CZ 600 American in .223, a great rifle in a classic-looking version

The CZ 600 American is an intermediate weight at 3.2 kg with a 24”/610 mm barrel that ensures it will produce all the velocity promised from factory ammunition. The barrel is cold hammer forged with 6 grooves and this .223 on test has a 1 in 9” twist rate ensuring it will stabilise heavier and physically longer bullets in either lead or copper. The Turkish walnut stock has a matt finish that contrasts nicely with the proprietary matt black finish applied to all the steelwork to fend off any corrosion. The barrel is screwcut 15x1 for a sound moderator or muzzle brake and comes with an invisible threadcap that shields the threads if they aren’t in use. The stock’s forend is totally rigid and allows the barrel to float freely throughout its length. 

CZ 600 American rifle: the action

The barrel is clamped into the flat bottom receiver and threadlocked in place on this mini actioned .223. The bolt has three lugs and a semi-controlled feed face which is a superb design as with an additional sprung plunger ejector at its base, ejection is totally reliant on bolt operation speed and aggression. 

In a dynamic hunting situation with fast reloads, the brass is thrown well clear of the gun, in a calm situation shooting prone of from a bench, you can draw the bolt back slowly and either manually remove the brass with your fingertip or pull the walnut bolt handle back steadily against the spring. This gently flicks the spent brass clear without any damage to the neck. Another advantage is you don’t have to pick all your empty cases up spread over the ground or bench as they land neatly in a pile next to the rifle.

The three-lug bolt cocks the action on opening and requires a 60-degree lift to unlock the lugs before drawing it back smoothly. The safety catch is a plunger system behind the receiver’s tang and presses down through the stock to set “fire”. This then exposes the safety plunger on the underside of the gun just behind the trigger guard and if you want to re-set safe, just push it back up with your second finger. 

When on safe, the bolt handle is also locked closed but if you want to open it, the bolt release plunger just in front of the handle, will allow opening of the action and once opened, also works as the bolt release catch.

The action is fastened into the stock with two T25 Torx screws either side of the polymer magazine and within the stock, the flat-bottomed receiver seats in place within the stock’s precisely machined inlet and aluminium bedding block without any stress. 

The magazine is a superb design and one of the rare examples in a sporting rifle of a twin column .223 system. The release catch under the rifle is just ahead of the magazine and presses to drop the mag into your hand. This button also slides and can lock the magazine in position if desired. The benefit of a twin column magazine is that it can be loaded directly from the top, simply pushing the ammunition down, either in or out of the gun. 

This benefits fast changeovers if required yet still the optional security of using it as a fixed system when circumstances allow and if you don’t need a full mag all the time. Looking back to the hunting scenario, if you shoot off a single round, you can refill the mag without removal and risk missing an opportunity for another shot as an animal passes.

Video: CZ 600 American tested

CZ 600 American: trigger and stock

CZ’s trigger is another fine addition to the 600 action and shows a bright 5mm wide steel blade offering a crisp single stage release for the shot. This trigger offers four weight settings and there is a small Allen screw just ahead of the blade that can be clicked through settings offering trigger pull from 370 to 1100 g (13-40 ounces). 

The defined sprung detents mean you can change trigger settings if desired when say the weather is warm in summer and use a lighter trigger pull, before returning to a heavier trigger pull in winter when you may be wearing heavy gloves. Simple to do, can’t go wrong and doesn’t require trigger tuning skills.

The stock offers a modest straight grain pattern without excessive adornment and the checkering on the forend, and grip is neatly applied for tactile security on the rifle. In a .223, recoil is almost non-existent but the 355-mm length of pull ensure the rifle feels full sized and fit me comfortably. The comb is straight, and the recoil pad is a firm solid rubber item that grips well into your shoulder. Alignment behind the scope is good because the cheekpiece is slender and won’t push your jaw sideways. The butt’s underside has a sling stud securely fitted, and the straight taper ensures the rifle is fast handling and mounts/fits well in your shoulder with linear recoil transfer in a dynamic situation. In a precision situation, the sloped underside is perfect for a supporting rest bag or clenched fist to give assured elevation control which makes an accurate .223 like this a pleasure to shoot on targets at longer distances and will of course make is a popular varminting rifle. The front sling stud is securely fitted and with a bipod fitted, the rifle was stable from prone, or bench rested positions, there is no flexibility in the stock so any pressure you do apply with your shoulder to seat the bipod’s feet won’t affect your point of impact.

Test firing the CZ 600 American

I used a 2-16x50 Element Helix Scope with a Harris Bipod and Barton sound moderator. The gun is a pleasure to shoot and will certainly print small groups on target to satisfy CZ’s own MOA promise with ease. I used four bullet weights from 35-gr copper up to 73-gr ELD match ammunition and found all worked perfectly within this promise, some of them were stunningly accurate. It was great to see the 9” twist rate on the barrel as it makes the gun so much more versatile for longer range .223 shooting but hasn’t compromised performance and speed with either 35-gr copper bullets (which are relatively long for weight) or the common 55-gr varminting bullets like Hornady’s V-Max which is a favourite amongst pest controllers.

These were all three round groups and shot slightly off the aimpoint to ensure no aiming error which is a good job because they all shot extremely well. I did of course measure the best groups, and many were shot that were a little larger, but no 5-round group exceeded 0.85 MOA. The gun was a pleasure to shoot because it tested me as a shooter, it highlighted when my aiming from standing, or an improvised position was the weakest link in the chain. 

When shot from a tripod, the forend proved its compression resistance with no zero shift from applied stresses and this is an important factor in the modern shooting word as I find them one of the most popular, yet possibly aggressive accessories, when a rifle is clamped rather than rested in position. The underside of the forend is hand filling without any likelihood of your fingers touching the barrel and I felt the ergonomics of the whole rifle were correctly proportioned. Further to this bolt operation is light with minimal force transfer into the rifle so you can stay on point of aim while cycling the action.

CZ 600 American: test conclusion

CZ has taken the superb 600 action and paired it to a great stock for hunters wanting to keep more conventional looks, without losing any performance from their rifle. I found it hard not to adore this rifle whose barrel was thermally stable, retained zero without problems and surefootedly proved its capability with a broad range of factory ammo. I don’t want to send it back and I can’t wait to test one of the larger calibres for larger game and assessing the full recoil character in something like a .308 or .30-06.

CZ 600 American technical specifications

For more information please visit the CZ website.