CZ 600 American: Classic-Styled Sporter Rifle with Modern Features

I consider myself a traditionalist, so it’s easy to understand why I like the new CZ 600 American bolt-action rifle. The gun is an example of what was once commonly called a sporter, a term that referred to “sporterizing” military surplus bolt-action rifles to make them lighter, sleeker and more appropriate for hunting.

These guns generally had wooden stocks, and on this side of the Atlantic sporters typically had straight-comb stocks instead of the hogbacks popular in Europe. Barrel diameters were trim to make the guns lighter for field use, and most sporters came with drilled-and-tapped receivers.

If you look at the current CZ 600 American, you’ll see it checks all those boxes, with its straight-comb Turkish walnut stock, relatively slim barrel profile, and a receiver set up for scope bases instead of featuring an optics rail. It was undoubtedly drawn up to mimic the popular wood-stocked sporting rifles that dominated the hunting market in the 20th century and into the early 2000s—guns like the Remington 700, Browning A-Bolt, Winchester Model 70 and Ruger Model 77. Lean the new CZ on a rack with any of those rifles, and it will look right at home.

Why would CZ build a gun that looks, well, old? And, perhaps more importantly, can a walnut-stock sporter with a relatively thin steel barrel keep pace with today’s more modern hunting rifles? The answer is a resounding yes.

Receiver Reception

Let’s begin with the receiver of the CZ 600 American. Like other CZ 600 rifles it looks very much like the push-feed actions of the Remington 700 and post-’64 Winchester Model 70, but it is not. Instead, the CZ’s bolt features six locking lugs arranged in three rows of two around the bolt head, similar in concept to Weatherby’s extremely strong Mark V action.

Also, the CZ 600 is not a push-feed design but rather a short-extractor, controlled-feed action. When a cartridge is lifted from the magazine, the rim slides between the bolt face and the extractor so the cartridge is “controlled” during the entire cycling process. It’s ejected via a round metal rod that extends through the bolt face when the bolt is retracted.

Another departure from traditional sporters is that the lugs lock into the rear portion of the barrel instead of into cutouts in the receiver. This not only improves accuracy potential but also reduces stress on the receiver, allowing CZ to use lightweight aluminum for its small-action 600 receivers.

The bolt is modern in other ways as well. The lugs are positioned so the lower lug points downward and positively engages the top round in the magazine and helps ensure reliable cycling. The extractor sits along the lower edge of the outboard lug and tosses the empty cartridge case laterally from the action so it doesn’t hang up. The rear of the bolt shroud is enclosed by a polymer sleeve, and a cocking indicator protrudes below the shroud.

Bolt-Action

Another modern feature that’s skillfully incorporated into this classic-looking rifle is simple bolt disassembly. Most shooters don’t disassemble the bolts on their Remington 700s or Winchester 70s because the process isn’t simple and straightforward. But with the CZ 600 you simply rotate the rear of the bolt, and the spring/firing pin can be removed from the bolt sleeve without tools. This is a wise feature to include, and any excuses you have for not giving your bolt a thorough cleaning have gone out the window.

Remington’s 700 was revolutionary in that it featured a cylindrical action that was simpler and easier to manufacture with tools available in the 1960s, but since the advent of CNC machining it’s now economical to build flat-bottom actions. That’s exactly what CZ has done with the 600. A flat-bottom action provides more thread engagement for the action screws to bite and makes the rifle more robust. The 600 action features dual cutouts in the front and rear of the receiver that mate with steel lugs in the stock, providing secure lockup during recoil for consistent points of impact.

The 600 American comes with either a 20- or 24-inch barrel with a threaded muzzle. Short-action rifles feature 1/2x28 threads on the barrel while the long actions have 9/16x24 threads. Much to CZ’s credit, the thread protector matches the finish and contour of the barrel. The thread cap is barely visible, as it should be, and it’s far more attractive than the oversize, industrial threaded caps found on some other guns.

CZ outfits its rifles with modern twist rates suitable for high-BC bullets. For example, the 6.5 Creedmoor I tested has a 1:8 twist.

Magazine Design

The magazine design is one of my favorite features of this rifle. Traditional sporters often had internal box magazines with hinged floorplates that were loaded through the action opening. The floorplate was released only when you wanted to dump all your extra ammunition at once, generally after you were finished hunting.

Most modern hunting rifles have transitioned to detachable box magazines such as the AICS design, and these are certainly faster to reload but can be fickle to operate—and they extend well below the belly of the rifle. The CZ 600 American features a detachable double-stack polymer magazine that is robust and well-designed, and it fits securely in the gun. It’s easy to top-load thanks to the CZ’s generous action opening and magazine design.

The magazine release button is located just ahead of the magazine well, but you have the option to slide the magazine release forward to lock the magazine into position so it won’t accidentally fall out in the field. When you’re finished hunting you can pull back the magazine release to unlock it and then press the release and pull the magazine free. The system blends the best elements of both internal box and detachable box magazine designs, and it doesn’t detract from the rifle’s classic look.

The CZ’s safety differs from any typical bolt-action safety. The round safety button is located on the tang, and it moves up and down through the wrist of the stock—up for Safe, down for Fire—and functions like the vertical counterpart of the safeties found on lever actions and shotguns.

Safety

Initially, I thought it odd to reinvent the rifle safety when existing designs worked just fine, but when I started shooting the CZ 600 on the range I realized this was a wise decision. First, it’s easy to operate, especially if you embrace the thumb-forward shooting hand position practiced by so many long-distance shooters. It’s also a quieter design than many traditional rocker-style safeties, which produce an audible “snick” that risks spooking game.

The bolt handle cannot be operated with the safety engaged unless you press down on the bolt release, located on the right side of the receiver close to where a traditional wing or rocker safety would ride. This is important because it allows you to lock the bolt in the field to prevent brush from accidentally opening the bolt, yet you can load or unload the rifle with the safety engaged. It’s another smart feature.

Most modern sporters and target rifles feature adjustable triggers. Having adjusted several of those triggers, I’ve found some are easier to fine-tune than others. None is simpler than the CZ 600, though.

In front of the trigger you’ll see a small nut with four settings marked with white lines. Using the included hex wrench, simply turn the nut to the desired setting, with 1 being the lightest and 4 being the heaviest.

Trigger and Stock

Heavy isn’t the proper term, though, because even at that setting the trigger broke at just 3.1 pounds. On the second setting—where the rifle was set when it arrived from the factory—trigger break was just 1.9 pounds, which is awfully darn light for a factory rifle.

If there’s a single aspect of the CZ 600’s design I don’t care for, it’s the stock. I’m a fan of quality wood stocks, but the CZ’s Turkish walnut is a bit bloated and lacks the character I’d like to see from an otherwise outstanding gun. The checkering is functional, but the fleur-de-lis additions don’t do anything for the overall look, in my opinion.

If this gun had a trimmer stock it would shave some weight—unloaded, the gun weighs seven pounds, 13 ounces—and would make the gun look better. But from a strictly functional standpoint the stock works, and adding better wood might have driven the price up. The CZ 600 American comes in at $849, and for those who think the rifle could benefit from better wood there’s a High Grade version available for $1,499.

Since the CZ 600’s receiver accepts Remington 700 bases, mounting a scope isn’t a hassle. For test purposes I added a Zeiss Conquest V4 3-12x44 scope. Since the American leans decidedly toward the hunting market, I tested the rifle with premium 6.5 Creedmoor field loads from Norma, Nosler and Hornady.

Accuracy

In short, the CZ is astoundingly accurate. After a fouling shot, the rifle went 0.38, 0.49 and 0.5 inch for three-shot groups with Hornady ELD-X 143-grain bullets at 100 yards. The bonded hunting load from Norma shot consistently around 0.8 inch for every group, and Nosler’s AccuBond LR was just a bit over an inch on average. At 200 yards one of my three-shot groups with the Hornady ammo measured just 0.79 inch, less than one-half m.o.a. And let me remind you, that’s from a rifle with a suggested retail price of $849, which makes the CZ an exceptional value.

As I mentioned, I was skeptical of the safety when I first saw the rifle, but after firing more than 100 rounds through the 600 American I have changed my thinking. The CZ’s safety becomes intuitive quickly, and once I got over my bias toward rocker safeties, I found the vertical crossbolt very much to my liking. It’s also well-positioned for you poor left-handed shooters who are trying to master a right-hand action.

The Safe and Fire positions are positive, and the safety remains quiet, but it’s not as easy to assess the rifle’s condition immediately if you aren’t familiar with the down-to-fire operation. The bolt unlock button is a bit harder to manipulate than its counterpart on the Browning X-Bolt 2, but with practice the operation becomes natural with the CZ 600.

The bolt was smooth, and reliability was excellent. The CZ’s short-extractor, controlled-feed system tosses empties with the type of gusto you’d expect from a full-length claw extractor. The screw-on bolt knob is too small, in my opinion, and twice during the test it came loose. If the rifle were mine I’d replace it with a larger bell-style bolt knob and make certain that the thing was thoroughly tightened down before heading afield.

Nice Touches

The CZ’s trigger is class-leading, and the simple adjustment makes it an even sweeter design. I also like the black nitride finish applied to the barrel and receiver, which is more durable than bluing and will stand up better to the elements.

Of all the smart features found on this gun, though, I must say that the magazine design is perhaps the most evolutionary. If you’re used to top-feeding your bolt guns, the CZ will perform very well, but if you want to remove the magazine you can do so quickly.

Installing the mag requires inserting the rear portion first and then pushing up on the front. CZ ships these rifles with a sticker on the floorplate to remind shooters how not to screw this up, and if you follow those directions the magazine locks in place every time. The double-stack magazine is well-executed and functions flawlessly.

The only aspects of the CZ 600 American that underwhelm me are the stock and the bolt knob, but both can be remedied—although the High Grade stock does bump the price to $1,500, which makes that gun compete with a whole different cast of bolt-action characters.

A Winner

Still, CZ has a winner here, and I really like the 600 American. Who doesn’t like a gun that shoots less than half m.o.a. at 200 yards?

I’ll forever miss the CZ 550, that rather coarse but indestructible old Mauser-style action. But the CZ 600 is, as much as it pains me to say so, the way forward. It’s an evolutionary step forward in classic sporting rifle design, and it’s one of the absolute best hunting guns under $1,000.

CZ 600 American Specs

• Type: bolt-action centerfire
• Caliber: .223 Rem., .243 Win., 6.5 Creedmoor (tested), .270 Win., .308 Win., .30-06, .300 Win. Mag.
• Capacity: 4
• Barrel: 24 in. steel, 1:8 twist; threaded 1/2x28
• Overall Length: 44.37 in.
• Weight: 7 lb., 13 oz.
• Stock: Turkish walnut
• Finish: black nitride
• Trigger: 1.9 lb. pull on setting 2 (measured)
• Sights: none; drilled and tapped for Remington 700 bases
• MSRP: $849
• Manufacturer: CZ-USA, cz-usa.com

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