Which bolt action .22 LR rifle would you recommend for accuracy from a bench or in the field?

[Pat Riot]

Again @Varminterror Thank you very much.

I use Warne Maxima QD rings in my SFAR and removing and replacing the scope it hits the same place as it did before removal.
I was considering the same series of rings, Maxima, on my CZ 457 only not the QD type. Since I don’t intend swaps and there is little recoil with .22 LR I may go with Warne Vapor non-QD rings and save 50%. I haven’t decided to do this as of yet.

Also I appreciate the info on the Area 419 rails. I’m pretty sure I am going to go with 30 MOA. Our club’s .22 competitions are at 50 and 100 yards but I think I would like to learn about shooting out to 300 yards with my CZ. I see it as a competition with myself.

 

[Pat Riot]

I would like to say Thank You to everyone who has voted, commented, gave advise and shared expertise on this thread. I learned a great deal and I am grateful. Thank you all very much.

 

[rust collector]

I also learned from this thread. I ordered a Warne 15 moa rail, as I won't be shooting great distances, and will keep eye peeled for high value 6-24 scopes.

 

[Spats McGee]

I would like to say Thank You to everyone who has voted, commented, gave advise and shared expertise on this thread. I learned a great deal and I am grateful. Thank you all very much.

Me, too! Thank you, one and all.

I also learned from this thread. I ordered a Warne 15 moa rail, as I won't be shooting great distances, and will keep eye peeled for high value 6-24 scopes.

Well, Natchez still has the Serac, from what I can tell: https://www.natchezss.com/viridian-serac-rifle-scope-6-24x50-30mm-sfp-etched-vfd-2-black

 

[rust collector]

I ordered the Serac. Thanks for the link. I have an old Nikon 6-18 mounted now, so just about anything should be an improvement.

 

[Walkalong]

I have an old Nikon 6-18 Buckmaster, before they downgraded them, it’s on my Ruger. .22 Hornet.

The Bushnell 6-24x50 I just bought on close out is a better scope, but we get so much more for the money these days.

 

[Varminterror]

I have an old Nikon 6-18 Buckmaster

I'd have to check to be sure, but I'm FAIRLY certain that the only 2 Nikons I have left are a 4.5-14x Buckmaster and a 6-18x Buckmaster, both with side parallax focus. The 6-18x was a Midway exclusive with a mil-dot reticle, and with 1/8moa turrets. I used it for some time on an AR for coyotes, then on a Ruger 10/22 Charger pistol for 300-350yrd shooting, and now it sits in a box on the shelf. The 4.5-14x is mounted on my wife's 45-70 Marlin 1895 Guide Gun, adding a little more reach over the Bushnell Elite 3200 3-9x40 with fixed parallax.

Still wild to think about the fact that I bought this winter an Athlon Helos BTR2 4.5-20x50mm FFP, mil/mil, illuminated reticle, 30mm tube with 110moa elevator capacity, and zero stop for the same $300 sale price as I paid for a Nikon Buckmaster 6-18x40mm SFP, Mil/moa, 1" tube with 50moa elevator only ~15yrs ago, which was the same price I paid for a Tasco High Country Gold 4-16x44mm AO SFP, Mil/moa, 1" tube another ~15yrs before that... And the Athlon is a MUCH brighter optic with less lensing than either of the others, and obviously enhanced turret design and feel. Like you said - we get SO much more for our money these days...

 

[Pat Riot]

I want the Area 419 rail for my CZ, but their website is jacked up. They prefer email, according to their website, so I sent one last evening and I have yet to hear from them. Their site is still screwy.
I will give them until tomorrow at noon. If I hear nothing I will go with a 25 MOA rail from DIP.

Since it was a nice day I went .22 standard velocity / subsonic shopping today on my motorcycle. I managed to pick up 7 - 50 round boxes of ammo. These will be for after break-in:

Norma TAC 22 - 40grn LRN 1100 fps

CCI Std Velocity - 40grn LRN 1070 fps

Aguila Subsonic - 40grn LRN 1025 fps (Aguila Primed)

Fed. Gold Medal Target - 40grn LRN 1080 fps*

Fiocchi Range Dynamics - 40grn LRN 1050 fps

Federal American Eagle- 45grn CPRN 970fps

Remington Target - 40grn LRN 1150 fps*

* - The Remington and the Gold Medal Target bullets have no wax on them. They look old.

I will keep an eye out for others, especially SK and Wolf.

 

[rust collector]

The Area 419 pic rail was on Amazon at one time. Looked like a honey, with the level etc but I will save $30 where I can. May also be available from Midway and Natchez.
https://www.natchezss.com/area-419-cz455-1913-improved-scope-rail-7075-alum-30moa-type-iii-black
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/102140307?pid=618550

 

[Pat Riot]

The Area 419 pic rail was on Amazon at one time. Looked like a honey, with the level etc but I will save $30 where I can. May also be available from Midway and Natchez.
https://www.natchezss.com/area-419-cz455-1913-improved-scope-rail-7075-alum-30moa-type-iii-black
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/102140307?pid=618550

Thank you.
I decided to order the D.I.P. 25 MOA rail. I also ordered Warne Vapor Horizontal Medium scope rings. Rail and rings including Loctite & shipping for the rail came to $86. I got the rings on Amazon from the Warne Store. This route saved me some money. Not bad.

 

[Walkalong]

D.I.P. 25 MOA rail

I missed that one when I searched for CZ 457 rails.......looks like an excellent choice.

 

[Pat Riot]

The Candy Store called this morning. Said my CZ was in so I went down and picked it up.



I like it. The stock feels over-molded with a rubbery substance. It’s not sticky though. I think I kind of like it (not sure yet).

I can’t wait for my rail and rings to arrive. I also bought another magazine for it. Polymer.

Photo of the space between the stock and barrel. It’s free floating all the way to the receiver.
It looks like enough gap for a varmint barrel.


Here’s a shot of the crown just because.


Looking forward to shooting this rifle soon. I am going to give that barrel a good cleaning before I shoot it.
I think my rings will be here Saturday. I haven’t gotten a shipping date for the rail from D.I.P.
(DIP - Diversified Innovative Products)
I did speak with Customer Service this morning because o want Ceska Zbrojolka laser etched into the ejection port window. It costs $3. I figured “What the heck?”

Screenshot from: https://www.diproductsinc.com/Detail.aspx?PROD=175300&CAT=4268

 

[AzShooter1]

I went with the CZ 457 Varmint. I like the stock on this one the best. It's a great shooter and I think I was lucky enough to get one with good figuring on the Turkish Walnut stock.

Right now it has a Vortex 4 X 18 Crossfire II scope on it but I have a Viridian on the way that's 6 X 24. My first Viridian's turrets did not move the reticle for windage or elevation so they are replacing the scope for me. I like it for the audible clicks and it's easier to adjust ( when it works ) than the Vortex.

 

[Pat Riot]

I went with the CZ 457 Varmint.

Congrats! That stock looks really nice. Maybe you got the one the guys at my LGS swore “was just on the computer screen a second ago”.
I wanted the Varmint, but I have to say I think I am going to like my American. I love how smooth the bolt operates.
I have only owned 3 other bolt guns. Two were military guns. An Enfield no. 4 Mk 1. A sporterized Springfield 1917 and a Remington 673 in .308. I am pretty sure the Remington ruined me for bolt guns. Operating that 673 bolt was like installing a 1/2” locking pin in a 9/16” trailer hitch hole that’s elongated. What a let down that piece of crap was.

Enough about that.
How do you like that Tipton gun vise?
I am considering getting one of those.

 

[AzShooter1]

I've had that vice for a number of years and like it a lot. It's easy to set up for any of my rifles and is very steady. When setting up a scope it's nice to put the rings in the bottom of the vice. Holds everything.

 

[Pat Riot]

I've had that vice for a number of years and like it a lot. It's easy to set up for any of my rifles and is very steady. When setting up a scope it's nice to put the rings in the bottom of the vice. Holds everything.

Thank you. That is good to know. I have one of those MTM Sight-n-Clean boxes with a gun rest. I’ve had it for years. It doesn’t work reall well for any of my guns, but it works good enough unless you’re doing AR cleaning or maintenance. In a nut shell it pretty much sux!

SNCC-30 - Site-In-Clean Rifle Rest & Shooting Case

Site-In-CleanTM Rifle and Shotgun Shooting Rest & CaseSite-In-CleanTM rest with a special designed range case for sighting in rifles, muzzleloaders and shotguns. The case has been designed to hold rest in top as a tray with room for shooting gear below. Rubber over-molded, padded forks are...

mtmcase-gard.com

Would you let us know how your CZ shoots for you once you have it all dialed in?

 

[Pat Riot]

Follow up on Area 419. Their website claims that they are first and foremost email users for communication because they don’t answer their phones and if leaving a voice mail it might not be heard right away.
I sent them an email through their system and I sent one from my personal account. This was on Tuesday evening, April 30th.
I had decided that if I didn’t hear from them after 72 hours I would do a follow up here to let people know.
It’s been over 72 hours and no contact from them at all. I check my email and spam folder many times a day.

I am really glad I went with DIP - Diversified Innovative Products. I placed my order Weds night and last night I got a notification that my package was picked up by USPS and is enroute. I should receive my rail Monday the 6th.

I have nothing for or against Area 419, but their lack of response tells me they don’t need my business. I guess DIP and EGW (they promptly answered an email about a question I had) are Aces in my book. Area 419 definitely is not.

 

[Varminterror]

You sent an email inquiry to one company and sent money to the other. Pretty reasonable to expect the response would be different.

 

[Walkalong]

Area 419 is good to go, just small and very busy.

I know, in this day and age we expect instant response.

 

[jmorris]

I have nothing for or against Area 419, but their lack of response tells me they don’t need my business.

I agree with you. People that need business go after customers. There are a number of businesses that have a constant rolling "wait list" and they don't try as hard at drumming up new customers as making ones that have already ordered happy. Makes sense to me to focus on making happy customers vs adding more to the wait list. Either that or hire someone to answer the phone for the "are we there yet?", calls everyday. That said, you will still be interrupted with questions, just by the guy or gal you hired to answer the phone vs the actual customer.

Kind of a "win some/lose some" way of thinking but especially with small businesses, there just are not enough minutes in a day to do all that needs to be done.

 

[Pat Riot]

You sent an email inquiry to one company and sent money to the other. Pretty reasonable to expect the response would be different.

How would one company know that money went to the other?

Area 419’s website was jacked up. Like it had been hacked. If you look at their website you can see where they talk about how they prefer communicating. I communicated. They didn’t.
It’s not my job or goal in life to support a company just because “they’re good guys, but very busy” when I have no experience with them.
Also, I looked at my budget and decided to go with a reputable company at less expense.
That’s my business, not the company’s that didn’t respond.
It’s simple really. It came down to dollars and cents.
Also, it came down to dimensions. I can get the barrel closer to the barrel and my line of sight with the DIP rail.

 

[Varminterror]

Also, it came down to dimensions. I can get the barrel closer to the barrel and my line of sight with the DIP rail.

Doing so takes away range capacity for your rifle.

 

[Varminterror]

When I needed an ARCALok rail for a new rifle before a match I wanted to shoot, knowing they were releasing a new version in a week, I messaged Jon, and AREA419 rush shipped me a pre-release production model of the rail the next day. I had it in my hands the day before the Pre-order e-mail blast went out to announce the rail, almost a month before any others would ship for sale. He brought me a replacement of one of the parts to the match because it hadn’t had time to be coated before shipping.

 

[Pat Riot]

Doing so takes away range capacity for your rifle.

Yeah. I know.
I think I will be happy with the 25.
If not I could always give area 419 a try.

I spoke to the Range Director at my club and their matches are all 50 yard matches. He said they tried longer ranges for their rimfire matches and everyone balked so they decided to leave them at 50 yards only.

I have also decided that if I like CZ 457’s as much as everyone says I will I can see getting my hands on another in Varmint configuration later on and then going with a 30 MOA on that one.

 

[Pat Riot]

When I needed an ARCALok rail for a new rifle before a match I wanted to shoot, knowing they were releasing a new version in a week, I messaged Jon, and AREA419 rush shipped me a pre-release production model of the rail the next day. I had it in my hands the day before the Pre-order e-mail blast went out to announce the rail, almost a month before any others would ship for sale. He brought me a replacement of one of the parts to the match because it hadn’t had time to be coated before shipping.

I saw those ARCALok components on their website, but I could not figure out what they were for. Are these something new and what do you use them on?