Hello all. Just registered here, have snooped through off and on for a year or two. Tell you a little about myself. I'm 26, absolutely love hunting. Have been enthralled with African hunting since I was a little kid. Started out being obsessed with the Big 5, just like most. Got to reading more and more boddington, and all of the sudden was obsessed with the spiral horns. Was obsessed with the spiral horns for a couple of years, then. . . I moved on to sheep hunting, and I'm just now getting off a 3 or 4 year obsession with sheep (Mongolia sheep in particular). Keep in mind I haven't hunted any of these animals yet. Just read everything about it that I could possibly beg, borrow, or buy.

Well, I made a mistake, and bought "Tracks across Africa" by Boddington, and the Africa bug is back again, big time. Now I want a double rifle and hunt elephant. It's terrible, I have no means right now for that.

Anyways, I was looking at big bore rifles, and am very bothered by the fact that CZ's 550 Safari Magnum is one of the few I can find that doesn't have a sling swivel on the barrel. I don't get this at all. From past obessessions with long-range rifles and sheep hunting, I've learned that you want nothing to touch that barrel, because it will affect accuracy. I always cringe when I see somebody on a hunting video rest the BARREL on something for a rest.

I know you're not shooting extreme range with a big bore, but if you sighted in your big bore from a bench, then put a sling on it, and used that sling for support while taking a 100 yard shot at a cape buffalo, that could severely alter your impact, and could possibly mean a wounded animal. So why in the name of Zeus's butthole would any company put a sling swivel on a BARREL?

Maybe there is a good reason, if so, please enlighten me. . . .

Bake