CZ-USA's New Model 600 American Rifle Review

The newest version of CZ's recently introduced Model 600 line of bolt-action rifles is well designed and built specifically for American hunters.

July 22, 2024 By Joel J. Hutchcroft

When Shooting Times reported for the first time on CZ’s new Model 600 bolt-action rifle in 2022, the writer (Joseph von Benedikt) said the Alpha version was “exquisitely engineered,” “fascinating,” “compelling,” and “savvy.” When he reviewed the Trail version in 2023, he said it offers “discrete capability.” Well, now CZ has introduced a brand-new version of the Model 600 called the American. Based on Joseph’s glowing evaluations of those other versions, I decided to take a good look at the new American myself. I’m glad I did because it turned out to be one of the most accurate rifles I have ever fired. In fact, CZ offers a sub-MOA accuracy guarantee for three-shot groups using match-grade ammunition with the new American.

First-Rate Features

cz-usa-model-600-rifle-02 — The new Model 600 American’s carbon-steel receiver is profiled and drilled and tapped for Remington 700-type scope bases.

Let’s take a quick review of the Model 600 rifles in general, and I’ll detail the new American version along the way. Depending on the version, the Model 600 action is machined of steel or aluminum. The bolt features a controlled-feed extractor, and the bolthead has six locking lugs (two in tandem, in a three-lug pattern). The bolthead locks directly into the rear of the barrel. The bolt body is steel, and the bolt knob is metal, wood, or polymer, depending on the variation. The American’s bolt knob is steel. The bolt shroud is polymer, and when the rifle is cocked, a cocking indicator protrudes from beneath the rear of the shroud. The bolt throw is 60 degrees. The vertical two-position safety, located on top of the grip in the rear action tang area and the rear trigger guard tang area, locks the bolt closed. Press the top end, or “button,” of the safety straight down to disengage the safety and use the tip of your finger to press up just behind the trigger guard to engage the safety.

cz-usa-model-600-rifle-03 — Barrel length and action size depend on the chambering. The review sample Model 600 American is chambered for 6.5 Creedmoor, so it has a 24-inch barrel and the medium ST2 action.

A small squarish spring-loaded button on the right side of the action, just forward of the bolt handle, is pressed to unlock the bolt and to allow it to be cycled with the safety engaged. That same button serves as the bolt release for removing the bolt from the rifle. The Model 600 American has a carbon-steel action, and it is profiled and drilled and tapped for Remington 700-type scope bases. There are three action sizes for the American rifle, and they depend on the chambering. Our rifle is chambered for 6.5 Creedmoor, and it has the medium-size ST2 action. It is the action length for .243 Winchester and .308 Winchester chamberings. The ST1 short action is for .223 Remington and 7.62x39 chamberings. The ST3 long action is for .270 Winchester, .30-06, and .300 Winchester Magnum chamberings.

cz-usa-model-600-rifle-04 — Located on top of the grip in the rear action tang area and the rear trigger guard tang area, the vertical two-position safety is unique. Pressing up from under the trigger guard tang engages the safety, and pressing down from the top disengages the safety. Note the cocking indicator under the poly- mer bolt shroud.

The detachable box magazine is polymer, and it is a double-stack design that holds five cartridges. The magazine release button is located under the receiver ahead of the magazine. It slides forward about an eighth of an inch to lock the magazine in place. The single-stage trigger is crisp and light, and it has minimal overtravel. It is user-adjustable without removing the barreled action from the stock. The hex adjustment screw is located on the underside of the receiver just ahead of the trigger, and it has a broad head. Four adjustment positions are marked with the corresponding number of dots. The review sample rifle came with the trigger set on two dots, which is the second-from-the-lightest setting. Measured with my RCBS trigger pull gauge, it had less than 2 ounces of variation over a series of 10 tests, and it averaged 1 pound, 12 ounces. That’s a little light for hunting purposes, in my opinion, but it was great for evaluating the rifle’s accuracy from the shooting bench. According to CZ, the trigger can be adjusted from 1.35 pounds to 3.04 pounds of pull.

The stocks on the various CZ 600 rifles vary, depending on the version. On the American version, the stock is straight-grain Turkish walnut, and it has a varnish finish. It has checkering on the wrist and on the fore-end, in a classic fleur-de-lis pattern, and it has a contoured, 1-inch-thick recoil pad and sling-swivel studs in the usual locations. The buttstock has an American-style straight comb. Depending on the chambering, the American comes with an 18-inch, 20-inch, or 24-inch barrel. All are cold-hammer-forged and free-floated in the stock’s fore-end.

cz-usa-model-600-rifle-05 — The polymer double-stack magazine holds five rounds. The magazine release is located under the receiver, and it slides forward to lock the magazine in place.

The 6.5 Creedmoor rifle has a 24-inch barrel, and I would describe it as a semi-heavy contour. CZ says it’s a light contour, but in my opinion, it is not a lightweight tube. The diameter right before where the muzzle threads begin measures 0.66 inch. The threads start 0.6 inch from the end of the muzzle, and they are American pitch. The twist rate for the 6.5 Creedmoor barrel is one turn in eight inches (1:8). The Model 600 American feels rather hefty in my hands. And in fact, it weighs 8 pounds, 5 ounces, according to my digital scale. With the new Sightmark Presidio 3-18X 50mm scope I used for the shooting portion of this evaluation and a set of Steiner 30mm scope rings, the rig weighs 10 pounds, 5.8 ounces.

cz-usa-model-600-rifle-06 — As its name implies, the Model 600 American has an American-style straight-comb buttstock. It features a contoured 1-inch-thick rubber recoil pad.

Speaking of the Presidio scope, the one I used features the company’s MR2 reticle. The MR2 etched-glass reticle is illuminated (red in color), it’s located in the first focal plane, and it consists of four solid posts with thin crosshairs and numbered holdover marks graduated in MRADs and a center dot. It is powered by a CR2032 battery, and it has six brightness settings. The scope measures 13 inches long and weighs 30.8 ounces. This rugged scope is intended for close-range to midrange shooting, and it has fully multicoated lenses, knurled turrets, built-in zero stops, a handy magnification throw lever, and a 30mm tube. Constructed of aircraft-grade aluminum and hard anodized finished, the Presidio is nitrogen filled and IP67 waterproof, dustproof, fogproof, and shockproof. Parallax is adjustable from 15 yards to infinity. It is covered with Sightmark’s lifetime warranty, and the MSRP is $479.99.

A-1 Accuracy

cz-usa-model-600-rifle-07 — The single-stage trigger is user-adjustable, and it has four adjustment positions. The review sample’s trigger was factory set so that the trigger pull measured 1.75 pounds.

For my shooting session, I chose a selection of hunting and match ammunition with bullet weights ranging from 120 grains to 143 grains. In all, I fired 16 different factory loads, and they are listed in the accompanying accuracy and velocity chart. The loads were chronographed with a Competition Electronics ProChrono Digital chronograph placed 12 feet from the gun’s muzzle. All velocity data shown are averages of five rounds. The accuracy results are averages of three, five-shot groups for each loading fired from a benchrest at a distance of 100 yards. The rifle’s best average accuracy came with the Winchester 142-grain AccuBond Long Range load. That load averaged 0.55 inch at 100 yards. Except for four loadings, each of the other 15 factory loads I fired averaged 1.00 inch or less, and the overall average accuracy at 100 yards for all 16 loads was 0.95 inch. That’s awfully good accuracy in my book. The 6.5 Creedmoor ammunition doesn’t produce a lot of recoil (the average 140-grain hunting load generally produces somewhere around 14 ft-lbs of recoil), and in the relatively heavy Model 600 American rifle, recoil was hardly noticeable.

I just have to call out a couple loads from HSM. They were the second and third most accurate loads I tried, and they had the lowest velocity extreme spreads (E.S.) and standard deviations (S.D.). The Tipping Point2 loading is HSM’s newest 6.5 Creedmoor offering, and it is loaded with Hornady’s 140-grain SST bullet. It produced an accuracy average of 0.65 inch, an E.S. of 18, and an S.D. of 9. The HSM Trophy Gold ammo is loaded with a 140-grain Berger VLD Hunting bullet. This loading had an even better E.S. (12) and S.D. (6), and its accuracy averaged a nice and tight 0.70 inch. I think both loads and Winchester’s AccuBond Long Range would be great for hunting deer. Well, there you have a look at CZ’s new American version of the Model 600. The previous versions of this well-thought-out, delightfully designed, and excellently executed bolt-action rifle have been very well received by hunters and shooters, and I predict the American version will be too.