For buffalo country, I had long yearned for a bolt action to replace my 450/400 double. Multiple reasons behind this, including (among others): 11 lbs are much heavier in the evening than just after breakfast, wet doubles need more intricate maintenance than wet bolt actions, I grew up with bolts and thoroughly like them, I could definitely use the money left after I sold the double and bought one more bolt, etc, etc.
Now, regarding whatever I will mention below, keep in mind that I'm talking about a dangerous game rifle, to be used daily in the African bush - not about a benchrest rifle in the US, or a driven boar rifle in Germany or France.
For the rifle, the choice was easy: CZ. In my opinion, the best rifle around for the money, by a long shot. Granted, they are rough out of the box, but it's like a rough diamond: know what to do with it, polish it, and you got yourself a jewel. To have the same quality in steel, forgings, sturdiness, and reliable design, you'd have to pay several times the price of a CZ rifle - just for an action.
Caliber… Well, I liked the idea of a .404, ballistic twin of the 450/400, but with the capability to be on par with the .416 Rigby with modern components. Nice case, great history. Or the .450 Rigby, a great and versatile caliber, with a classic name and provenance. But the sad reality of where I live is that you simply can't get ammo, at least not easily. Really not easily. Especially elitist ammo.
The only big bore ammo you'll find anywhere, anytime (almost) in Africa is .375 H&H, and .458 WM. So, .458 Lott it would be. Can always get some .458 WM fodder when short on fuel.
My friend (and gunmaker - talented, too) Nate Heineke sourced the rifle and did the wee modifications I was considering essential, as well as the feeding tune-up, and the general balancing.
Here is what arrived:
CZ 550, .458 Lott, 20" barrel, 8.5lbs empty. Fast, light, handy… A keeper!
Nate also rough-shaped the stock for its final configuration. Some more rasping and sanding, trimming, polishing, and a bit of oil (the CZ-USA stock was nothing to write home about: too bulky, poor wood, sloppy ergonomics, basically a piece of CNC-carved 2"x4" - but at least it had enough "meat" that it could be brought to shape), and here is the result.
A few more personal touches…
The aperture drilled to 2.5mm, the NECG/Recknagel sight streamlined, and sharp angles smoothed
The ugly CZ bolt handle hole plugged with a piece of hippo ivory
The void left by the express sights filled with a steel plate filed to size
The front bead replaced with a homemade fiber-optic sight (cut out of a Patridge sight, and much sturdier than the fiber front sights available around)
Oh... I almost forgot. The thing holds six rounds down. Yep, six. In the magazine. No efforts, easily close the bolt over them, and feeds like a pig in a trough: you can throw anything in, it's gone in a blink.
As I said earlier, a keeper!
so the list was
. love the way it looks and handles with the 20 inch barrel. shot the .416 next off the bench and its quite light so you knew when you fired it but 6 rounds no probs and the feeding etc was fine. @bassasdaindia the barrel is cut to 21 inches i think so you can see what a cz looks like , far nicer than with the long barrel in my eyes. paul said why not go for something smaller next 
so the .350 was up and very pleasant to shoot and a lovely rifle which i may try to get to zambia so i can use it more. the .470 was next and was more pleasant than either the .500 or the .416. might be changing my mind on selling it.......the .275 is a lovely little rifle that is a pleasure to shoot. the brockman was nice to shoot, but the bead on the front sight was so big it covered the whole of the card the target was on so difficult to fine tune. paul is going to have the sight taken down a bit. the mod 94 is just fun to shoot. @matt85 my apologies for sullying your thread with smaller than allowed cals, but to calm you down i took some photos of a wilkes 4 bore double and a stunning david mckay-brown .577 double which is one of a pair £80,000.00 or £160,000.00 for the pair............that were at pauls showroom. paul brought along a jeffery 450-400 as well that he was testing.
brockman 45-70 and mod 94 30-30
