Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires Is the CZ 455 the best thing going at this point?

I foolishly didn't buy a stainless 77/22 a few months back when ruger announced they weren't going to make them any longer. I liked the 77/22 because it felt like an actual rifle where the 10/22 feels like a toy to me at 6'4.

The ruger American rimfire sort of feels cheap to me and I'm not really interested in it.

I've been reading about the 455 and that seems like about as good as it's going to get unless I can somehow find a 77/22 in anconfigurstion that audits me..

Thanks!!!!

Yep....CZ's about as good as it gets where traditional bolt guns are concerned unless you want to step up to a Cooper or Annie.

For the money, yes. That said there are used 452's Annies and others that I might consider first. Fro a new rifle not much can beat it, perhaps Savage, Ruger, are accurate but not still decent wood and blue.

There's still a few 452 Trainers out there. I prefer the American but I'd take a 452 Trainer over a 455 American.
And that's not to say the 455 isn't a nice rifle. I just have more confidence in the 452's threaded barrel.

How are the CZ magazines??? Are theychewp and [bleep] or at they pretty nice and reliable?

Most of them are nice and reliable.

The new Sako Finnfire II could be added to the list also.

I agree that the new Ruger American has a cheap but interesting synthectic stock, but mine in 22mag. does shoot quite well. Its hard to beat for under $250. And for $200 or less Boyds makes a drop in Wood stock for them. That gets rid of the cheap look.

how are the sights on that RAR?

I have a CZ 452 and two 455s, and I like the 452 best, but the 455s are nice rifles. One of them is a Scout, and the barrel must be lock-tited into place, as I can't get the grub screws out. In any event, it shoots a fair amount better than the 455 American I have. That might be because the barrel is immovable, or that the Scout has a newer receiver.

I am told that they have tightened up the specs on headspace with the "C" (later) receivers (my American is an early one with an "A" receiver). Neither of the 455s is a bad shooter, but the 452 I have outshoots both of them.

Magazines are interchangeable between the 452s, 453s, and 455s, at least the .22LR magazines are. I have one steel magazine and two poly mags, and I actually like the poly mags better. NO CZ magazines are cheap, they all cost about double the cost of a Ruger magazine.
I also have an RAR Predator, that'll hang with the 455s (but not the 452). It's a good shooter, too. I like them all, but the 452 is just a fuzz better, in my book.

THanks for all that information.

I also looked at the sako finnfire and the the quad, those look sweet but 900-1100 dollars is not cheap.

For under $500, yes. I do have an extra CZ455 .22lr Varmint in perfect condition if you are looking for one of those, let me know.

No!

What is better for close to the same money?

Unless you have to have walnut, the Ruger American Target (laminated) is worth a look, given the overall favorable reports on the accuracy of the other models. Last one I saw on GB was $399.

I have 2 Quads I bought shortly after they first came out. Both are unbelievably accurate with many different rounds. One was a 22mag. for awhile and was the most accurate 22mag. I've owned to date and that includes a lot of 22 mags.
The sights on my Ruger American were pretty nice, but I took them off to accommodate my scope setup. Mine is in 22mag. and shoots the Hornady 30gr. very well, but not so much others. But, I haven't played with it much either.

If a CZ 452 doesn't interest you and the cost of Sako's are to much, then I would lean towards a Savage/Anschutz or a Rem. 541. Both are great shooters and maintain the Walnut and blued metal look.

I have a CZ 452, a Ruger American Rimfire, and a Cooper 57M Jackson Hunter. I have a good selection of hunting grade 22 l.r. and match grade l.r., I have tried all of it in the three of them and the Cooper is the best grouping rifle, but it is not inexpensive, the CZ 452 groups almost as well as the Cooper and the RAR groups are generally about twice as large as those by the Cooper and CZ.

With the ammo they like the best five shot groups at 50 yds groups from the Cooper are right around 3/8 inch, the CZ is more in the 1/2 inch range and the RAR runs around 3/4 inch. So yes there is some difference between them but any of the three will hit what I am shooting at. These groups are with medium grade match ammo, with hunting grade ammo groups will open up another 1/4 inch or so with occasional flyers.

I did put a Yodave trigger kit in the CZ, and if it had a better trigger I believe it would hang in with my Cooper for grouping. The RAR, I changed out trigger springs and it is better but for some reason it just doesn't feel right, I have spent quite a bit of time playing with it but can't get it to feel right, I suspect it is a matter of stock design, the size of my hands and angle it forces my trigger finger to assume.

This is a long winding way of saying that IMO the best value out there is a CZ 452, I have read too many bad things about the 455 to have confidence in it but I have never handled or shot one so take that opinion for what it is worth.

drover

Pretty much. I think CZ still suffers from the bias of "Not invented here syndrome". Reliability, accuracy, craftsmanship and cost makes it untouchable. Unfortunately my Germanic roots go way back so I am a sucker for the Bavarian styling on respective models.

Somebody posted here along time ago that "CZ's were 99% Anschutz at half the cost". Amen.

Now if I could find a Ultra Lux and an FS model well you could just scatter my ashes right there.



Brad

I hear ya...I'm a real trigger snob so I put a Basix in mine before I ever fired it.

I've put Yo Dave kit's in a couple of 452's....they worked but to me it seemed like a hokey way of going about it for some reason.

I'm so proud of the way my new 452's performing I'm treating it to one of DIP's machined trigger guards. Been on the waiting list for four months so I should be getting close.

AKPENDUDE: I am with you on the recent Ruger American rimfire Rifles!
I had and have NO interest in these clunkers.
UNTIL... last week, when this new Model Ruger American came out - it is a heavy barrel model (18" long with threaded muzzle) with laminated Varmint type stock and a renovated action area (I am told).
My friend bought one in 17 HMR and I am due to scope it up and sight it in for him soon.
This new offering is VERY appealing to me and comes in 22 Magnum, 17 HMR and 22 L.R.
I have a pair of Ruger 77/22's (one is a Varmint model and the other is the sporter weight barreled model) they are amazing Rifles and are very accurate.
The rotary magazine of the Ruger rimfire models are unsurpassable and the factory furnished magazines fit flush with the Rifles stock and the safety on the Ruger 77's function CORRECTLY - two things about the CZ's that are unforgivable to me.
Best of luck in your search.
Personally I advise you to keep looking for a Ruger 77/22 in a model that pleases you.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

"Correctly" according to who?

Course I'm not really surprised that you're boggled by a safety.

I rarely use a safety but the CZ 452 safety actually seems a bit more intuitive than the "push-forward" to fire safeties. It is the same motion as pulling back the hammer on a lever gun or the hammer on a pistol when you are preparing to shoot. If someone is challenged by something as simple as a different operating safety I am not sure they should be trusted with a firearm.

Firearms I have owned with different safeties -

FN Mauser with the safety mounted on the left side of the bolt shroud, vertically operated, it was up for safe for safe and down for fire.

Ruger 10/22 and some shotguns - safety is mounted on the trigger guard and is pushed sideways for safe and fire.

Semi-auto pistols, some are pushed down to take off safe and some are push up to take off safe.

Savage 99, small safety that was mounted next to the lever and engaged the lever.

Kimber rifles, some were two position safties that had to be pushed forward, some were three position safties that had to be pushed forward.

Win 70, and later Ruger 77, three position safties that have to be pushed forward but the Ruger a lot more so because it swings so far to the rear.

Almost forgot - tang safeties - some of them are two position and some are three position, one must be careful to move them all the way forward.

I had a Mannlicher-Schonauer carbine that had a bolt shroud safety and a side-mounted trigger block safety - that apparently would really confuse some folks.

They all seem to work, they are just different but folks seem to use them all without issue. So why does the CZ seem to trouble so many folks - just something to complain about?

edited to add:
I had forgotten about the M-14 safety that is in the front of the trigger guard, it is pushed back and forward with the trigger finger.

Also the M-16 is another example of a vertically operating safety but in a not so intuitive place.

It is a wonder that anyone could ever adapt to using them. LOL


drover

In looking at the web-site for Rifle Basix for the 452 they do not go into detail about the sear adjustment, did you use that feature, and if so, is it "fine-tunable" or more of a coarse adjustment?
I am thinking of ordering one and can't really seem to find much info on them.

Thanks, drover

IMHO, At $389 (what i paid for my 452), there isn't anything even close to this rifle. It will darn near almost hang with my Kidd (which was ~ $1000), which itself is on a whole different level as far as accuracy.

I'm not sure I know the difference between fine-tunable and a course adjustment.
It has a sear adjustment screw that allows you to adjust the creep and another screw that compresses the weight of pull spring.
Mine's set right at 2.5 #'s and zero creep. Any creep what so ever is a deal breaker for me and I'm happy.

If somebody can beat the CZ 455 American (threaded type) without going to the Anschutz 54, I'd love to hear about it.




Travis

I should have been more specific in my wording. Does the sear adjustment have a fine threaded screw to allow a fine adjustment?
Also was wondering if it has a lock-nut on the sear adjustment, or some other method, to assure it doesn't back out over time.

Sorry to load you up with questions but you are the only person I know that has one, while I have found some info on other sites they are from people who I do not know and have no basis to trust their opinions.

Thanks for the info, I appreciate it.

drover

No problem drover....I'd much rather talk guns than the bickering and petty chit you usually see on the fire.

The sear adjustment screw does have fine thread but no lock nut. It's hard as hell to turn though so I doubt it would ever back out.

FYI.....after a lot of google-fu the best price I could find was at Cheaper Than Dirt....I didn't even know they sold gun parts...ha

Thanks for the info. I think I will get one, the way the 452 shoots it deserves a better trigger.

A little paint or locktite should keep the screw from ever creeping out so that should not be an issue, it's just that I am a belt and suspenders sort of guy and really like jam-nuts on anything that could possibly move.

I am surprised about Cheper Than Dirt having parts, who would have thought.

Thanks again for your help.

drover

No. I think for the price of a 77/22 the Anschutz 64 sporters are better guns. Better finish and quality. A little more money. Now, if some one takes the exact price of a 455 and sets that as an arbitrary limit then the choice is pretty much set with that artificial limit.

There are some good deals on used Anschutz or Savage-Anschutz. The later is exact same gun with Savage as importer.

I got a closeout deal on an Anschtz sporter for $850 from Cabelas. I image it will take a lot of shopping to match that again, if ever. You cannot compare the finish and quality to a 455 or a 452 for that matter.

The 455 is a significant down grade from the 452, IMHO. I would take the time, how ever long, to get a 452 or better yet a 453. The 453 was a special gun. That is is you had to have a CZ. The Brno No1 is another nice gun that turns up pretty regularly - if you look. Well, if you really want a Ruger 77/22 those can be found too.

If shopping around or time delay are out of the question, then a new Anschutz is the best of the medium class rim fires.

No problem....like I said...it beats the usual gossiping and bickering.

I like clear nail polish for keeping screws in check....

The 455 is a smoking deal and I bought my 77/22 for $400ish. Brand new.

It's a killing machine.



Travis

I would prefer a 54 action Anschutz,but I've never seen one under about $1300 even used. The 64 action Annie is finished better and has better wood but mine doesn't group any better than my CZ 453. I would agree that the 453 is the cream if you can get one.

I just picked up a 455 Lux. Just getting my feet wet with it and I can't compare it to a 452 but so far I really like mine.

$400 over the counter. I just posted some basic pics on this forum under "preferred optics for a squirrel rifle". I can email more test target picks if you PM me. Photobucket is a bit of a.hassle to use from my phone.

I don't know about that.
I got lucky and picked up one of the last 452's Whittakers had when they were closing them out for $359 last Nov.
It shoots a variety of semi match and hunting rounds into tiny little groups at 50yrds with a 4X scope.
Granted...it ain't an Annie but for a third the price it's a hell of a rifle and really is a no brainer.
Yea there's better rifles for more money/if you can find em but I doubt that a 455 will disappoint.
This is my third CZ rifle and I wish I had a safe full of em.

If I could find a leftie 455 at a decent price, I would take it.
The fact that they had a factory threaded option is a big plus, too. I know they had it in a RH config. Not sure about LH.

Theres not much difference if any in the accuracy between the 455 and the 452 that I own and have owned, its luck of the draw when your talking about sub 500.00 rifles I have had bad ones and good ones accuracy wise in both models. I am a big fan of CZ's as you can tell by the nickname but anyone who says or thinks they are as accurate as the Anschutz rifles is dreaming

My thoughts exactly on the accuracy. There is more when you talk bang for buck. Bang covers alot of ground. Or else Ruger American might be a clear winner.

For the 452 vs 455, that is primarily the design features and finish. I wrote my 2c summary on another forum.

Points of the 452

1. Some 452 rifles such as many/most/or all Americans have a better metal poilish and deep blue
2. 452 Tapered barrel, beautiful profile just like a centerfire rifle
3. Bottom metal made specific for either 22LR or magnun, no ugly plastic spacer as found on 455
4. Guide lug on bolt for smoooth feeding and extra insurance, not to say needed but nice,class and quality
5. The barrel is threaded for rock solid attachment
6. Some or older 452 came with real steel magazines.
7. The 453, a different bolt and action was a cousin of the 452 using a single set trigger. Also discontinued. The best of the best.

Features of 455
1. all 455 barrels and stock interchange within obvious limitations of heavy varmint in american stock, simplify life (more profit) for CZ
2. Torque on the barrel/action screws should be checked on new guns or either the barrel maybe too loose or too tight the action can be sprung
3. Head space can be marginal on some factory new guns, (due to new 455 mfg method). according to our forum gunsmith members.
That is barrel and action finished separately and not as a unit.
4. Plastic magazine, yes you can step on it
5. Ugly plastic spacer seen from the bottom metal side on 22LR models. The 17/22 mag fills the space with a longer magazine.
6. The 455 will accept the new CZ fly trigger, which is an honest plus and the only good in my opinion

I would say that a 54 action Anschutz is more accurate but I've seen several 452's and 453's just as accurate as a 64 action Anschutz.

22's are fickle, on any given day with any given ammo one might out shoot another. The Anschutz is very accurate and I would say in general it will be more accurate. Saying that I have a 452 Silhouette in a Manners stock that will run with an Anne. I also have a Remington 541S that will occasional match the CZ. To me 22LR rifles are unique unto themselves.

I have owned a pile of Anschutz 1416 (64 actions) they were all very accurate but not one would eject a spent case 100% of the time and I found this very frustrating and sold them.....I have also owned a bunch of CZ 452/455 rifles and every one functioned perfectly and were reasonably accurate, though I would not consider them "tackdrivers" like the Anschutz rifles were...The most accurate rimfire rifles I ever owned were a Cooper 57 and I also had a few Sako Finnfires and Quads and a couple of these were exceptionally accurate, but these rifles are quite pricey.......Good luck ...Hb

+1

My experience as well.

Over the years, I've owned a number of premium .22's, including Rem 40-X sporter, Win 52, Kimber, Annie, CZ, Cooper.

All eventually went down the road, except the Cooper. It's a keeper, wears a 2-7 rimfire Kahles scope. It has the best trigger of them all, is the most accurate.

DF

Extremely nice!

My prettiest one is a 64 action Annie,not in the same league as your Cooper, but I think I did well on the wood. It wears my favorite rimfire scope,a VX2 4-12X40AO fine duplex.

Wow, I like that R H Clark. Very nice and great wood. I'm not up on anschutz's, which model is that one?

All the quality the czechs can muster.

It's a 14/16.

+1

+1

I like that one, too.

Wood is exceptional, you won't likely find wood that pretty again. If it was mine, it would be a keeper.

DF

CZ 2500 with 29" barrel. Sorta different.

Traded for this one, already with automotive red paint. Actually the OEM birch was ugly, paint looked better. I eventually got tired of the red, it's now brown and has since been fitted with a Timney trigger.

Not quite as accurate as the Cooper, pretty close.

The Cooper is multiple times more expensive, not multiple times more better...

DF

II



I'll bet that thing is quiet, too. Even with HV loads, but even better with subsonic stuff. That one looks Fun, with the capital 'F'.

Hey,I've got one of those too. Mine is a 452 Ultralux. I like it a lot but that long barrel makes it a man's rifle,not a lightweight. I set mine up with a Williams peep sight. I figured I would take advantage of a long sight radius. It was the first CZ I ever bought. I have it, a CZ 453 my favorite,and a 452 Scout. CZ makes a great rimfire.

It is quiet.

Not as quiet as my suppressed 10-22, but quiet.

And "different"...

DF

Cisco.

You have made that statement on several threads here as I recall.
Is that meant as a compliment or a slight against the CZ rifles?

I'm not trying to speak for Cisco or anyone else here but I wanted to.comment.

I'm new to CZ's, but for $395 I bought a new 455 Lux with very good not great open sights, good not great blue, extra nice walnut and a good not great trigger, that shoots very well (but doesn't like any of the HV ammo I've tried so far). I would say that all the compliments (accuracy, quality, trigger) and criticisms (slightly rough bolt travel, trigger take up, bolt handle/scope interference) have been accurate. Its a very solid and good looking sporter that shoots remarkably well, and I feel that it was well worth my money. Especially for a rifle built to a modest price point.
I would love to see a more deluxe version with deeper blueing, a trigger that doesn't make you want to "fix" it, a bolt that glides like its on bearings, and better options for mounting a scope. I can fix 2 of those things by buying an American and doing something about the trigger myself. The other two things are kinda trivial. Maybe I'll buy one of the new Stainless Americans if they ever show up knock the thin blueing off the list too.

To me, they occupy a place in the market between all the basic Savage/Marlin/Rugers out there and the "high end" .22's but are priced closer to the basic guns. I'm glad that I spent the extra money on mine. If I had bought a Savage or a Ruger it would probably get traded somewhere down the road for something that caught my eye. I don't see that happening with the CZ, which probably explains why I practically never see used ones for sale in my state.

Just food for thought

Agree, CZ's have a niche market.

They're very high quality, especially for the price, sorta entrance level, high end.

I've looked at all kinda rifle bores thru the Hawkeye borescope,

CV barrels are works of art, no machine marks like Salvage and even Remington. Beautiful machine work.

And they shoot well.

I'm not that fond of CZ safeties and triggers, but quality is definitely there.

DF

Yeah the safeties are definitely backwards to me. Left that out.

It love to know more about what you have observed with your horoscope. I just made another thread about newer vs older guns and.their accuracy. do you have an opinion about newer vs older barrel quality?

Thanks!

Not really. Salvages are really rough looking, seem to shoot a lot better than the Hawkeye would indicate. Remingtons are better, still with tool marks.

Browning barrels look very good, a lot like CZ's. They shoot good, too.

You just can't guess what a barrel is going to do at the range based on what it looks like.

If you have a barrel that quits shooting, the Hawkeye can help diagnose the problem.

Once you have a Hawkeye, you won't want to be without one.

IMO.

DF

Thank you. Some of the best guns I have shot were Remingtons..and oddly.enough old Mossbergs with Acro-Groove barrels. I have a good shooting Win Hester 94-22 also..

The stars predict sub MOA shooting!

Yep.

DF

Hey - what do you know? Sometimes autocorrect works out OK. Ha ha.

I still want one of these but I really hate the way the 10rd mags hang out the bottom.

I did get a chuckle out of that one...

DF

Carry 2) 5's.

Thats what Ill do when I get one. Even though I found the Ruger I was looking for, I think ill order a 455 up in the next few weeks.

I think Dirtfarmer nailed it with "entry level high end" about the 455's. And the horoscope thing.

Here's the CZ 2500 in brown instead of red and with a Timney. Notice the different trigger profile, CZ vs. Timney.

DF

The more I see of it, the more I like it. That looks like a pretty sweet piece.

I got tired of the red, IMO brown looks better.

I traded for it, already wearing that paint, But, the factory dull birch stock was so ugly the red looked pretty good. The guy at a gun show had this one, his personal gun, had several new in the box. After looking at them I took this one. He had also tweaked the trigger. It was pretty good, the Timney is better.

I also glass bedded and free floated it.

That long barrel is a hoot, for sure. It has heavy, military type sights. I removed the rear sight assembly to clear the scope.

It balances pretty well, is definitely a shooter.

DF

I can profile this poster:
first born nerd
engineering degree
portfolio that beats the market indexes
stable marriage

DF, if you don't mind me asking what did that Timney set you back?

IIRC, around $90 or so.

DF

Not bad. Thanks.

I guess we the "dirt" twins...

Shop around on the internet, EBay, Midway. Sometimes you can find a better than average deal.

DF

Awesome. Thanks.

Yep. Just simple as dirt.

Didn't read all 8 pages... but presently I've got three CZ 452's (had 3 or 4 others over time) and one Ruger American (had an unthreaded version in the past).

The CZ's are nice, accurate, the triggers need work, something You can do on the cheap or else buy a new sear or a complete trigger. The magazines, especially the metal ones are excellent (better than most). I dislike their fire to the rear safety, but have gotten used to it,

The Ruger American; Very close but not quite as accurate as the CZ's. I actually like the stock for offhand shooting, well thought out even though it does not compare to a nice wood stock. Big Plus is that it uses 10-22 (including the 25 rounders) or 77-22 magazines which are affordable and everywhere, also they are flush fitting unlike CZ's. If the stock puts You off, Ruger just came out with a 'target' version with a laminated wood stock and a heavier barrel profile (0.835" or thereabouts).

Jerry