CZ Model 455 .22 LR review

[6mm Remington]

I just purchased this CZ .22 LR which had a nice walnut stock with checkering and no sights. I put a 2-7 Leupold Rimfire scope on it with Warne mounts. I've been looking for a nice .22 bolt rifle with a wood stock something along the lines of this rifle or the Ruger 77 .22 LR. Unfortunately Ruger no longer makes that model I found out.

It was 27 degrees and breezy today with snow on the ground when I went out to shoot. I shot some CCI, Federal, and some Spitfire .22 LR which I think are also Federal loadings but with different bullets. At 50 yards I got 1/2" to about 3/4" five shot groups shooting with a bipod on the front and a small bag at the rear. I was also shooting with gloves on because it was cold with the breeze. I'm really pleased with the results of the shooting and I sure cannot blame the rifle if I miss something with it. Each of the different loads I tried hit almost exactly the same point of impact as the others. Dang good I would say!

David

 

[ShadeTree]

They are a fantastic 22. CZ has that little calibers number and know what they're doing. Never, and I mean NEVER have I ever heard of one that didn't shoot. Even the short little youth models will plug them in there just as good as the full stocked models, they are just harder to shoot off hand.

Some guys don't like the 455's and degrade them compared to the 452's, but personally I don't believe it is warranted. The main difference is you can now interchange barrels on the 455 but beyond that I can't see the difference in quality or performance. The biggest difference is you used to be able to buy a 452 brand new for well under $300 until the whole world figured out how good they are.

 

[DrMike]

Sounds like an excellent rifle, David. I've handled a number of the CZ products in the past. Each one proved to be good value.

 

[6mm Remington]

Thanks guys I just wanted to let you know how pleased I was with this rifle in case someone else had considered getting one.

CZ Model 455 $400.00
Leupold 2-7 rimfire scope $200.00
Warne scope mount $40.00

 

[ShadeTree]

Btw David, you done well by not finding a Ruger. They're not junk, I had one and they're a well made little 22 but a good one still wont stack up to any random CZ that comes through the door in my opinion. Those CZ 22's are flat out awesome and have been consistently for a long time.

 

[Guy Miner]

David - excellent!

Some years ago I bought my son a CZ varminter in 17 HMR. Nice little rifle and very accurate!

My gun club has been hosting a bunch of "practical/tactical" type .22 matches lately, and I've been thinking of getting a new CZ in .22 for those matches. Probably with a 6x or 10x SWFA "super sniper" scope though. They're shooting the .22 long-rifles from 40 to 300 yards in the matches!

Guy

 

[Bruce Mc]

I bought my grandson the CZ 455 Scout a couple years ago. It shoots great and is very well made. No complaints here.

 

[6mm Remington]

David - excellent!

Some years ago I bought my son a CZ varminter in 17 HMR. Nice little rifle and very accurate!

My gun club has been hosting a bunch of "practical/tactical" type .22 matches lately, and I've been thinking of getting a new CZ in .22 for those matches. Probably with a 6x or 10x SWFA "super sniper" scope though. They're shooting the .22 long-rifles from 40 to 300 yards in the matches!

Guy

That sounds like a lot of fun Guy. Imagine doping wind at 300 yards from a .22 LR! A whole lot of Kentucky windage!

 

[BretN]

I bought a Zastava CZ99 (not the same company as your CZ) a couple years ago and put my old Leupold 2-7 on it. I fell back in love with the 22. So much fun to shoot a nice accurate bolt 22. I shot it more last year by far than my center fire rifles and for very little money.

Your CZ455 is several quality steps above mine and I've hardly ever heard anyone bad mouth them. Check out the rimfire central website. Lots of CZ fans and info there, and just rimfire info in general. Enjoy.

 

[6mm Remington]

Bret it is a lot of fun to shoot an accurate 22 for sure. It's such a good way to get excellent practice also.

Shade Tree I've heard that the CZ's shoot better than the Rugers in general. I thought the price and quality on it are pretty darn good so far. Who doesn't like shooting a 22!

 

[ShadeTree]

Shade Tree I've heard that the CZ's shoot better than the Rugers in general. I thought the price and quality on it are pretty darn good so far. Who doesn't like shooting a 22!

Hopefully it wont change but for around the past 15 yrs that I've been aware of how good they are I'm not sure what production 22 you could buy no matter how high priced, that's any better. I can't honestly say for sure I've ever even handled a CZ in a standard caliber, but in 22's they apparently figured out a repeatable pattern of highly accurate manufacturing a long time ago.

If there's a used one around here at an auction it's like a flock of vultures waiting to bid on it. I don't even bother anymore thinking I can get a good deal on one. You made the right choice in my opinion!

 

[6mm Remington]

I shot on the Shoot & See targets a couple days ago and did not do quite as good as I thought I did. I went back out today and the conditions were better. The little CZ still shot very well. I used a lot better target this time around going with the Mountain Plains Industries with the 1" blue diamonds and 1/4" square lines on the targets. This is how it shook out with the .22 LR ammunition that I had. Three groups with each - five shots - all at 50 yards.

CCI hollow point ammo: 9/16" - 11/16" - 1 1/16"
American Eagle hollow pt: 7/16" - 13/16" - 1 1/16"
Federal Stinger hollow pt: 1 5/16" - 1 3/8" - 1 9/16"

I'm still going to have to keep it! Point of Impact for all three was very close with the CCI & the Federal American Eagle almost exactly the same.

 

[flashhole]

Good choice with the CZ.

I bought one for my youngest daughter so she could compete in 4-H. Lots of competition, there was always a waiting list for those who wanted to compete. 50 feet, standing off-hand shooting. She won with high score and high average 3 consecutive years. Her final year before she aged out of the program she averaged 279 out of 300 over 14 matches.

I put a Weaver variable rimfire on the 455.

Like others have stated, it's really fun to shoot and the fact it is accurate always brings a smile. We've tried just about every kind of ammo there is. CCI Stinger and Velocitor ammo works well as does Eley Match and Aguilla Super Extra. Federal bulk ammo is not impressive, Winchester bulk ammo is better but nothing to crow about.

Good luck with your new fun gun.

 

[gerry]

That's a great buy David. The CZ 22's are still the best buy for a rimfire in my opinion, the only one that might give them a run might be the Tikka 1x but that is based on the reputation of the T3 so time will tell how well they do. Quite different guns though, the walnut and blued steel CZ's are a very well made gun and worth every penny of what they cost.

I bought my LH 452 22 lr 9 years ago and am still just as pleased as back then. Now if I could only find where that magazine went

 

[Anonymous]

I've had a CZ 452 for a number of years now. It outshoots the Kimber 22 I had and easily outperforms every Ruger rimfire I've ever owned.

With Federal match, 1" or better groups at 50yds are pretty much normal.

 

[6mm Remington]

I'm going to have to start doing some more shooting now that I have a nice accurate .22 as it's sure a lot cheaper. I can practice standing, kneeling, and prone and have a lot of fun doing it.

 

[Dwh7271]

Hodgeman beat me to it. Federal Match is the ticket in my two.
I bought a 452 and liked it so much I bought a 455.
Both shoot better than I do with either federal Match or Eley.

 

[6mm Remington]

Hodgeman beat me to it. Federal Match is the ticket in my two.
I bought a 452 and liked it so much I bought a 455.
Both shoot better than I do with either federal Match or Eley.

Might have to go get some of the Federal Match. The plain Jane Federal stuff still was impressive!

 

[Polaris]

I have a Norinco JW 15 which is essentially a cruder copy of the CZ452 (or the other way around?) purchased before the fall of the iron curtain for the princely sum of $89. Although it lacks the fit and finish of the CZ rifles, this design is very sound and definitely shoots.

Wondering if the 455 shares the same basic action and magazines of the 452? The bolts, trigger groups and magazines interchange between my Norinco JW and the 452, leading me to suspect shared tooling among the commies. I've seen the military trainer version of the Nor JW 15 dating to the 60's.

 

[BretN]

Polaris,

Check out rimfirecentral.com. They have a huge section on CZ, but also if you scroll down to Other gun brands, you'll find discussions on your JW-15. Someone there will know. I have no idea if they shared tooling, or if the Chinese we're just that good at copying someone else's designs. BN