Preparing and then Epoxy Bedding a CZ 453 in .17HMR

[HomerOz]

G'Day Fella's,

I have for some time now, been wanting to get myself a .17 HRM rifle.
I had been contemplating getting one of the new Lithgow Arms 101's but then, thats another story................................
So last week, I contacted a mate that owns http://www.safarifirearms.com.au and asked Gary if he had any CZ's in stock?
Yes he did but they were the New CZ 455 version. I asked him if he had any of the now dropped used CZ 452 or 453 in stock, to which I received a Yes, I have a .453 Varmint in VGC!
Gary made me an offer I couldn't refuse and it arrived a couple of days later.

Being an habitual tinkerer, I immediately checked over this rifle and then pulled the barreled action, out of the stock.
FYI, the CZ 453 is the version with the adjustable and set trigger installed. So the first thing I did was did a trigger job on it (adjusted engagements, weight of pull etc).
I will run it like this for a while and then if I think I need it to be "Better" I will dismantle the trigger parts and stone/hone the sear engagement surfaces .....................

Anyway, after having a long hard look at how the bedding in this unfamiliar rifle works, I then got to it with a chisel and relieved the critical area's of stock finish and some wood.
Here are some images of these bedding area"S" and the corresponding metal work;





Here is an image of the Set Trigger of the CZ 453


I then measured up and made an aluminum Pillar for the rear Tang screw and wrapped some masking tape around the rear screw, to give it some clearance (later).
FYI, 10mm OD, 7mm ID and 24.3mm Long.


To be continued.....

Doh!
Homer

 

[DrMike]

Looking very interesting, Homer. I have really enjoyed the CZ set trigger in the past. I found it to be excellent. I don't have a single CZ at the moment, but I wouldn't hesitate to snag one should the right caliber turn up.

 

[Wyo7200]

That's is neat. I have a 455 in .22 lr and have wanting to change the barrel to .17 hmr... Need to get one quick since I've seen places starting to say they've been discontinued, or maybe it was just midway doing their thing.

 

[HomerOz]

G'Day Fella's,

Thank You for the kind words!

When I get a chance, I'll dismantle the CZ and takes some images of the "After" details.

Regards
Homer

 

[HomerOz]

G'Day Fella's,

And After..............

Front action/barrel junction area.


Rear Tang area.


Front screw mount area (note wafer thin amount of bedding compound, around screw hole).

If the accuracy of this rifle is poor, I will initially remove just this wafer thin amount of bedded compound from this area, and see how that effects it!

Now, I need to get some "Crackers" for it and Burn Some Powder!!!

Doh!
Homer

 

[HomerOz]

G'Day Fella's,

Just a final follow up on this project.

After some effort, the only .17HMR ammo I able to locate, was CCI brand with 17grn tipped bullets (@ $28.00 Australian Dollars, per box of 50!).
A couple of weeks back, I was away bush and fired a couple of groups with this combo.
Both of these groups were around 1/2 to 5/8" size, for five shots at 50 meters!
I wasn't completely happy with this, so I made a very slight change one aspect of the bedding.
Here are 3 x 5 shot groups, again at 50 meters;



And despite being a prick of a bench rest shooter, "Homer is a Happy Lad"!!!

Avagreatweekendeh!
Homer

 

[Guy Miner]

I thought about doing a trigger job on my son's .17 HMR CZ 453... Then I shot this five-shot group, from a bipod at 50 yards. Leupold 3-9x scope, and untouched rifle - with the horrible, creepy trigger pull:





Decided I'd better leave it alone... :grin:

Guy

 

[DrMike]

Very impressive, Guy. Some of those rimfires leave us speechless.

 

[Guy Miner]

Thanks, I was impressed. CZ builds a good rifle... We've got two of them:

His .17 HMR
My .204 Ruger

Both shoot great!

 

[DrMike]

I've only owned one CZ, a 550 FS in 30-06. I regret letting it go, though I did replace it with an excellent Model 70. Nevertheless, I was very favourably impressed with the CZ.

 

[HomerOz]

G'Day Fella's,

Thats some fine shooting there Guy!
CZ make some mighty fine shooting firearms and I love my two CZ rimfires (.22LR and .17HMR)!!!

FYI, if your rifle is a 453, it should have a Single Set Trigger!
So, unload and make sure the rifle is clear/safe.
Even with the bolt handle up, you should be able to push the trigger itself Forward into the Set position!
Then a light touch on the trigger, this should fire the rifle (obviously, not with the bolt handle up)!
Guy, both the Standard trigger pull and the Set function, are both adjustable and pretty straight forward to achieve a good SAFE trigger let off!


FYI, the Blue paint, is my seal to stop the adjusting screws from moving.

Hope that helps

Doh!
Homer