David Bradshaw Photos Vol XCVI – CZ 452 Pt 2

[Lee Martin]

First shots from new CZ 452 Ultra Lux .22LR were fired over a single sandbag at 100 yards. Notes record stiff 6 o’clock wind, 15 mph, with gusts approaching 30 mph for the afternoon. Blade front sight touches white disk, for 6 o'clock hold. Top of blade level with top of notch. Ammo: Winchester M-22 black coated 40 grain Round Nose Hi-V. Bore cleaned, action lubricated, with a period of stroking prior to shooting.


Second group fired from new CZ 452 Ultra Lux, also at 100 yards. Ultra Lux comes with one 10-round box magazine. Optional 5-round mag permits a more forward position when a single sandbag is deployed, as here. 6 o’clock wind 15 mph.



Again, first 5-shots fired from rifle, 100 yards



Ultra Lux is noted as much for its no-slop Mauser style tangent rear sight, as it is for the 28.6-inch barrel which mounts the irons. Graduations in meters, presumably to match some European .22 Long Rifle and proving handy for yardage adjustments.



Tangent rear sight sleeves and is pinned to barrel. Windage adjustment via opposing screws at 9 and 3 o’clock.



Elevation adjustment is fast and positive, without lateral or vertical play.



Blade front sight slides in an inclined dovetail to fine-tune elevation and is secured by set screw. Hood with "skylight" protects and mostly shades blade. Hood is large enough to not compete with sight picture. Excellent set of iron sights.



-Lee
www.singleactions.com
"Chasing perfection five shots at a time"

[cmillard]

i have long thought about getting one of these. wonder how it shoots with premium match ammo, like lapua or sk match? nice shooting by the way!

[alukban]

I have a regular 452 Lux and it loves Wolf Match ammo. I shoot it with a single shot sled pretty much 100% of the time.

Now I'm wanting to put peeps on the thing

[BigBore44]

I have a CZ452 American in 22 mag, and it's a tackdriver.
The best thing I've found with mine is it's not finicky about ammo brand.
I have a couple of the older Marlin 22 mags and they are right finicky. One will ONLY shoot the Winchester 40gr HP or FMJ worth a hoot. Glad I have a goodly supply of that type for those two guns.

One of these days I may get a 452 in 22LR to have.

Thanks for the nice write up.

BigBore44

[jsh]

Ditto on wolf match or match extra, SK Jagd is the same as wolf match, as far as I can tell in my Winchester 52 and 75. Match extra may gain you a point or two in a match. Kids here in the 4H program shoot the heck out of the CZ's. CCI standard velocity (1050) also shot well out to 100. The old green tag isn't what it used to be, wouldn't waste the money.
FYI for those of you that want to put glass on those. They can be picky about who's rings they like.

[Rimfire69]

The vertical split Tally's work well on them, and they dont look bad either.

[bradshaw]

Jul 6, 2016 11:01:41 GMT -5 cmillard said:

i have long thought about getting one of these. wonder how it shoots with premium match ammo, like lapua or sk match? nice shooting by the way!

First eight trips to the range with the CZ 452 Ultra Lux were met by stiff winds, for the the most 6 o'clock or 12 o'clock, although some full value, conditions guaranteed to bend the humble .22. The story is far from over, and we encourage and welcome input from members of the forum who shoot CZ .22s, and other rifles. The .22 Long Rifle continues as the guru cartridge for learning and teaching marksmanship.
David Bradshaw

[brionic]

I have a BRNO model 1 - the forerunner of the fine CZ line - and couldn't be happier with it. Mine uses a more rudimentary, military Mauser-type trigger system, and has three folding leaf-type sights. For offhand and field shooting, this little rifle is at the top of my figurative heap, right next to my old Marlin Mountie.

For ammo, I tend to favor uniforming in batches - Federal 550 is a go-to - sorting first, then using Paco Kelly's Accur'zr tool. For my informal shooting, it's plenty "accurate" enough, with the weak link being me, my form, and I. Were I to be in formal competition, more consistent ammo might be a good place to start.

I would post pictures if I had any... maybe later this summer.

[magman]

Could not find a 452, so went with a 455. Doesn't have those cool sights but am impressed with it.

[bradshaw]

Jul 7, 2016 10:03:23 GMT -5 brionic said:

I have a BRNO model 1 - the forerunner of the fine CZ line - and couldn't be happier with it. Mine uses a more rudimentary, military Mauser-type trigger system, and has three folding leaf-type sights. For offhand and field shooting, this little rifle is at the top of my figurative heap, right next to my old Marlin Mountie.

For ammo, I tend to favor uniforming in batches - Federal 550 is a go-to - sorting first, then using Paco Kelly's Accur'zr tool. For my informal shooting, it's plenty "accurate" enough, with the weak link being me, my form, and I. Were I to be in formal competition, more consistent ammo might be a good place to start.

I would post pictures if I had any... maybe later this summer.

Please endeavor to post photos of your BRNO. By "Mauser-type trigger system," do you mean a two-stage trigger, of open design? The two-stage trigger is, of course, designed to be drop-safe, and may be tuned for a clean break of the second stage. John Garand adapted John Browning's Auto-5 trigger to his soon-to-be-fabled M-1. In keeping with Mauser tradition, the Garand has a great two-stage trigger. A good 2-stage trigger is a sharpshooter's friend. The factory 2-stage trigger has accompanied the Anschutz M-64 Silhouette Pistol to the top of the mountain in silhouette.
David Bradshaw

[bradshaw]

Jul 7, 2016 10:41:27 GMT -5 magman said:

Could not find a 452, so went with a 455. Doesn't have those cool sights but am impressed with it.

According to the jungle drums, the CZ 455, which has replaced the CZ 452 series, preserves its reputation for accuracy. The 452 barrel threads into the receiver. The 455 barrel has an unthreaded stub cinched to the receiver ring by screws. Other .22s utilizing a clamped barrel include the hugely successful Ruger 10/22 and the tight shooting Ruger 77-22 VBZ with tapered bull 24" barrel and match chamber.

The 452 has a locking lug opposite the bolt handle; the bolt handle acts as a safety lug. The 455 bolt handle is the locking lug. Both 452 and 455 take 452 5-shot and 10-shot magazines. The newer CZ 455 probably costs less to make than the 452. CZ promotes barrel interchangeability of the 455.
David Bradshaw

[cherokeetracker]

Jul 7, 2016 6:45:14 GMT -5 bradshaw said:

Jul 6, 2016 11:01:41 GMT -5 cmillard said:

First eight trips to the range with the CZ 452 Ultra Lux were met by stiff winds, for the the most 6 o'clock or 12 o'clock, although some full value, conditions guaranteed to bend the humble .22. The story is far from over, and we encourage and welcome input from members of the forum who shoot CZ .22s, and other rifles. The .22 Long Rifle continues as the guru cartridge for learning and teaching marksmanship.
David Bradshaw

   It was to my understanding , that these were set up for meters as opposed to Yards. Also they were set up for the high velocity ammo as opposed to the Standard velocity ammo.  
       I have a question about the adjustments of  the sights. Since you had the gun broke down, was there a recess for the rear sight screw? Or possible a flat on the barrel?  Not that it really matters, but I figure that these guns can be set up for a certain type and brand of ammo for that matter.   No opinions here,, just some thoughts, and questions.  With the front sight and the rear sight setup, The possibility seems that one could get it fine tuned to be a real tack driver.

    I have yet to own of the fine rifles. I do like them and I like the concept.  The one that I was offered to shoot, was very accurate. Me and a friend Mostly Him, worked on the sights and began to fine tune them. the end result was a 1" ( 5 shot) group at 100 yards and a 2" (5 shot) at 200 yds. I don't remember what brand of ammo we used but we did try both velocity offerings. End up using the high velocity.  The most work was done on the front sight.
   
  Mr. Bradshaw I assure you, I do understand and sympathize with you over the winds. Even yesterday when I did get a chance to shoot I was not able to do so, since I needed to use a chronograph.  The gusts being up to 30MPH  has a tendency to blow over the chrony.  I needed to know what the new loads for the 30-30 were doing. The range is situated, in a way that I was going to have to battle a cross wind.
    But I totally agree with you, that once sighted in correctly, this offering is one mighty fine teaching tool.  Reading and doping the wind, with iron sights is an unbeatable combination.


     Charles 

[jsh]

For those of you so inclined you might look up Bill Calfee. I missed an XP rim fire some years back just by seconds, kicked myself ever since.
I won't say he has the last word on RF rifles, but he has enough in the winners circle one should pay attention. His book is a pretty good read. It is informative as well as entertaining. Have not spoken to those in that loop, but hope he is still going. I sure miss Precision Shooting and the articles and interviews.
Jeff