Next rifle

[FlyingStick]

Ok. Went to my local shop today and had a look at the CZ455 and 452. What beautiful guns! I think I've settled on CZ - exactly what I want in my safe to hand down to the little ones.

Question is now on 455 or 452. Although I'm set on having the 22LR, I'm starting to wonder if having the multiple barrels would be the right way to go. I've been thinking:
- Having the 22LR barrel for whenever we go out having a fun shoot plinking with dirt cheap 22LR ammo
- Having the 22MAG/17HMR barrel for when I go out hunting where I will use minimal rounds.

It's a $200 premium for the CZ455. Thoughts?

[Bosbefok]

I got mine off used guns. $800 for rifle and all 3 Barrels. In excellent condition. I keep the 22LR barrel on but having all 3 barrels just opens up a few more options. I had to put a horse down on small acreage the other day so the 22mag barrel was on in under 5 minutes... Foxes, feral cats and longer range rabbits on the cards? 17HMR barrel goes on. I like it anyways.

[Cooper]

Ok. Went to my local shop today and had a look at the CZ455 and 452. What beautiful guns! I think I've settled on CZ - exactly what I want in my safe to hand down to the little ones.

Question is now on 455 or 452. Although I'm set on having the 22LR, I'm starting to wonder if having the multiple barrels would be the right way to go. I've been thinking:
- Having the 22LR barrel for whenever we go out having a fun shoot plinking with dirt cheap 22LR ammo
- Having the 22MAG/17HMR barrel for when I go out hunting where I will use minimal rounds.

It's a $200 premium for the CZ455. Thoughts?

If you buy the Cz455. I would recommend getting a good Torgue wrench. Swapping barrels while quite easy does mean you have to re sight in. I do the barrel screw at 28 inch/lbs and actions screws around 20 inch/lbs. at the moment I am running 24inch/lbs on the front action screw and 20 on the rear.

A change barrel rifle isn't for everybody. But for $200 you have the option of turning it into a 17hmr or 22mag. Sounds like a no brainer to me.
I reckon you want a bit more scope on the 17hmr than you would just a normal .22. A 3x9 probably been minimum. I have a 3x12 on mine

Your probably shopping at Claytons? If you in Vic.
The 17hmr ammo isn't the cheap. The Hornady stuff is probably the best but is usually $24-30 per 50. Or you can use the Winchester at around $20 per box. But which the Winchester I get 5 or 6 neck splits per 50. Doesn't seem to effect accuracy much. But I haven't had a Hornady case split yet.

[Bosbefok]

+1 on the split necks on winchester stuff. But its the cheapest with acceptable accuracy. I just picked up 500 rounds.

[FlyingStick]

What about scopes guys? I swear the world of firearms is tough. In archery - it was simple, there was a handful of sights available and there was a clear 1 or 2 that were the pick of the bunch.

With firearms - there is 100 options!!!

I'm looking for something that isn't too crazy on the zoom given it's max range will be of the 22wmr and 17hmr. I will be using this for spotlighting, most definitely. I was originally thinking Vortex Crossfore or Bushnell AR, now I'm thinking Leupold VX1. Is 50mm obj overkill?

[Bent Arrow]

What about scopes guys? I swear the world of firearms is tough. In archery - it was simple, there was a handful of sights available and there was a clear 1 or 2 that were the pick of the bunch......

Really? Your not shopping in the right places. There's more choices than you could poke a pointy stick at, cheesey archery pun fully intended...

[Gwion]

50mm objective is not overkill if you are spotlighting but I get by ok with 40mm jobbies.

[Oldbloke]

50mm objective is not overkill if you are spotlighting but I get by ok with 40mm jobbies.

Same here. Seems to be a big price jump from 40 to 50mm.

[Bent Arrow]

Have you looked at the Bushnell rimfire scope? I haven't got one but I had a play with one at the range the other day. Looked ok

https://aussiehunter.org/bushnell-rimfi ... x40-scope/

[Cooper]

I put a vx1 3x9 X 40 on my multi barrel CZ455 to start. Wished I had went 4x12. It now has a Bushnell Rimfire 3x12 which has similar glass to Bushnell AR scopes. The Bushnell rimfire is $215.

I have two Bushnell AR223 scopes and a Vortex Crossfire 2 on another rifle. They are both pretty good for lower end scopes. You'll probably need high mounts on the CZ for the AR style scopes

[FlyingStick]

What about scopes guys? I swear the world of firearms is tough. In archery - it was simple, there was a handful of sights available and there was a clear 1 or 2 that were the pick of the bunch......

Really? Your not shopping in the right places. There's more choices than you could poke a pointy stick at, cheesey archery pun fully intended...

Hunting maybe. Come to think of it I'm talking target. There aren't that many top options in target...

[bladeracer]

What about scopes guys? I swear the world of firearms is tough. In archery - it was simple, there was a handful of sights available and there was a clear 1 or 2 that were the pick of the bunch.

With firearms - there is 100 options!!!

I'm looking for something that isn't too crazy on the zoom given it's max range will be of the 22wmr and 17hmr. I will be using this for spotlighting, most definitely. I was originally thinking Vortex Crossfore or Bushnell AR, now I'm thinking Leupold VX1. Is 50mm obj overkill?

In the old days the choice was 4x32 or 4x40, that was about it

For dedicated night work I probably wouldn't recommend the Bushnell AR series. You need very high-quality glass for night - in my opinion anyway. But if it's a day rifle that you might see some night use then the AR should be fine.

[in2anity]

Just be careful about the diminishing return on investment for high objective lenses- a 50mm objective does not let much more (noticeable) light through than a 40mm, so you've got to ask yourself is it really worth the (potentially) huge jump in cost...

EDIT: meant to say not

[FlyingStick]

Just be careful about the diminishing return on investment for high objective lenses- a 50mm objective does let much more light through than a 40mm, so you've got to ask yourself is it really worth the (potentially) huge jump in cost...

Thanks mate.

I think I'm either going the VX1 3-9x50 or the VX2 3-9x40. Tending towards better glass over bigger obj, as well as trying to keep it compact/light.

Going to end up with a better scope on this then my 223 (Vortex Diamondback) lol! I like the Vortex's, but I've looked through a Leupold and my Vortex side by side and felt that Leupold was a better scope (ever so slightly, especially at a distance). I also find a the DB a PITA for eye relief.

[Bosbefok]

For the guys using CZ 455's. I do have an issue with the bolt clearing the "eyepiece bell" on the vx1 4-12x40. There is a small mark on the scope as a result. I think I have medium rings. I was hoping to keep the scope as close to the barrel as I can. Anybody else have this issue and what have you done?

[in2anity]

Just be careful about the diminishing return on investment for high objective lenses- a 50mm objective does not let much more light through than a 40mm, so you've got to ask yourself is it really worth the (potentially) huge jump in cost...

Thanks mate.

I think I'm either going the VX1 3-9x50 or the VX2 3-9x40. Tending towards better glass over bigger obj, as well as trying to keep it compact/light.

Going to end up with a better scope on this then my 223 (Vortex Diamondback) lol! I like the Vortex's, but I've looked through a Leupold and my Vortex side by side and felt that Leupold was a better scope (ever so slightly, especially at a distance). I also find a the DB a PITA for eye relief.

I think you got what I was saying but I missed the word not in my statement; what i was trying to say was don't be thinking that 50mm is going to let 25% more light than a 40mm; that's not how it works, it's a lot less than that, yet a 50mm is often quite a bit more pricey (and bulky) than a 40mm. IMO The VX2 3-9x40 is a very good "all-rounder" scope.

[FlyingStick]

Just be careful about the diminishing return on investment for high objective lenses- a 50mm objective does not let much more light through than a 40mm, so you've got to ask yourself is it really worth the (potentially) huge jump in cost...

Thanks mate.

I think I'm either going the VX1 3-9x50 or the VX2 3-9x40. Tending towards better glass over bigger obj, as well as trying to keep it compact/light.

Going to end up with a better scope on this then my 223 (Vortex Diamondback) lol! I like the Vortex's, but I've looked through a Leupold and my Vortex side by side and felt that Leupold was a better scope (ever so slightly, especially at a distance). I also find a the DB a PITA for eye relief.

I think you got what I was saying but I missed the word not in my statement; what i was trying to say was don't be thinking that 50mm is going to let 25% more light than a 40mm; that's not how it works, it's a lot less than that, yet a 50mm is often quite a bit more pricey (and bulky) than a 40mm. IMO The VX2 3-9x40 is a very good "all-rounder" scope.

Yep - I connected the dots

Regarding with the bolt handle clearance issue above - is this an issue with the 3-9 also (I'm assuming the eye piece is smaller on the 3-9???)

[bladeracer]

For the guys using CZ 455's. I do have an issue with the bolt clearing the "eyepiece bell" on the vx1 4-12x40. There is a small mark on the scope as a result. I think I have medium rings. I was hoping to keep the scope as close to the barrel as I can. Anybody else have this issue and what have you done?

You could use 30mm rings with 25mm inserts. That'll raise the scope 2.5mm which is probably all you need.
Or you could try shimming the left side of the mounts to pull both rings slightly off centre.

[Gwion]

Just be careful about the diminishing return on investment for high objective lenses- a 50mm objective does let much more light through than a 40mm, so you've got to ask yourself is it really worth the (potentially) huge jump in cost...

Thanks mate.

I think I'm either going the VX1 3-9x50 or the VX2 3-9x40. Tending towards better glass over bigger obj, as well as trying to keep it compact/light.

Going to end up with a better scope on this then my 223 (Vortex Diamondback) lol! I like the Vortex's, but I've looked through a Leupold and my Vortex side by side and felt that Leupold was a better scope (ever so slightly, especially at a distance). I also find a the DB a PITA for eye relief.

Better glass over larger objective is a good idea.
Also, consider that "more light" is really about the exit pupil on the scope, which is a magnification:objective lens ratio rather than a purely objective lens diameter thing (plus quality of glass, of course). An exit pupil of 7mm is ideal. The classic example is a 56mm ob.lens / 8x magnification= 7mm. So a 40mm ob.lens scope set to 6x (or fixed at 6x) give you very close to 7mm (6.666*mm). This gives the maximum coverage to your pupil, which is all the light your eye can gather. The quality of glass then determines the quality and spectrum of that light (put simply in my lay-mans understanding of it all). So, change the ob.lens diameter or the magnification and the amount of light getting through (exit pupil) will change. Anything over 7mm exit pupil is kind'a a waste of time because your eye's pupil will not dilate beyond 7mm. (yes i did just say the same thing twice in two different ways)

Funny you say your Vortex Diamond Back is fussy with eye relief. Mine seem fine.

I have three scopes i use for spotlighting on 22lr and 223rem. Two of those are Vortex Diamondbacks with 40mm ob.lens. I use them set on 6 for spotlighting and have no issue. On longer shots i might turn the 3-9x on the 223rem up to max and still get plenty to see by. The 3-12x on the 22lr gets a bit dim at max but is still usable out to my max range with that rifle. The other is 6x40mm fixed that used to sit on another 22lr and cost $70. It is surprisingly good late in the evening and under light. Probably due to the light travelling through fewer lenses. Usually, 6x is all i need to do the job out to 100m. I find it a good compromise between magnification, field of view and exit pupil.

[FlyingStick]

Funny you say your Vortex Diamond Back is fussy with eye relief. Mine seem fine.

Possibly it's me, or my setup, but at times it can take a while to get my eye into the scope and often find I have to creep into it. That said, it was noticibly better at lower magnification so I've started leaving it at about x9 from the max of x12.

And thanks for the detailed info Gwion!

[mickhead]

Hi Flyingstick
If you are in the SE suburbs I have a spare nitrex by weaver TR1 jap made 3 X 10 X 50 sitting around as new in box cond. Very nice scope.