New 455 varmint poor accuracy ?

[Schandler]

just bought 455 varmint in 17hmr and am not pleased with the accuracy at all. I accept rimfire accuracy limits you to rifle only since you can't alter ammo but I have 3 Cz 452's that shoot great and I expected much more from this one. I have not played with action torque at all just cleaned barrel half dozen times during sight in. Weaver 36x scope shooting hornady 17gr. Vertical is good but horizontal is where the problem is. Read about pillaring and bedding and will do it but it will be a must and new barrel if a must but I feel like it should shoot better as is especially off bag and rest.. I don't feel like it's me or the wind since I don't have problems with other rifles so I would like to see more people chime in on this thread. I would have already pillared but really want a thumbhole stock. I was hoping for exceptional out of this rifle. Would like to hear what others had to do to improve accuracy. This scope is used but have several other weavers 36x and never had a problem. Is Cz happy to hear from customers and do they offer suggestions ?

 

[TheOtherZilla]

I have a 455, switched the barrel to 17 hummer when 22 mag ammo got scarce.. Shoots like a dream.. Extremely accurate.. I have a 3-9 Nikon on it.. I also changed the trigger to a Rifle Basix. also using Hornaday 17 gr Vmax. I would pull it outof the stock and inspect it. Check the allen head screws that secure the barrel. Maybe even pull the barrel off and have a look. Just back the screws out and it'll come right off.

 

[oldhoward]

just bought 455 varmint in 17hmr and am not pleased with the accuracy at all. I accept rimfire accuracy limits you to rifle only since you can't alter ammo but I have 3 Cz 452's that shoot great and I expected much more from this one. I have not played with action torque at all just cleaned barrel half dozen times during sight in. Weaver 36x scope shooting hornady 17gr. Vertical is good but horizontal is where the problem is. Read about pillaring and bedding and will do it but it will be a must and new barrel if a must but I feel like it should shoot better as is especially off bag and rest.. I don't feel like it's me or the wind since I don't have problems with other rifles so I would like to see more people chime in on this thread. I would have already pillared but really want a thumbhole stock. I was hoping for exceptional out of this rifle. Would like to hear what others had to do to improve accuracy. This scope is used but have several other weavers 36x and never had a problem. Is Cz happy to hear from customers and do they offer suggestions ?

 

[oldhoward]

Hi, Check the barrel screws torgue about 35 inch pounds evenly. Check the front stock screws about 25 rear stock screw about 20 in lbs. Check to see if barrel is floated. Rimfire Central has a CZ thread with lots of information on tuning the 455.

 

[Tommie]

Many (most) of the CZ bolt action rimfires need the barrel channel to be relieved. Usually wood will be touching the barrel on one side and that'll cause horizontal stringing all day long.

Re: CZ customer service. Years ago I contacted CZ about a serious although non-QC issue. Fell on deaf ears.

 

[vlcakc]

As was mentioned in an earlier post there is a wealth of CZ info here: http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=18 You don't say what your accuracy expectations were? Or how close your rifle came to them? I have a CZ 455 American in 17 HMR that wasn't shooting as well as I had expected. Had the YoDave trigger kit installed, the barrel re-crowned and the stock pillared and bedded. It now shoots about an inch or slightly less 5-shot groups at 100 yards with 17 gr VMax ammo. Not as well as I'd hoped but probably ok for a field rifle. It doesn't shoot the TNT, A17 or 20 gr ammo well at all. YMMV. Good Shooting! Vic

 

[th82457]

Since you have CZ 452's I assume you have tweaked them some to dial them in also. I have owned a few 452's and my standard starting point is trigger work, free float barrel & bed action. Then I try different ammunition, most of my .17's have preferred either Federal Premium with a 17 grain TNT bullet or CCI with a TNT bullet. For some reason, my guns have not really liked the ammo using the 17 V-Max bullet. Just my experience. I would assume most tweaks that apply to a 452 would also apply to a 455. Good Luck

 

[hogpatrol]

As was mentioned in an earlier post there is a wealth of CZ info here: http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=18 You don't say what your accuracy expectations were? Or how close your rifle came to them? I have a CZ 455 American in 17 HMR that wasn't shooting as well as I had expected. Had the YoDave trigger kit installed, the barrel re-crowned and the stock pillared and bedded. It now shoots about an inch or slightly less 5-shot groups at 100 yards with 17 gr VMax ammo. Not as well as I'd hoped but probably ok for a field rifle. It doesn't shoot the TNT, A17 or 20 gr ammo well at all. YMMV. Good Shooting! Vic

I've found the same thing with my 452 Varmint. It's picky about ammo. Mine shoots best with the 20 grain game points, CCI or Hornady brands, 17Vmax next and it doesn't like the TNTs or A17s either.

 

[Schandler]

i would be happy with less than an inch at 100 especially if it were consistent. have had no luck with the 20gr and best luck with hornady brand 17gr in all my 17hmr's. yodave trigger spring installed - trigger is not bad at all no creep and i am happy with it - barrel channel open not touching - i will play with torque on screws and see if it makes a difference - plan is to change to thumbhole boyds stock - i do see pillar and bed job coming - i have been reading on rimfire a lot just thought i would see what info you fellas offered. long term plan to send to don duck for pillar and bed job and a few other things suggested and a different bolt handle - hopefully not a different barrel - thanks for the input

 

[Fotheringill]

I have 2 452's and have extensively shot my pal's 455. All three are very ammo sensitive. Torque ranges posted above are too high for either model. It takes extensive testing to find the best ammo for the rifle as well as the best torque. All I had to worry about with my Anschutz 1913a was the proper tuner setting.

 

[Don Trimmer]

just bought 455 varmint in 17hmr and am not pleased with the accuracy at all. I accept rimfire accuracy limits you to rifle only since you can't alter ammo but I have 3 Cz 452's that shoot great and I expected much more from this one. I have not played with action torque at all just cleaned barrel half dozen times during sight in. Weaver 36x scope shooting hornady 17gr. Vertical is good but horizontal is where the problem is. Read about pillaring and bedding and will do it but it will be a must and new barrel if a must but I feel like it should shoot better as is especially off bag and rest.. I don't feel like it's me or the wind since I don't have problems with other rifles so I would like to see more people chime in on this thread. I would have already pillared but really want a thumbhole stock. I was hoping for exceptional out of this rifle. Would like to hear what others had to do to improve accuracy. This scope is used but have several other weavers 36x and never had a problem. Is Cz happy to hear from customers and do they offer suggestions ?

I have a CZ 455 Varmint in 22lr. Out of the box, it shot terrible groups (2+" at 50 yards). I glass bedded the action and about 1" of the barrel and upgraded from a crap scope to an OK scope. I'm now shooting 0.75" (usually 3 rounds at ~3/8" and two fliers expanding the group to .75") 5 round groups at 50 yards with Federal auto-match ammo. I'm sure the better scope helps, but I think most of the improvement came from the bedding.

The gun is still a work in progress, but I've gone from disgusted to moderately confident I can get to consistent 3/8" groups.

I have never contacted CZ support, but I've heard multiple people say CZ turns a deaf ear to anyone with accuracy problems. If the bullet comes out of the barrel, its all good. It seems really short sighted for a company with sales based largely on a reputation for accuracy.