New toy! CZ 455 American .22LR

My personal preferences generally lean toward vintage and antique firearms. I admire craftsmanship, finely finished wood (preferably walnut), and blued steel. The modern "plastic fantastic" and stainless stuff generally leaves me cold and uninterested.

Having 9 grandchildren (and 4 great-grandchildren now) the contents of my gun safes seem to migrate away on a regular basis. Nothing is harder to hang onto than a good .22 rifle, especially when one of the kids spends some time with me at the range.

So, I've seen some of the CZ rifles over recent years, admired the designs and craftsmanship, and I've been following some on-line auction sites. My preferences leaning toward classic styles, the CZ 452/455 American line have caught my eye. Found a 455 in as-new condition set up with a Williams receiver sight and ramp-mounted fiber optic front sight, a very sensible combination for a .22 sporting rifle. Put in a bid at the starting price and ended up winning the rifle. Arrived today.

I am very pleased with this rifle. Genuinely an adult-sized piece with classic straight comb buttstock, nicely checkered pistol grip and fore-end. Bolt action with 5-round detachable magazine, 20.6" hammer forged barrel (free floated in the stock), receiver grooved for easy scope mounting (if that is your thing), wing-style safety on the bolt shroud that locks the bolt and striker, fully adjustable trigger. Barrels are easily interchangeable, with .22WMR and .17HRM available at modest cost (if that's what you want). Overall weight just under 6 lbs. QD swivel studs standard.

I understand that the 455 is now out of production, replaced by the new 457 with a few upgrade features. These CZ rifles evolved from the earlier (and highly respected) Brno rifles. Many reviews and test reports are found on-line, usually reporting at or near MOA performance with good .22LR ammo.

Anyway, sent payment and local dealer's FFL 9 days ago and received the rifle today. For 9 days I got to feel just like a 12 year old waiting for his .22 rifle! Now I feel like a 12 year old who just got his .22 rifle! Remains to be seen which grandbaby makes off with this one, but that probably won't happen for a little while.

Range report as soon as I can make that happen.

I had a couple 452s that got away from me. Are the 455s better or are the 457s? The 452s are pretty nice.

If I get one, it'll be a 452 American. Already fully evolved to perfection. I don't need added features like interchangeable barrels.

I don’t have one yet, but have admired them for a while. Happy shooting to you, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

The best ammo that I have found for my 455 is SK standard plus. This is a 5 shot group at 25 yards.

series guy said:

The best ammo that I have found for my 455 is SK standard plus. This is a 5 shot group at 25 yards.

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Geez...a squirrel's head hasn't got a chance against that kind of shooting!

Not familiar with SK ammo. What does SK abb.?

CZ rimfires are my favorite of anything in it's price range by a long shot. With minimal work on the trigger, they're normally fantastic shooters.

LoboGunLeather said:

Range report as soon as I can make that happen.

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Absolutely! Show the targets! They’ll be impressive! Love my 455 American set up with bipod, monopod, Leupold rimfire target scope, and CCI standard velocity 22 LR ammo!!

series guy said:

The best ammo that I have found for my 455 is SK standard plus. This is a 5 shot group at 25 yards.

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+1 on the SK standard plus... it is also the exact same ammo sold as Wolf Match Extra. The ammo is made by Lapua.

This accuracy seems to be very consistent with the CZ 455's, I get similar results and the same is routinely reported on Rimfire Central.

ACORN said:

I had a couple 452s that got away from me. Are the 455s better or are the 457s? The 452s are pretty nice.

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I can't say whether the 452, 455, or 457 is best. This is my first CZ .22 rifle so I will have to evaluate everything with only one sample to play with.

The basic action design is excellent by all reports. The workmanship and attention to detail are first rate as compared to any other comparable product I have seen.

As stated in the original post, I prefer open sights (and I especially like aperture sights/receiver sights) and this rifle was already outfitted very closely to what I would have chosen for myself. That alone saves me considerable time and money toward getting exactly what I like.

series guy said:

The best ammo that I have found for my 455 is SK standard plus. This is a 5 shot group at 25 yards.

Click to expand...

Darn it! Here I am stuck with a thousand rounds or more of 20 year old Remington standard velocity and a few boxes of Federal hollow points. Guess I'll just have to make do for a while!

Texas Star said:

If I get one, it'll be a 452 American. Already fully evolved to perfection. I don't need added features like interchangeable barrels.

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Well yes, sort of, but you might want to look at that new 457. Especially if the "backwards" safety on the 452 bothers you as much as it does me. The reduced size action is nice too as is the 60 degree (versus 90) bolt rotation which allows a larger scope. And great fit and finish. Sure didn't need another rimfire rifle but bought the first one I saw.

Jeff
SWCa #1457

I have a 455 American and couldn’t be happier with it. I bought it because I wanted a .22 bolt action that was lighter than my wz78 tack driver but was accurate and classic I love the classic styling of the 455 American and the great wood. Mine is a tack driver as well! But CZ/BRNO has always made excellent rifles.

I have a CZ 453 American, a CZ 453 Varmint and a CZ 455 Varmint Tacticool.

All three are 1 MOA at 100 yards rifles with SK Standard Plus. I've also found that SK Std Plus shoots well in virtually all my precision .22 LR sporters and match rifles.

The CZ 453 is basically a CZ 452 with two action screws and a very nice adjustable trigger. The CZ 455 Varmint has a very crisp trigger adjustable down to 2 pounds. It had some creep that disappeared after a 100 rounds or so.

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As noted above SK Standard Plus is made by Lapua. SK Match, SK Std Plus and Sk Magazine are the same load made on the same machines. What determines which is which is the accuracy and velocity testing done with each lot.

Lots that meet the SK Match standard are packaged as such while lots that meet the slightly lower standards for SK Std Plus are packed as such, and what is left over that doesn't meet the Std Plus standard is packaged as SK Magazine.

Wolf Match Extra is SK Match packaged in the Wolf package. Wolf Match Target is Std Plus in Wolf packaging.

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In practical terms SK Match isn't more accurate than Sk Std Plus or SK magazine, it's just more consistent.

For example in my Anschutz match rifle I can shoot a clean 200/200 prone score on an A-23-5 at 50 yards.

With SK Std Plus I encounter an average 1-2 fliers per box of 50. These are usually pretty significant fliers out in the 8 ring for a score of 198/200 or 196/200.

With SK Magazine I get an average of 3 or 4 fliers out of 50, for a score around 194/200 to 192/200.

For practice ammo, SK Std Plus or SK Magazine is fine as the fliers are pretty obvious. On steel plates at 200 yards SK Std Plus and Sk Magazine are also great choices as a miss or two out of a box of 50 isn't a big deal.

I reserve the more expensive SK Match for actual match use.

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My CZ 453 Varmint, with better than average wood for a CZ.



My CZ 453 American (center) with Ruger 77/22 (top) and CZ99 Precision (bottom)



My CZ 455 Varmint Tacticool:

I have a 452 LH in .17 HMR. It is one nice little rifle.

I have a CZ 455 Varmint in 22 Mag that is pure fun to shoot. Critters beware!



And when it comes to backyard plinking, my 452 FS (22 LR) is unparalleled.



These rifles are very well made for the price point!

I really have enough 22 rifles, but one of those nice old CZ 22 lr's would be so nice...

Even though I am right handed, I shoot long guns left handed and always have. Over the years, I got really tired of shooting right hand bolt guns left handed. About a year ago, I noticed that there was still a decent quantity of left hand 452s available. Didn't take me long to punch the buy button and I am very happy I did. Mounted Warne Maxima rings and Nikon Prostaff Rimfire II 3-9x 40 on it when it arrived. It is a wonderfully accurate and fun gun to shoot. It makes my third left hand bolt gun, to go along with my M700 BDL and M70 Featherweight. I think I have my bases covered now.

Enjoy your CZ and love those grandkids!!

I bought my Significant Other a 455 American in 22LR several years back because she didn't have any long guns. Great little gun, but it started me thinking that maybe I should get one of those CZ 22s for myself. Next thing I know, I had more than one. All 452s except for a new 457 American.

So, be forewarned. You'll need that extra space in the gun safe.