About 20+ years ago I was looking for a SUPER accurate, very well made and beautiful high end 22 LR bolt action rifle. I looked at a Kimber Super America, Anschutz, Winchester, Remington etc. A few were OK but they were either stupid expensive or just not up to the standard I was looking for.

A good friend and shooting buddy turned me onto CZ - At the time I was unaware they even made long guns - silly me. I went to a LGS that had a CZ453 American in stock and it was love at first sight! The rifle has a gorgeous Walnut stock, beautiful deep bluing, no plastic on it at all, a buttery smooth bolt action and best of all a single set trigger. The single set trigger can be set for any weight you like as the regular trigger can be as well. No creep, no take up, no over travel and the best trigger I own on any firearm - handgun or long gun.

I installed a Leupold rimfire scope on it (3-9) which by the way also has a fantastic parallax adjustment on it. That is so so important on a 22 caliber rifle than is typically used between 10 yards and 150 yards. Most fixed parallax scopes are useless and totally blurry and inaccurate at 10 yards! The Leupold is mounted to the rifle with Burris Signature scope rings for perfect alignment before I even use the scope adjustments for windage and elevation. The rifle will consistently shoot 1/8" - 1/4" groups out to 50 yards and 1/4" - 3/8" groups at 100 yards. I am SURE the rifle can do better, but that's as good as I can shoot it. I am 70 now - lol. The target below was after fine adjusting it at 25 yards to do some squirrel hunting up at my friends hunting cabin a few years ago. CCI Mini-Mags are the rifle's ammo of choice but works almost as well with Federal's blue box #510.

After a bunch of my shooting bud's shot it, they went out and bought their own 453 American's. Th LGS sold 9 of them just to my friends - not kidding here! The only sad part of this is that soon after we all bought one of these fantastic rifles, they were discontinued by CZ because they said it cost them too much to produce. I also suspect the did not want the liability for the single set trigger as it can be set super scary light! They came out with several similar models afterwards (no single set trigger) and even though the newer models were descent, none held a candle to the very high quality of the 453 American - not even close! The barrels were thinner, the triggers not nearly as good, the trigger guards were made of plastic and over-all just not the same quality. Still good, but the 453 American was just a gem! In shooting contests I have always beaten guys shooting Anschutz, Kimber's, etc. Yes - it also depends on one's shooting ability, but the contests were mostly from a bench position so the rifles themselves make a huge difference.

At the time I believe I paid around $575 for the rifle and about $425 for the scope and signature rings. IMHO, I would take this rifle to any competition for accuracy, quality and overall perfection. Anyone looking for an incredible 22 LR rifle and who stumbles across one, I would say - BUY IT! Caution..... they did also make this rifle in .17 H&R Magnum as well (which I would not recommend because of the round itself), so be careful if looking for & buying one. The .17 is not something I am personally fond of - noisy, expensive and hard to get ammo. Plus, you just can't see the tiny holes in a target at 100 yards - even with a pair of good binoculars.

I have not really looked for one of these rifles lately and they are rarely available (used market) as most of my shooting friend's already have one. If you can find one used in good condition, it is a hell of a rifle and IMHO, about the best 22LR rifle you can readily and affordably buy now days. I will go so far as to say one of the best rifles for the money ever offered over the last 75 years.

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In my old age I'm beginning to love plinking with a bolt .22lr rifle. I dont have near the nice (but pricey) setup you have, especially when it comes to the optic. My Ruger American Rimfire in .22lr is capable of shooting one-inch groups at 50 yards. The scope is a relatively inexpensive Leupold Rifleman, 2x7 mounted with standard tip-off mount rings. This target was ten rounds of Wolf Match ammo at 50 yards. I think it could do even better with a quality rimfire scope and different mount setup.

Ruger American .22lr.jpg

My best ever 22rf rifle was Montgomery Ward Model 830 Westernfied bolt action. Accurate to 100 yards.

Good 25 yard rifle, will shoot on par with the old Remington 513's, Winchester 75's and the upper tier Mossbergs. Stretch their legs to 50 yards and not quite as accurate.

The target below was shot with a Winchester 52D made in 1965 with Redfield International iron sights, This was shot at 50 Yards benched. The target is a 10 meter air pistol target. 5 shots of SK Rifle Match.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

I have a CZ 455. Though it doesn't have a wood stock or a set trigger it works fine for me. It's draw is that a .17 HMR barrel can be used without any modification to the rifle. That wasn't the reason I purchased however.

I grew up using a .22LR for lots of things including shooting rabbits, crows and tin cans. I had some pretty nice 22's in the 60's, a time when quality was the rule rather than the exception. CZ has literally gone back in time and produced the best quality they can and stay slightly above the median price point. My 455 is better than any Remington or Winchester I had in the 60's.

As far as I know the 455 was recently discontinued, which makes it the 2nd in 450 series to be discontinued. All that tells me is they don't have a large profit margin and costs to manufacture have exceeded the market they were in. 457 has become very expensive for a 22LR rifle.

I routinely shoot mine at 220 yd plates. It isn't that difficult to hit an 18'' plate if there is no wind. IMO CZ quality is worth a few hundred bucks more than a Ruger or Savage.

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That's just somebody talkin.

I am a big CZ .22 rifle fan. I have had this CZ 452 "Trainer" since 2009, have put many thousands of rounds through it and it still looks like new. Here is a steel rabbit target shot at 100 yards, prone position, five rounds on target:



With it's newer CZ 457 .22 Magnum brother, this one is quite worthy as well:

I really like using those zeroing targets. I generally use them with a centerfire rifle at 100 yards.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

My second most accurate 22 rifle is a cheap Marlin Glenfield model 25 that my Dad purchased for me as my very first rifle when I was 11. It has a Birch stock, a chrome plated bolt and came with a "Marlin" 3/4" junker scope. I still have it and believe it or not, the cheap Glenfield really shoots!! Not as accurate as the CZ 453 American, but more accurate than rifles costing many times as much. As a kid I spent many a Saturday plinking away. I have since upgraded the scope which cost a lot more than my Dad payed for the rifle, or for that matter than it's probably worth now. LOL!!

Just as an aside, my very first Shotgun was a 12 gauge Savage Stevens (a model 77 I think) with an adjustable twist choke. I had it for about 4 years and sold it - I was never a fan.

I sure don't intend on parting with my old CZ BRNO #5 Deluxe .22 LR. It wears an old Redfield 4x scope and it shoots well under a minute of a cottontail.

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Bill Bates

Love the .22 rifles. My most accurate vintage is a 1958 Marlin Golden 39A, Next is a Remington Fieldmaster 572 pump from 1971, Marlin Model 60 is very accurate for the price. S&W 15-22 is very accurate for the shorter barrel when compared to the ones above.

I also love the 22 rifles. I have a CZ 452 varmint with the heavy barrel. It is the most accurate rifle I have. My son has claimed it for his. I shoot a Browning TBolt. It was worked over by a gunsmith prior to my purchase. The trigger is really nice. It is the one I hunt with.

CZs are beautiful rifles no doubt. The ones with Mannlicher stocks are in a league of their own. I wanted one in .223 but ended up with an Inter Arms “ mini Mauser”. Deal I couldn’t pass up.

Same here Chief.

Several years ago my father wanted something lighter than his Ruger 77/22 which is extremely accurate after upgrading the trigger.

He wanted a nice rifle and expected the same accuracy. I found a CZ 455 for him. He was beyond happy.

In addition to the 455 he now has one in 223 and 221 Fireball. All tack drivers and varmint killers.

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Life Is A Gift. Defend it!

+1 on the CZ Chief!

I picked up a left hand 452 about 4 years ago for rimfire sporter matches, and am in love with it. It shoots way better than I can and the action is just as you describe…..butter!

I will say that the most accurate .22 I’ve ever shot is my Kimber 82G US marked that came from the CMP.

Kimberly was just a phenomenal shooter. I would use it for some of our indoor winter league .22 matches that are shot off bags. Attached are a few pics of Kimberly and a couple of her groups. The sudden death target is a 50’ match of 5 shots for score. If you cut the edge of the scoring ring your total goes to zero. The 7 shot group was a partial box of wolf extra target that I thought I’d finish up and she printed exceptionally! I have an inexpensive air rifle scope on her that works well!

My most accruate 22lr rifle was a Weatherby Mark XX11. In my younger days I could from bench rest put them into a dime size group at 100 yards open sighted. It would routinely best my brother's Anschutz. The only rifle we have now is a 10/22 which is far more accurate than I am. For the money I have not seen better.

I shot the target below with a Kimber 82G from CMP. This was shot from the bench at 50 yards with iron sights. Was using SK Standard Plus ammo. Should have kept the rifle. That is 0.167 center to center.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Toss up between my 1813 Anschutz SN 001 that I bought from Lones Wigger Jr. The other candidate is my 52 D Winchester in an Anschutz prone rifle stock.
As good as the CZ rimfire is it will not be competitive in 3-4 position or outdoor prone matches. I have 4 of them....steel chickens in rimfire silhouette hate them as do live p. dogs here in Montana!!

Randy

My most accurate 22LR was a mid 60's Anshutz 54 prone rifle. I would shoot it off a bench rest. At 200 yards you would hit M&M's 60 to 75% of the time! This was with Eley Team EPS ammo.

I had a GM Kimber; I never found an ammo that gave M&M size performance at 200 yards. Does anyone have a Government Model Kimber (Clackamas) that doesn't have a utility knife cut down the stock?

I sold them about 12 years ago. Still have a very accurate Kimber of Oregon Varmint SN 0033 (My brother has the same thing but Kimber of America. about 66% as accurate) I also have a Weatherby Mark XXII bolt action. Anshutz 64 action stocked by Weatherby. They shoot well and are all pretty! Best shooting sporter I ever messed with.

Ivan

With 9 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren the challenge of hanging on to a .22 rifle has become very difficult. For many years I have treasured an early (1939 vintage) Winchester 62A I acquired from the original owner in near perfect condition, but that has become so valuable that I hesitate to drag it into the woods for small game season.

A few years ago I added a CZ Model 455 American .22LR. Absolutely beautiful rifles, walnut stock beautifully checkered, polished and blued steel, the way rifles were meant to be! I caught mine for under $400 in 2019, prices have climbed since then.

My primary use is small game, mainly cottontails and grouse. I added a short front ramp with bead and a Williams receiver sight made to fit the CZ dovetail. Slender, lightweight, perfect for my needs. The folks at CZ-USA provided me with a spare magazine, something I always like to have for any mag-fed firearm.

Also have the CZ factory 1" steel scope rings. Maybe I'll get around to working with the rifle with a good scope also.

The CZ rimfire line-up is truly outstanding! I've been hunting with .22 rifles since about 1959, several great Winchesters, Marlins, and an Anschutz. From the current crop of production firearms the CZ rifles (452, 453, 455, 457) are tough to beat.

Another feature some may appreciate is interchangeable barrels to convert from .22LR to .22WMR and .17HMR, if the owner feels those needs. Swap out the barrels, install or remove the mag well block for the appropriate magazine, everything on the same action, looks easy to do in only a few minutes.

Current crop of grandkids are eyeing mine and trying to make their claims, but I'm not quite done with it yet.

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Life of the party until 8:00PM

+1 on the CZs. I too inherited my FILs 452 trainer. Plain, almost ugly, but man will it shoot.

When he passed, I was planning on keeping his old Remington he had since he was a kid, strictly for sentimental reasons. I was cleaning the CZ up in preparation for selling it, and I was struck by its quality and almost total lack of plastic. I ended up keeping the CZ instead.

I have several CZ's myself. They generally shoot great and even though I take care of my guns, I don't like dragging my Anschutz or Cooper through the woods.

I have a bunch of .22 rifles, one dating back to a Christmas present of a Stevens Favorite from my dad when I was about 8 years old. As I've related elsewhere, I had to deal with a retinal hemorrhage I had some 3+ years ago in my right eye. While it has cleared up significantly, and I have completed cataract surgeries, there are still some issues with the sight in my right eye, which has caused me to sight handguns with my left eye and forego shooting long guns totally.

Recently I was puttering around in the safes in my basement and seeing if it could be feasible to shoot long guns again. I had with me a pair of the Delta Plus Safety Reading glasses with me. I pulled out my AR-15/22, put the safety reading glasses on, and looked through the peep sight. Lo and behold, I could see the front sight! Maybe I won't be shooting 200 yard rimfire matches, but now I have an incentive to see if I can shoot my rifles again at some reasonable distance.

Remington .22 Scoremaster with a weaver 4X scope.
targets were yellow head thumb tacks at 100 yards.
every shot a hit.

Your CZ 453 American is shooting 1/4 -3/8 inch groups at 100 yards ???
With CCI Mini mags no less !!
Uhhh .... are you sure about that ?

The Browning T Bolt is also a super accurate rifle with a great factory trigger. The only BIG issue with the T Bolt is many of them were shipped with Salt Wood. Browning had a HUGE issue with that. If you have one that does not have the salt wood problems - it is a fantastic rifle.

Absolutely positive! From a sand bag on a bench of course - like I stated above. Not that hard to do with the 453 American and the single set trigger. Some of my friends who own one can do the same. We would routinely hang a 1/4" steel rod at 100 yards and hit it more than not. Yes - always a few flyers, but the rifle will outshoot the Anschutz rifles I have personally shot.

As stated above as well, my rifle loves the Mini-mags! It does not like standard velocity ammo at all and shoots horribly with Eley black box and red box ammo! In the manual that came with the rifle it clearly states the recommended ammo is high velocity. That is because the barrel is very tight and they suggest never using standard velocity ammo at all.

IMPORTANT NOTE

BTW, just a note to anyone who owns a CZ 453 American OR a 452 (same rifle but it has no single set trigger). Do NOT use a 22 caliber cleaning rod! You can easily damage the rifle. Use a .17 caliber cleaning rod with a converter to accept 22 caliber bronze brushes and loops.

I really have to wonder about some of these "group" sizes. How many rounds to a group? How many times has it ever been done? Aside from cherry picking a one off, how is that group measured? Do you have access to a hundred yard indoor range?
Machine rests?

This thread sound like a fishing forum.

Feel the same way. That is why I post pictures of what I am talking about. "Without pictures it probably did not happen!" I usually include the distance shot, rounds in the group, type of ammo used, firearm used, sights used, and give a reference as to the size of the group fired(usually a coin).

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Obviously, a one hole group isn't going to happen every time at the range, but it's not all that rare. Here's a few targets I shot last week while testing some ammo... these are all 5 shot groups (except for the single - wrong target) at 50 yards off the bench. Bald Eagle bench rest with soft bags at the rear. Outdoor range, zero value wind at 2-4mph.



You have to be disciplined in your approach, and consistent in your shooting techniques. That's the hard part. The other challenge, especially with .22s is the consistency of the ammo. I get regular flyers with CCI SV, but it's very good for the cost, and I'm not competing seriously so it's my main general use ammo. From my recent testing, it looks like Norma Match 22 is going to shoot well in my rifle, but it's an ongoing process...

The shots above are out of my Tikka T1X, which is my best shooting .22LR.



I also have a CZ 457, which is close, but not quite as good. It's pretty much my wife's gun at this point...

I have a CZ 452 American that I love. My kid calls it "dad's little sniper gun".
I also have had the pleasure of shooting several Anschutz Biathlon rifles. They win hands down.

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Front sight and squeeze

In my life's quest for the ultimate accuracy I have spent more money on a plethora of 22 ammo than any other caliber (for accuracy). The single most accurate round (out of my CZ 453) is the CCI Mini-mag. When they were hard to come by, the Blue Box Federal #510 is my second choice and I'd say the American Eagle is #3. All are high velocity 40 grain bullets.

In some other rifles I actually do incredibly well with older Winchester Wildcat 40 grain which is also a high velocity round but basically their lower end promo ammo. I have never had really great luck with Remington and the worst of the lot in every gun I own (should actually be the best) is Eley target ammo. For some reason the stuff just shoots terribly for me. I have 4 different variants and have had no luck at all.

I will say that lately I have had a few more "duds" with the CCI ammo than in years past. Not a whole lot, but more than I had been used to. I can also hear and feel some variation from round to round. That said, it is still quite accurate and probably still the most reliable.

The .22 bench shooters at My old club mostly used CZ452 & CZ457's. My most accurate 22 is My Winchester 52 from 1933 and My Remington 541T is a close second.

All three of my kids have their own model 452.
I have a 455, but only because they discontinued the 452.

Back in the '50's, when we would visit my cousins back in NE, my dad would borrow their simple .22 and take me out to the town dump, and I would blast away at jars and jugs and cans. Then in '65, took a liking to the new 1011's, and bought my first 22 rifle, and now my grandson is learning to shoot it with a youth stock with an inexpensive DOT site. He loves it.

I bought him a youth stocked CZ 457 a few months ago, really slick and accurate rifle using Federal lead round noses, put a Leupold rimfire scope on it, and he is good at blasting clay pidgins and pop cans at the 20 yard berm. Same with a youth Lever Henry, iron sights, and a S&W "AR" too.

He is now transitioning to my '44 Inland Carbine, and at 9 years old, he blows up clay pidgins at the 20 yard berm, but only shoots it off a sandbag, as it is heavy shooting offhand.

About 30 years ago, bought one of the Japanese Winchester bolt .22's, mine is a 52 c, or a b, can't remember now. It is a superbly accurate rifle when zeroed with a 4X scope at 100 yards, with CCI MM 40 grain round nose. A really nice, precision bolt rimfire.

Ollie and I are taking the 10 year old lass who just moved into across the street to the range very soon, she is all excited. Her dad is an X-Marine, and they are also looking forward to the two kids shooting rifles. No pistols yet. Her dad and I are running over to the nearby PSA indoor range where I am a member this afternoon. He is just learning to shoot a DOT pistol.

I am buying bulk 22 every where I see it, remembering the shortage of 22 about 6 or 7 years ago. SF VET

45 years go I had a Rem 511 magazine fed .22lr. Number on bbl is DH47. The stock is carved in the letters BUD. I mounted a Weaver K4 in the tip off mounts the receiver was grooved for. At Ben Avery range I shot a target at 100 yds using CCI Mini Mags solid points. First 5 shot group was round 1" c-c. Feeling lucky I moved the tgt to 50 yards, fired another 5 shot group similar results but smaller group placed about 4" higher than the first. still feeling lucky moved the tgt to 25 yards. A very small group back down near the 100Yd gp. Over the years I have lost that target, as well as the rifle to a 2015 burglery. I had separated the breach bolt form the rifle as there was not room in my strong box for the rifle. I still have the bolt as well as another from a Rem 512 P, the tube version with a factory aperture rear sight; Also lost in same attack. The bbl # LB38. I would love to have one or both rifles returned.

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"Don't Give Up the Ship"

My favorite is a Marlin 39A made in 1956.

Very accurate.

As a kid I had a Remington bolt action 22lr my dad gave me. It had a tube magazine that held a lot of rounds. I suspect it was made in the 30's but don't know.

Real accurate in my hands, but the reason was likely because my eyes were 65 years younger then.

Don't have it anymore. My mom sold it off when I was in college.

I have a bunch of accurate bolt .22s and have been through a zillion others through the decades. Right now I have five that I would consider truly accurate. I enjoy them all. They include the following, from least accurate to most accurate. Group averages are given for hundreds of groups, all five shots center to center at fifty yards. Most groups were shot with CenterX:

5. Winchester 52 reissue with Leupold 3 - 9 shoots right at .45 inches center to center.
4. CZ American 452 1 of 1000 with Leupold 3 - 9 and trigger kit shoots .4 inches.
3, Springfield 1922 with 8x Lyman Junior Targetspot shoots low .3s.
2. Sako Finnfire, heavy Lilia barrel, Jewell trigger, Leupold 20x shoots .3
1. Custom Anschutz 1710, Canyon Creek sporter stock, Leupold 18x, shoots .25.

They are all a hoot to shoot on my backyard 50 yard range. I also get great pleasure out of shooting my classic .22 "plinkers" at 50 yard steel swingers.

Really enjoying this thread!

Best .22 rifle I ever had was the first one I bought, a Ruger 10/22 “Made in the 200th Year of American Liberty” purchased new for $59 + tax. That thing was a tack driver. I’d still have it if I hadn’t given it to one of my daughters.

Those numbers on Remington barrels were the factory date codes.......... D would be the month (Sep) and the H most likely would be 1961 for the year. Year codes were reused so sometimes you have to go by known features from the production period. The 47 is not identified but probably was the inspector number.

L on the second rifle would be February. The B would seem most likely to be 1955. While they wouldn't really identify the exact guns you had stolen if you found an example with the same number it would at least be from the same year. ......... Thieves really suck, a darn shame when they steal part of your memories.

Mine is one of the newer models without the salt wood. It has a composite stock which is great for hunting. I love the magazine. I got it off GB years ago. The owner messaged me and told me he was a gunsmith and had worked the trigger over. I agree as it has a very nice trigger and it shoots very very well. In any event I am happy with it. I also have a CZ 455 in 22 mag, BRNO 1, BRNO 2 and BRNO 2E which looks like a CZ 452.

All my rifle targets have been shot outdoors. The only indoor shooting I do is with handguns. My old club that I belonged to for 30 years had a 200 yard rifle range and one of the clubs I currently belong to has a 300 yard range.

I have never used a machine rest - just a bunch of sandbags. The 25 yard and 50 yard groups are gettable all day long with the CZ453 but the 100 yard groups are less frequent obviously - mostly do to me, the wind, the weather or whatever.

I will be perfectly honest - until I bough this rifle I did not think accuracy like this was even achievable. Up until I purchased the CZ, the most accurate rifles I have shot were the Browning T Bolt and an Anschutz (don't recall the model as it was not mine). Since getting this CZ I have not been able to match the groupings with any other rifle, regardless of cost - although I have certainly tried. I have shot my CZ for 20 years now and I am certainly quite comfortable with it. That was the whole purpose behind the thread. If you don't believe this is possible and doubt my word - that is certainly your choice. No one here can control what you think but I have no reason to BS anyone. I have never in all the years posting here, misrepresented a target and I do post a few from time to time. I am NOT bragging but I consider myself a pretty darn good shot. At 70 years old and using only iron sights I can usually outshoot anyone with a handgun with a red dot or laser. The only two scopes I own are both on 22 rifles and I do not own any optical or electronic sights at all. I was the only shooter on my club's pistol team that shot with factory iron sights. I still do not wear glasses (except cheaters for reading) and I do not fish!

Here are some other targets that I saved over the years and they are all true as to what is written on the targets. Some of them were done with friend's guns that I had never shot before including splitting a playing card with a Colt 22 Peacemaker. Some were shot with my own guns. There is one target shot with my CZ 453 at 175 feet - the longest target we had set up in my friends yard that day. We only measured it after I shot - hence the strange shooting distance. Again, not trying to brag - but I can shoot.

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I have a Marlin M39A from 1946 and it is also pretty accurate (see post #42 - second target from left)). I cherish it because it belonged to my Dad. That said, I also have a Winchester 9422 XTR that isn't as comfortable because of the short carbine length, but it is more accurate. It also has a very very low round count through it while my Marlin 39A has 10's and 10's of thousand's of rounds through it. If I had to choose which one to get rid of if I had to - it would be the Winchester. The 39A will go with me! LOL!!

Had to take my Winchester 52D to that range as I was having trigger issues with it and had it out of the stock. Had to rezero the rifle, this was done at 50 yards with iron sights. Groups are five shots each.

Wish we were all closer together so we could get together and shoot.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

I have a 1973 Glenfield Model 60 given me by my father.

My grandsons are happily plinking away with it.

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Music/Sports/Beer fan

Rusty,

Those are the best. I have a Savage Model 7 that my Grandfather bought in 1938. He gave it to me in 1961, and I gave it to my Grandson in 2007. My Wifes Glenfield Model 60 (1977) is now my Granddaughters. Hand me downs are the best!

AJ

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Nice rifle Chief. Been a big CZ fan myself for a long time. I have a 453 with a set trigger, and a 457 which is my ARA 50 yard gun. Both are way more accurate than they have a right to be. They both do their best with Eley and SK match ammo. And it seems to me that my new to me 1933 Winchester 52 is partial to SK Standard and Wolf Match, both affordable, and shooting sub 1 inch at 100 yards.

A real sleeper is my Kimber .22 Hunter. It is a solid 1/3 inch rifle for five shots at 50 yards. Sporter weight barrel and stock. And its favorite ammo is a particular lot # of CCI Velocitors of all things. Down to my last brick. Any other lot # won't come close in accuracy.

Day in and day out, I have found CCI SV and Eley Contact to be very consistent ammo in a variety of rifles for not much $$. That expensive match ammo is not really needed unless you are shooting for absolute group size, and only if your rifle likes it.

Larry

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CZ rifles are hit or miss. This CZ453 Varmint for example will turn in some superb 100 yard groups around 1/2 MOA about half the time and around 1.5 MOA the other half of the time.



On the other hand this CZ 453 American is a very consistent 1 MOA rifle at 100 yards.

Got one of the 452 trainers when they came out, and it is indeed a very accurate rifle. Then got the 22 mag version, and when scoped is literally a tack driver at 100 yds (when i was younger). Am not doubting the pictured groups at all.

Also have other cz rifles, and all but several are very accurate. However CZ's are not infallible, and imo the earlier versions had more quality control.

I guess there will always be variations within a rifle brands individual examples even within the exact same model - just as some here report no issues with their S&W revolvers while others have horror stories. I do not doubt that at all.

Like I have said before, I have personally fitted sights, sighted in and adjusted set triggers on 8 other CZ 453's and set up one 452 (could not get a 453). All are superbly accurate including the 452 which is essentially the same rifle without a single set trigger. That trigger was tweaked a little and while there is no set feature, the trigger pull is incredible!

I general, I find and choose CCI standard velocity 40 grain as the most accurate in my semi auto pistols. I like the Mini-Mags in my 22 revolvers and they seem to like them the best in the accuracy department. Mini-Mags also work the best in my 22 rifles, maybe with the exception of my Marlin 39A. I am still up in the air with that one. I keep going between the Mini's and the Standard. It could be just me on a particular day. I have been at the point for over a decade now that I do not consider buying anything else other than CCI 22's. I still have a lot of other brands to use up on steel targets where they just have to hit them and ring - precision isn't as important.

BTW, there are slight differences between lot numbers and individual bricks of 22's even within the same case. When switching from an old brick to a new one or to a new case, I do find a slight bit of tweaking the sights or scope is required. When I am shooting in a competition, match or against competitive friends just for laughs, I always make sure I have ammo from the same Brick.