Cosmoline
Member
Well I took my new CZ 550 in 7x57 Mauser out to the range yesterday to run it through the paces and sight it in. I had an array of commercial 7x57 in weights from 139 grain to 170 grain.
I had shot perhaps twenty rounds through the rifle earlier in the week, and those results were disappointing. A very scattered 4" group at fifty yards, though a gusting wind may have had something to do with it. Thankfully, after about one hundred more rounds and sighting in the rifle really improved. By the end of the day yesterday I was getting very tight groups at 100 meters. I got my very best results with Remington 140 grain and with the Horandy "light magnum" in 139 gr. The light mag got one very nice sub-MOA group of four all nearly in the same hole, which I've now pasted up in my car.
I took all my shots off the bench, but without a bench rest. The iron sights on the 550 Lux are great, but do take some getting used to. They are extremely minute, esp. compared with the rather crude iron sights found on most American rifles these days. After a few dozen rounds I was no longer having to think about the sight profile and accuracy improved.
The larger bullets of 170 grain didn't seem to do as well. I'm gearing up to handload and I hope that situation will improve, since I'd like to use this rifle for black bear and moose. I've found reports of very good results with the Barnes X in 175. Its' BC is amazingly good, as is its SD. I found some Australian bullets on Midway which also have very good ballistics. I've never failed to have dramatic improvement with handloads once I find out what the rifle likes and doesn't like.
I had shot perhaps twenty rounds through the rifle earlier in the week, and those results were disappointing. A very scattered 4" group at fifty yards, though a gusting wind may have had something to do with it. Thankfully, after about one hundred more rounds and sighting in the rifle really improved. By the end of the day yesterday I was getting very tight groups at 100 meters. I got my very best results with Remington 140 grain and with the Horandy "light magnum" in 139 gr. The light mag got one very nice sub-MOA group of four all nearly in the same hole, which I've now pasted up in my car.
I took all my shots off the bench, but without a bench rest. The iron sights on the 550 Lux are great, but do take some getting used to. They are extremely minute, esp. compared with the rather crude iron sights found on most American rifles these days. After a few dozen rounds I was no longer having to think about the sight profile and accuracy improved.
The larger bullets of 170 grain didn't seem to do as well. I'm gearing up to handload and I hope that situation will improve, since I'd like to use this rifle for black bear and moose. I've found reports of very good results with the Barnes X in 175. Its' BC is amazingly good, as is its SD. I found some Australian bullets on Midway which also have very good ballistics. I've never failed to have dramatic improvement with handloads once I find out what the rifle likes and doesn't like.
