CZ 452 Ultralux super exclusive accuracy

[USMC Retired]

Marky,

Thanks, but I bind the rifle down in the Led Sled pretty tight.   The Ranger Point folks cut the barrel down to 16.5". 
The folks a CZ and Ranger Point say that as long as the round has enought barrel to completely burn through its propellant, a shorter barrel is stiffer, more stable, and more accurate.  Shot Stingers yesterday out to 125 yards consistently on 3 inch wobble targets, so that supports their claim. Yea, the copper plated stuff seems to do pretty well in it.  Win M-22s and Rem Thunderbolts don't do so well.  Federal AutoMatch does Okay.  CCI Green Tag and Standard Velocity are comparable to the Win CPHPs. No problem at all on the wobble targets at 200 with Win 36 grain CPHPs.  I have achieved roughly 75% success at 330 on a 18 by 12 silhouette target with the Win CPHPs.  My goal is to go out to 400, but the Win 36 grain CPHPs and Stingers are just too light, and I have not found a good 40 grain round yet.  I have not run accross any Velocitors, can't convince myself to pay the online prices yet.  Maybe I will get lucky at Walmart.  Have you had any luck at long distance, and if so, any round you recommend?  My next buy with probably be a CZ 512 accurized the same as my 455.  The 512 has the same barrel as the 455, and I think that cycling the bolt on the 455 gets me out of position and rhythm often.  Although, you may lose a bit of accuracy with the semi-auto, I feel I might be able to gain over come that by being able to stay locked in a consistently stable postion.  Any thoughts? r/s Mark

[Marky]

Man, I wish I had the distances you have. I'm limited to 100 yards. I had the same problems when cycling the bolt for the next shot. I wasn't getting consistent cheek weld to the stock and I had some parallax error past 50 yards that was giving string shots. I fixed it when I bought a scope with an adjustable objective lens.Now, its a none issue with head placement. Have you tried an AO scope?

[USMC Retired]

Yes.  I recently bought a Bushnell 6500 parallax scope.  Paid $700 through Amazon for it, but worth it.  Good clear optics at any distance I want with 22lr.   It tracks pretty consistently too.  As long as I can see point of impact, adjustments are easy without having to range find and do the calculations.  Thanks for relating your position consistency thoughts.  Furhter confirmed my decision to buy the 512.  At 50 yards with the 455 I was able to do .25 inch groups on one 3 round string right on top a .25 inch bullseye, but on the next couple of magazines, I shoot an inch group off target, usually to the left.  This is the cycle I get on most days.  Somewhat frustrating.  Rests and vices are great for non-shooters like me, but I am finding that you have to take care not to torque you rifle too much because the round going off will cause it to snap back on you throwing off the round as it travels down the barrel.  I don't try distances past 75 yards unless I have no winds or very light winds, around 5 mph.  I also have the luxury of a range with high dirt mounds behind my targets, making it easy to see point of impact and make windage and elevation adjustments.   Have you tried any of the Android shooting apps to help you with greater distances?   I use a Russian one called Strelok, the free base version.  You can buy the pro version for around $10, but the only advantage I see is that it has a greater library of scopes and reticles.  I am not into hold over shooting these days, so it I have not seen the need to buy an app yet.  I have also shimmed up my front ring mount with small piece of velcro tape.  I have a FX "No Limits" set of elevation adjusting ring mounts on back order that should get me out well beyond 400 and eliminating the need to shim. Using shims, Strelok, and topping out my elevation adjustment allowed me to reach 430 yards, but without the dirt mound backstops there is no way I could even attemp anything past 200 without large splatter targets and walking them back in 25 yard increments, a time consuming task.  r/s Mark

[Marky]

I have two Vortex crossfire II scopes that are 6x18x40 with an adjustable objective lense. You can pick these scopes up less than $200 most places. Anyway, I took out my 455 varmint today, just to get out in the nice weather, and see how the heavy barrel liked some RWS and Eley ammo I purchased. All of my other CZ's didn't like this particular ammo but the varmint gun seems happy with it. I have read other guys say the stiffer, larger barrel will shoot all different kinds of ammo more consistently and that's pretty much what it did. Nothing shot as good as my 452's but, my 452's can be picky with different ammo.

[USMC Retired]

Interesting.  I wonder what the differences are with the 455 and 452 that make the 452 more accurate? Any thoughts?  Could be that the longer heavy barrel makes it more accurrate with a wider range of ammo.  While Green Tags work really well, most other non-plated rounds are just okay.  My heavy short barrel 455 seems to like the copper plated stuff which may have something to do with copper interaction with the lands and grooves over a shorter length that make them more effective, but less effective on longer barrels. Or maybe I just got lucky with an excellent barrel.  Additinally, Ranger Point just told me they used some locktite to fix the barrel firmly onto the chamber. Not sure if this has anything to do with it. 

After much frustration, I found a position and trigger drawing technigue that got me back into .5 inch groups at 50.  Sounds weird and may be an indication that I need some trigger work, but I use the last segment of my index finger to pin trigger to its left lateral limit, then slowly draw the trigger back against this limit until firing.  Seems to compensate for my left pull tendencies, and is easy to repeat on a more consistent basis.  Plan to test again this afternoon, if the weather holds. 

[painter]

There's lots of discussion about the relative accuracy between the two models.

The 452 uses a threaded barrel except the HM2 models which are pinned.

The 455 uses a dovetail which slips into the receiver and is fixed by 2 grub screws. That allows all the 455 models to use the same action. All 455 barrels will fit the action as will all stocks, except for any barrel channel differences due to barrel profile. [The 452 guys say the CZ tolerances are too loose which leads to poorer accuracy.]


A weakness in the 455 platform might be that the action is slightly weaker because they use a spacer to convert a 22WMR to 22LR. It also has less support from the stock.

Whether all this makes the 455 less accurate is questionable. Most CZ's shoot pretty well, and the upside is if you get a 455 that doesn't there is factory and aftermarket support for replacement barrels If you get a 452 that's a dud there isn't a lot you can do.

I don't think one is better, or worse. They both seem to be high quality rifles at the price point.

[Marky]

I purchased a lighter spring on Ebay that was for my 455 varmint. It cost about 6 bucks or so. Anyway, it was a quick and easy install and it made my 455 trigger really awesome! I have had two 452 Americans and they were equally very accurate. My 452 ultralux is also very accurate. Its not as pretty as my American but the cool factor is way up there. I also have a 455 American and 455 Varmint. They're  accurate  too but slightly less so. My solution to the whole which is more accurate thing is buy them both.

[USMC Retired]

While still inconsistent as hell, yesterday I found a short lived groove with my 455 and was able to put 3 rounds dead center on a .25 diamond bulls eye at 100 yards with Federal AutoMatch.   All other group with Federal AutoMatch were from 1.5 to 3 inches.  Had a hell of a time with CCI Green Tag, no groups under 2.  I have to face the fact that my inconsistency discredits all previous statements on what brands my 455 likes or dislikes.  Until I lock my mechanics down I will stop making performance claims on ammo.  On the rare occasions that I do find a groove with a string of consistent ammo, this weapon is a literal tack driver, but until I control for my mechanics I can't really look at ammo performance.   

I have a 512 on the way from Ranger Point and I am eager to try her out. They will be cutting the barrel down to 16.5 and reducing the trigger to 3 lbs.  While semi-autos can be inherently less precise in their tolerances, I am hopeful that eliminating the bolt cycle from my shooting mechanics will allow my groups to be more consistent, albeit less tight. 

[Marky]

You know i have the same problems you have with ammo. One day certain ammo is good and other days they're not. I think the weather and my attitude have more to do with my performance on any given day at the range. I was told by grandfather at a young age that i seem to have a natural ability  with guns. Mostly I think my papaw was just being the awesome guy he was and having fun with his grandson when he said those things but it made love to shoot guns an awful lot. I don't get upset when I'm not having a good day at the range because even a bad day at the range is a lot of fun for me. I understand wanting to be really good at something but i think if you make it fun! your natural ability will come out. BTW, thanks for your service our country. You are not just a citizen of this great country, YOU ARE AN AMERICAN!
PS. My son is a natural good shot too

[USMC Retired]

Thanks for the kind comments.  Yep, your right.  Attitude and learning to relax, doing the exact same thing mechanically every time, then making windage and elevation adjustment to bring it home.  Its fun to chase the zero groups.  If I start getting bored or frustrated, I change to steel and wobble targets at greater distances and plink away.  Had a much better day yesterday at 100.  Was able to work my groups into 1.5 and then 1.0 inch targets with Win CPHPs in some wind.  Took my kids shooting for the first time a few months back and they seemed to take to it like fish in water, and had a great time.  It was fun watching my 22 year old daughters reaction when she had a dead center bull at 75.  My 25 year old son was the most consistent of all of us.

[Marky]

If we could just barrow a young set of eyes every now and then.....BTW I took some bulk ammo today and grouped it with matching rim thickness. I'm hopefully gonna get to try it out tomorrow. ......

[USMC Retired]

Let me know how it works for you and what you used.

[USMC Retired]

Marky,

How did the rim thickness sorting work for you? Very curious.  I sort buy weight and then by rim thickness with Win CPHPs.  Had excellent results in my 455.  Took my 512 out for its first spin in the wind yesterday.  With CCI Green Tag, every bit ass accurate at 50 yards as my 455, and as I thought, removing the manual bolt cycling allowed me to be more consistent in my shooting mechanics, making my groups more consistent.  The trigger is a good bit stiffer than my 455, but this allows me to control the cross hairs better than the lighter trigger of the 455. Recoil is noticeably greater, as you would expect, but dropping the aiming point and/or holding the barrel down compensates.  The only downside is that I burn through ammo at a much greater rate.  :-) Tried unsorted Win CPHPs with it, and as I expected,  a waste of ammo, if you want 5 round 1 inch groups.  Will sort by weight next.  If unsatisfactory, will sort by weight and rim next. Mark

[Marky]

Hey Marine! Okay, I only sorted the ammo by rim thickness but, I should have also weighed it too. My grouping did tighten up but i still had maybe 2 flyers (sometimes more) More testing to come. BTW, have you ever heard of pinching the trigger when shooting from the bench? I was talking with an old timer at the gun store this weekend and he explained it like this. Simple, Don't grip the gun just use your thumb and index finger. Put your thumb on the back of the trigger guard and pinch the trigger with your index finger. I haven't tried it yet so that's next too

[USMC Retired]

Never tried pinching the trigger, but I will now. Thanks for the tip.  I do go back and forth between laying off the rifle while in the rest and leaning on it.  Leaning is more comfortable, but has a tendency to create torque that can throw me off.  Rest or not, it seems a semi-auto blow back system raises the barrel before the round exits, more than a manual bolt action rifle.   When I am off, my tendency is to pull left and up.