This Czech manufacturer’s take on the modern bolt-action rifle is a game-changer.

Dominique led as we moved slowly through the oak forest. Two years of drought had finally come to an end and the acorn crop returned in such abundance that the crunching underfoot sounded as if he and I were walking on bubble wrap. Despite our lack of stealth, we managed to stalk within shooting distance of a small flock of mouflon feeding on the acorns.

“The three on the left are too small,” said Dominique, “and the three on the right are too big.”

Too small?  Too big? This apparent contradiction repeated itself throughout the hunt perpetually perplexing our small group of American hunters. How could a ram be “too big?” But we were guests on the 1.2 million hectares of forest professionally managed by Lesy České republiky, státní podnik, so we had to play by their rules.

We were looking for the Goldilocks of mouflon — one that was “just right”— and there were a few types considered just right. Ideally we were looking for a ram in the winter of its life; broomed, broken and tired, having passed its genes on to succeeding generations. An injured animal was also just right, as was any with its horns growing in such a way that they could eventually grow into and injure the animal.

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A Modern Bolt-Action Rifle

The occasion for our visit to the Czech Republic was the launch of a new rifle line from CZ — the Model 600.  This is CZ’s take on the modern bolt-action rifle that uses a three-lug, full-diameter bolt. That design is a manufacturing efficiency making such rifles less expensive to produce, but instead of joining the flock of manufacturers racing to the bottom trying to make the least expensive entry-level rifle, CZ seized the opportunity to offset the manufacturing savings by adding some pretty advanced features, all while still offering the Model 600 at a competitive price — suggested retail starts at $749. In fact, CZ is so confident in the new design that going forward the Model 600 replaces all CZ centerfire bolt actions.

 

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What has CZ so jazzed about the new rifle line? Consider standard features such as truly idiot-proof adjustable triggers, cold hammer-forged barrels with sub-MOA accuracy guarantee, controlled-round push-feed, lockable magazine, short and long and aluminum or steel actions and — get this — it’s a switch barrel. And not just any switch barrel, you can also change the cartridge family within the action size by changing the bolt head, so, for example, you can switch between 223 Remington and 7.62×39.

All that sounds like configuring the Model 600 could be complicated for the end-user, but it’s not. If you learned your number line in elementary school, then you can change the barrel, and if you can twist a knob and push a button, you can change the bolt head.

The Details

Clearly, the most clever feature on the Model 600 is its barrel interchangeability. Barrels are simply press-fit into the front of the action and then three cross-bolts under the front of the action are tightened to clamp it solidly in place. Over each cross-bolt is a series of one to three stars and you loosen and tighten the cross-bolts in 1, 2, 3 order when you switch barrels. According to CZ, “when reassembling the barrel, accuracy is guaranteed after the first cold shot.”

 

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To change the bolt head, simply twist the cocking piece on the bolt to remove the firing pin assembly, push forward on the ejector and slip the bolt head from the side of the bolt body similar to removing a shell holder from a reloading press.

 

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There are four settings on the adjustable trigger. Pull weights are reported in newtons, but in pounds the pull weight range is from about 1.3 to 3.5 pounds. Adjustment is by a small Allen screw in front of the trigger and you can’t over- or under-adjust it because if you go past one of the four adjustment settings, it goes back around to the next one.  Think of the adjustment stem as a four-leaf clover that rotates instead of as a screw that threads in and out.

Remaining features aren’t as sexy but are no less practical. Being a three-lug bolt means that there is only a 60-degree bolt lift that allows for fast and comfortable operation without the risk of hitting a mounted scope. The detachable magazine can be locked in place so you can use the rifle in either fixed box or detachable box fashion. Controlled-round push-feed combines the best qualities of both systems and guarantees 100-percent controlled feeding of cartridges in all positions and, while the ejector looks like a spring-loaded plunger, it’s actually manual in that if you retract the bolt slowly the cartridge case simply drops to the side of the gun while a robust yank of the bolt sends your brass flying. An innovative vertical push-button safety is completely silent and ergonomically located.

Five Variations

Initially CZ is introducing five variations of the Model 600 — Alpha, Lux, Range, Trail and Ergo — with either aluminum or steel receivers.  On the aluminum receiver, the scope mounting interface is an integral Weaver-style rail while the steel receiver is drilled and tapped for commonly available Remington Model 700 bases.

The Alpha is available in nine chamberings ranging from 223 Remington to 300 Win. Mag. It has an aluminum receiver with integral rail and is fitted with a fiber-reinforced polymer stock and threaded, semi-heavy barrel. Barrel lengths are optimized for the chosen chambering.

 

The Lux is available in five chamberings ranging from 223 Remington to 300 Win. Mag. and has a traditional, European-style wood stock and mechanical, fiber optic front and rear sights. The steel receiver comes with a Remington 700-type interface for mounting optics.

 

True to its name, the Range is designed for precision target sports. It comes with a guaranteed, factory-tested accuracy of sub-0.75 MOA at 100 meters for five-shot groups when using match-grade factory ammunition. Making that kind of accuracy possible is a heavy threaded barrel and rock-solid laminated stock with tool-free adjustable comb. There’s a rail under the stock’s toe for attaching a monopod and side QD sockets. Available chamberings are 308 Win. and 6mm Creedmoor.

 

The Trail foregoes the locking detachable magazine of the other variants in favor of the more applicable AR-style or CZ BREN magazines. It has a PDW-style four-position telescoping stock, BREN 2-style controls and is available in either 223 Remington or 7.62×39 chamberings. Weaver-style rails are integrated on both the top of its aluminum receiver and forend. Additional mounting points include M-LOK slots on the forend and the AR-15-type pistol grip features interchangeable backstraps that are compatible with the CZ P-09 pistol.

 

The premium variation of the Model 600 is the Ergo and it will not be imported into the U.S. until a later time. It has a light profile barrel and is equipped with an ergonomically designed, fiber-reinforced polymer stock that provides maximum shooting comfort. A comb module is included to provide proper eye-to-optic alignment when using extra high mounts or a thermal scope and the stock length is adjustable by choosing one of three different size rubber butt pads. Scope mounting is by way of an integral Weaver-style rail. Six chamberings from 223 Remington to 300 Win. Mag. are available.

 

A Great Package

While our brief visit to the Czech Republic afforded us the opportunity to shoot all variants of the Model 600 in several different chamberings, it wasn’t practical to do any formal accuracy testing. That said, if CZ is willing to hang its hat on an accuracy guarantee, I’ll accept that the rifles perform in that respect.

As far as the other features go, everything worked as promised.  While none in our group actually performed a barrel or bolt head change, we watched as CZ engineers demonstrated (while on the range no less) how easy it was.

 

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Betting its bolt-action business on a totally new design is a pretty bold move on the part of CZ, but this was an intentional move with the Model 600 in development for at least the past three years. It shows that while CZ is an “old” name in the firearms business, the company is not content to sit back and do things the “old” way. Indeed, the company took what is now the modern bolt-action design and added to it not just the kind of features shooters and hunters want, but also truly innovative ones. Much like we all found our Goldilocks rams in the Czech Republic, CZ got this rifle “just right.”