First off I want to let everyone know I started this as a side-by-side comparison only to realize that that would be
a disservice to both the CZ 452 American we have all enjoyed over the years and to the New CZ 455 American. I think CZ
missed the boat by calling the 455 a ?replacement? to the 452 rather they should have left it as the end of one model
and the beginning of a new one. That said I?m going to try and compare them only to show, in my opinion, what I think are
improvements and differences rather then stating what I think CZ did wrong or messed up.
Nothing stellar about the stock as it is still just a plain CZ. I?m sure there will be a few that pop-up with some nice figure to
them sometime in the future. One of the first things you notice when you pick up the 455 is the barrel channel looks real wide
and it is. CZ made sure the stock no longer touches the barrel anywhere on the underside or as with a lot of the 452 models,
putting pressure on the left side of the barrel.
The channel in the stock is tapered all the way to the end so it would take a little work to ?drop in? a straight bull barrel.
The next thing about the barrel is the contour is tapered from the receiver all the way to the end of the barrel. The other
thing about the barrel it is no longer polished and shinny but has more of a dull satin finish that way the critters are less
likely to see something shinny when you are in the woods.
The receivers are different as pointed out in some of the threads on the forum. The receiver has some subtle but to me some
nice changes, most of the edges have a nice radius and with far less tool marks then the 452. The ejection port shape has changed
slightly as well as the receiver now has a 11mm dovetail.
The back of the 455 is squared off and thicker for the single lug bolt, and the non-dovetail rear action screw.
Turning the gun over CZ reshaped the tin trigger guard trying to make the rolled steel a little more palatable.
Gone is the 3 hole guard, it is replace with just 2 action screws, the wood screw was left out.
The #30 Torx action screw is a nice improvement over the old slotted screws.
Working the bolt on the 455 was a little disappointing on the one in the photos. It was very rough feeling. A little
polishing should make a BIG difference. The trigger pull is not much different then the stock 452, long, gritty and at 3lbs 12oz
for a 10 pull average on my digital Lyman gauge right out of the box.
Removing the two Torx screws(47/57), it looks like CZ purchased them off the shelf rather then make them in house(just guessing).
The receiver(15) slides out of the stock with ease and everything stays together until you turn the receiver on its side,
the ?Magazine Housing Insert Pin?(13) falls out.
With the receiver out it looks like the stock should be a lot easer to bed or install pillars if you are so inclined. Both the
action screws thread directly into the receiver making the stock fit seam a lot more solid.
The trigger is about the only thing that looks the same as the 452. Not sure if the magazine well(16) is the same as the 22MAG/17HMR
other then the hole for the ?Magazine Housing Insert Pin?(13). The angle of the trigger rod/spring is different also.
Wanting a little better trigger pull for the ?test? target I pulled the sear out, only to find it is different then the 452 sear that
came in the 22Mag so I modified one of mine because I wanted both to have adjustable sears with about the same pull weight
for the target testing.
I do not recommend the modification(wait for the new adjustable sear) as it does not keep the bolt from sliding out of the
receiver when pulling it open every time. The adjustable sear dropped the trigger pull to 2-lbs 10oz with the stock spring
at the factory setting, backing the spring nut off I easily achieved 2-lbs and that is where I had hoped to end up so both
rifles would be about the same.
I left the barrel in the receiver because I wanted to see how it would group out of the box without changing too much. I?m
sure some will say that the threaded barrel in the 452 is FAR superior to the 455s set screws and to that I would just say
then that would make my Anschutz somewhere near the bottom quality wise because they used a pin to secure the barrel.
The bolts are noticeable different in that the 455 had to accommodate both 22lr and the 22Mag cartridge.
As pointed out the single lug of the 455 allowed CZ to thread the action screw directly into the receiver having the extra thickness
in the bottom of the receiver where the second lug used to be.
I?m not sure why yet but the magazines are slightly different in that the end has a ?U? shaped notch where the cartridge exits.
I did notice when shooting the test targets that some of bullets were getting shaved slightly. That may be why the magazines
are different, as I did not notice if the old mag was the only one shaving the bullet or not.
After putting the 455 back together, installing a standard picatinny mount and tossing on the old Tasco 6-24 AO scope, I grabbed my portable bench and a few sand bags then headed out to punch some paper.
I got the scope close and shot about 20-30rds chasing hulls out to about 75yrds so the barrel would be fouled a little.
First group was Federal 510 and it was, well, ok for Federal.
Next I shot some CCI subs as that is what I like to use in my can, the group tightened up rather well.
After that I tried some Winchester SS ammo I picked up on a road trip through Tulsa, OK. I think the stringing might have been
from not shooting enough through the barrel before moving to the paper.
Next I shot 10-15rds of Wolf MT before moving to the paper. This is where I noticed, like most any of my other I own, CZ 455 liked Wolf MT.
All the 5 shot groups(except the Win-only 4) were done at just short of 50yrds and I think they are plenty good for minute-of-squirrel.
Overall I don?t see many people being disappointed with the 455 as a first purchase. I?m sure because it is a ?first model year?
there will be some small things show up but for the most part, for me anyway, it?s another CZ to add to the collection.
