Czechs vs. Canadians in .22 LR

F

F23Blackwidow2

New member
I'm looking for a nice bolt action .22LR, because my Mossberg 702 isn't up to my pest control accuracy standards. To the best if my research, the Savage MK11 and CZ 455/452 are my most accurate options for under $500 (Although the CZ is expensive for my purposes). So what are the opinions on these choices?

Anything else in this price range? And my main want is accuracy; everything else come second.
 
I think you are more likely to get an accurate CZ than a Savage, but then again people are getting some great accuracy from the savage too.

The main thing that sets the CZ above other rifles is the build quality of the rifles, everything seems to be much smoother and look nicer on the CZs.
 
My savage mkII shoots under 3/8 inch at 50 yards with cheap ammo from field positions. I have not shot it from a bench, but I bet my other 22's that it shoots better than that with good rest. If all you need is accuracy the savage is very likely to give you what you want.
 
I have 3 CZ rimfire bench guns. The .22's are super accurate. The 17hmr is pretty good also at 50 yards but with any wind at all that little 17gr. bullet has a mind of it's own past that yardage.
There are a few MK11 owners that shoot very well but none of our guns can outshoot the Annie's but you are looking at triple the price.
 
I've owned a CZ (I chose one with iron sights) and I've handled the Savage but not had a chance to fire one.

The only time I ever felt the lack of a varmint-weight barrel in the CZ was when I was shooting target against those who had one (and set into a custom stock, what's more). In addition, I appreciated the presence of an easy-to-set rear iron sight (with windage too, if I had a screwdriver handy) in case I developed scope issues or to correct for deviations out of the box or what have you. The Savage is IMO deficient in this regard - setting the rear iron sight is a labour, and not one of love. I think this has to be borne in mind.

On the other hand, the Savage's sight picture is nothing to complain about (unlike their .22/410 Model 42 combo gun's which IMO is awful, to a degree that's bizarre coming from the same design house).

Insofar as practical hunting was concerned, that CZ always shot better than I could to reasonable .22LR ranges. That's a comforting thought.
 
I recently set up a new CZ 455 Thumbhole .22 for my wife. A Rifle Basics trigger set at 10ozs. and a 36 power scope for the bench. She is a past 3 time state and a national champion trap shooter. Highly competitive. I think she is eventually going to kick my butt the way she is shooting lately.:eek:
 
Un-like big al hunter my Savage Mark II shoots about 1" at 50 yards with cheap(!) ammo. However it will shoot 1/8" with Wolff Match. I don't have a CZ in .22 LR but I do have one in .223. It will shoot 1" at 100 with just about anything. It will shoot 1/8" at 100 with it's preferred load. I love the single set trigger on the ZC. The Acu-Trigger on the Savage isn't bad but it doesn't compare to the single set on the CZ. If economy is the factor, you'll be happy with a Mark II. For the price you're better value is probably the Savage. It's also easier to get scope rings for it and get the scope set to your liking and in a .22 LR I doubt you're going to see much difference in accuracy out to 50 yards.
 
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My next two guns are both going to be CZs. I'm consistently amazed by their out of the box accuracy. The first of those two will either be the CZ 455 Varmint Evolution or the CZ 452 Ultra Lux.
 
I am by far a CZ fan. With a little modification a Varmit barreled 452 or 455 can be a very sweet shooting gun. The stock trigger in most CZ's are very lacking. The first thing to do is replace them with top of the line trigger like Rifle Basics. They are completely adjustable from outside the gun down to a safe 10ozs. The next mod if you are into extreme accuracy is to pillar bed the stock. Both are very easy to do yourself with no experience and very few tools. The added $100 will turn a very good rifle into a great little tack driver.
 
Very interesting. It seems that in both rifles, you get A LOT more than you pay for. And, as normal, the more expensive one is better. Depression:)
But expected
 
I have just started looking at the CZ 452 Varmint in 22WMR. .22LR is just too hard to find here but 22MAG is easy to get.
 
I have had both

I loved my cz 452 22lr lux, I now have a Ruger 77/22 and a savage mark2 heavy barrel thumb hole. I also own a CZ 527 223rem American and a CZ 550 308 varmint that is current being customized by having a SS 308 20" matte braked sportier barrel for hunting by E.R. Shaw in my neighborhood.
Both are good but don't skimp on practice a scope and range time. I was shooting my Ruger 22 @ 200yrds and was impressed with its accuracy. I do prefer CZ over savage they are pretty close to an Anchutz
http://jga.anschuetz-sport.com/index.php5?menu=301&sprache=1.
 
I really like my CZ452 FS. Super nice rifle.

I would rather the receiver had been polished prior to bluing as was the barrel. Too, I *believe* that the CZ scope rings allow the scope to shift a little bit when bumped. Perhaps all rings small enough for this rifle will allow the scope to shift, I don't know. I can say that it is a good shooter though.
 
And yet... now on a closer look at the website I find that the ramp rearsight on the CZ has been changed in the 455 to a fixed one that must be screw-adjusted for windage and elevation. At least on some models. Can anyone confirm whether this is so, and which (if any) models retain the fully elevation-adjustable rearsight? Otherwise I'll be shopping for a used 452.
 
savage will work

I had a savage mk 2 that I bought as a biathlon build project. I ended up going with a Marlin for reasons that were completely logistical.
Back on topic:
I traded my Mark2 to a friend who has used it for prairie dog control for several years now. He has yet to stop thanking me.

I've heard good things about CZs, but I know I had a great rifle in the Mark2.
 
Not a slam to savage but the one a friend owned was 'with in spec' after two trips to mossberg. It was sold after groups @ 50yds were not very impressive nor consistent. I can assure you it was not the shooter.

On the other had my CZ 452 Lux continues to impress its also beautiful.

I am a huge CZ fan but when it comes to the 452 its hard to find something new that can compare to it in quality and accuracy in the same price bracket.
 
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