place by sliding the flat knurled button forward. Pressing the button once it’s locked into place won’t do anything, another nice touch by CZ designers.
Stock
CZ have always made excellent walnut stocks and the one on the 600 American ticks all the boxes. American means no unsightly cheekpieces or Monte Carlo combs, just a handsomely profiled stock made to shoot and hunt with the aid of an optic. The walnut on the review rifle did show some lovely figure under the darker coloration, which may have been part of the lacquer finish. That finish, while excellent for sealing and protecting the wood, is easily marked with those marks appearing white in colour.
The rifle wasn’t short of the odd mark or scratch, with one fairly serious ding in the butt-stock done prior to us receiving it. Lacquer finish aside the ‘fleur-de-lys’ checkering pattern adorning the stock was superb, giving the American that classic hunter rifle look. The recoil pad is also done well with a 20mm Sorbothane unit fitted along with QD sling-swivel studs.
Internally, inletting of the stock was flawless in typical CZ fashion. A steel brace just behind the magazine box cut-out lends additional strength, while an alloy bedding plate forward of the magazine cut-out provides an excellent platform for the barrelled action. If only the stock was oil-finished rather than lacquered it would’ve done justice to the gun’s aesthetics.
At the range
The CZ600 American in .308 Winchester was matched to a brilliant optic in the Meopta Optika 5 in 4-20×50 magnification. While the overall weight of the combination was a tad over 4kg, it still had an excellent feel in the hands and would make an ideal general purpose hunting outfit for stalking and shooting from a stationary position.
The rifle was given a thorough clean before use, bore-sighted at 25m then taken out to 100m for accuracy testing with several off-the-shelf hunting loads and a handload used in my own .308 Winchester sporter. The American shot exceptionally well with all loads tested, three-shot groups averaging between 0.75-1 MOA. I’d happily recommend this one on performance in the accuracy stakes alone and, if I didn’t already have a .30-calibre sporter in the safe, it wouldn’t have made the trip back to Winchester Australia!
Who’s it for?
This is a handsome rifle which would take pride of place in any collection. Older shooters and hunters, who can recall the days when walnut and blued metalwork was the norm, will instantly appreciate the clean lines of the CZ. However folks new to the shooting sports will also take a shine to it, to break-up the stainless and synthetic monotony which seem to abound in modern sporting rifles. Kudos to CZ for the CZ600 American, a modern day re-incarnation of the classic hunting rifle.
Summary
The rifle is available in a huge range of calibres and priced around $1995 at time of writing makes it one to include on your shortlist when looking for a traditional hunting rifle adorned with walnut and blued steel. Its aesthetics and features will certainly appeal to seasoned, new shooters and hunters alike. More at www.winchesteraustralia.com.au
SPECIFICATIONS
Manufacturer: Ceska Zbrojovka, Czech Republic
Model: CZ600 American
Action: Bolt-action repeater, control round feed
Calibres: .223 Rem, .243 Win, 6.5 CM, .270 Win, .308 Win (tested), .30-06, .300WM, 7.62×39
Barrel: 510mm (20”) semi-heavy contour, chrome moly steel, cold hammer forged construction
Magazine: Detachable box, polymer, double-stack
Stock: Walnut, lacquer finish, ‘fleur-de-lys’ checkering
Trigger: Single-stage, four-position, user adjustable
Safety: Vertical tang
Length: 1025mm (review rifle)
Weight: 3.36kg (review rifle)
RRP: About $1995 (at time of writing)