CZ 455 for newb shooter?

K

Kingbreaker

Inactive
So my shooting experience consists of
- one afternoon thirty years ago on a friends' back porch with his dad and a 20 gauge
- many, many afternoons with a Daisy 880 destroying soda bottles
- A few too many FPS games.

I'm interested mostly in target shooting/plinking, possibly evolving into 3-gun shooting. Not at all into home defense, CCW, or hunting (yet).

These are my considerations:

1) I wanted to go bolt action in order to practice each shot in a more disciplined way
- And easier to clean?
- And more accurate than a semi?

2) I like the 455 models because you can switch them from .22lr to .17 hmr. It seems like a gun that could grow with me. And as .22lr ammo is hard to find, the economic differences aren't as stark as they might have been six years ago

3) Not sure whether to go with an open-sight model (I think it's called "lux") or a "varmint" model. On the one hand, it seems like getting used to open sights is a necessary skill, and, cheaper!, OTOH, a scoped model, again, will give a lot of growing space right off the bat.

4) I love the looks of the evolution Varmint model, but it seems more geared to bench/competition shooting than "entry level" training. Then again, barrel switch if necessary. Why did they have to make the evolution stocks smurf-blue?
 
cz-usa-cz-455-varmint-evolution.png
 
I have the much more traditional 455 Full Stocked version, with three barrels (two of which I have not used yet), and the non-tactical 455 threaded for a suppressor.

Both are great little guns.
The suppressed 455 has outshot one of the CZ 527s in .223 at 100 yards.

I highly recommend the CZ rimfires.
Among other CZ rifles. :)
Denis
 
Can't go wrong with a CZ in my book. Really have use for the 17?

I have the granddaddy of the rifle you are looking at.

Doesn't look too bad for a 60 year old rifle.

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I love mine. Probably my most sentimental rifle. It was my 18th birthday present - the first gun I ever filled out a form 4473 for, a day after my birthday. http://i.imgur.com/JhetiSP.jpg (picture was embedded, but it was huge on the page)

Mine is the trainer and has iron sights which I used for a couple of months before I put a pretty good Nikon scope on it. I used the high see through mounts so I can use both iron sights and the scope. This is what I recommend for you. Personally I like the blue Boyd's stocks (as you can see that I bought mine after market) but mine came with the walnut stock which is very nice also.
 
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I've had my 527 for over a decade and after trying scopes and red dots, I keep coming back to the iron sights.

Opinions vary but if you want to truly learn how to use a rifle properly, look for a CZ rim fire with irons. They don't make it anymore but I found the 'Farmer' to shoulder beautifully and the stock is shaped so the sights come immediately into view. I think the Basic or Trainer are similar.
 
I have participated in and run hundreds of ...

rimfire sporter matches over the past 20 years at my local club. I own several CZ rimfires. If you really start getting into it, accuracy will become more and more important to you. I love my hogsback stocked CZs for open or peep sight shooting - the Trainer, FS, and UltraLux - but, none of these are stocked well for scope use. If you think you are going to end up scoping it, go ahead and find one of the dwindling number of new CZ 452 Americans or a clean used one.

I can't recommend the 455. Every 455 that shows up at our matches let's its owner down in the accuracy department. The ability to swap barrels is a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. CZ changed the design to lower manufacturing costs, and sell extra barrels. Well, I will give the design credit for one thing. It did make it easy for two of my friends with 455 Americans to substitute aftermarket barrels on their 455s - one got a Lilja and one got a Fedderson.

If you buy a CZ 452 American, you will soon want a 452 Trainer or Lux for open sight shooting. Then, you will want a 452 FS because no Mannlicher stocked rifle should shoot that well. And, unless you plan to hunt varmints, a .17 HMR is a very expensive plinker. Get a 452 model in .22 long rifle while they are still out there.

A CZ 452 Sporter will shoot well with cheap ammo, but usually it will shoot great with match ammo. I shoot a lot of both in my CZ rimfires.

This USBR target helped me win a multi-event rimfire match recently - it was fired with my oldest CZ 452 American (I have two of them) and its Weaver Grand Slam 6-20X40 scope, while shooting Eley Match ammo. It was shot from a distance of 50 yards using a Caldwell RockBr rest on a concrete bench.

DSC05233_zps9fa6513a.jpg


And, you can shoot them fast and accurate with some practice. Here is a video from one of the strings in the rapidfire event in the above referenced match. I was shooting at the rack in the middle - next to the top row (six steel NRA 1/5th scale pigs) - from 25 yards:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/128992557@N06/15447848777/

Spectator wise, the benchrest match is about like watching grass grow:
http://vid47.photobucket.com/albums/f169/sheffieldshootr/IMG_1906_zpsc8kk7qk2.mp4

If you do want to keep it simple, find a new or used CZ 452 Trainer (beech stocked) or CZ 452 Lux (Turkish walnut stocked) and simply enjoy the best factory open sights in the world:
DSC04418.jpg
 
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"I like" is almost the best reason. "I want one" is the best reason.
"...too many FPS games..." Those are about doing daft things that would get you thrown in jail if you actually did 'em. Flight simulators do it too. Bragged to a buddy's da about how I had been dive bombing in a Lancaster. The BCATP instructor pilot that he was asked me why I'd want to do that. Because I can, says me. snicker.
 
I would go 10/22 for a fun plinker, new shooter...

Get a used 10/22 heavy barrel gun, throw a decent scope on there and have a blast.. My sons both have 10/22's as does my wife {I also have a couple of my own, total there are 5 of them in my rim fire safe!!!}, they shoot well, easy to care for, and affordable...
 
My Ruger scoped Target Tactical shoots about as well as my 455 suppressed, at 100 yards.

About. :)

Both good guns.
Like both.
Denis
 
You can't go wrong with a CZ. I own a few, but my only rimfire is a 452 .17HMR. It's a tack driver at 100+ yards and ground squirrels hate it. The 455 with 2 barrels would do you nicely IMHO.
 
My 2 cents:
Pick one caliber and stick with it until you accomplish your goals.
Definitely start with iron sights to learn the basics well.
If/when adding a scope pick one that matches the height of the stock to avoid acquiring bad habits.
Start with close targets and move out to farther ones as your skill progresses.
For example, with the .22rf, the range of targets should be from 10 yards to well past 100 yards.
That's when skill in reading the wind becomes necessary.
As for the choice of rifle, any major brand should do.
It seems just about everyone makes accurate rifles these days.
It's probably more of matching the ammo to the gun than anything else.
 
I bought a 455 must be about 2 years ago now. Still trying to find the right ammo it will eat up. I am always looking to find a 452 though.

I finally did get some match grade ammo for an obscene price, and am keeping fingers crossed it will impress me when I finally get it to the range.

So far, the bulk ammo I've been able to scrounge, at 50 yards is averaging about 2moa. I expected better from this rifle!
 
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