by meawls » 14 Jun 2018, 2:25 pm
Own an example of all three ... all fairly recent purchases. Have done benchrest style load development in all three using around 13 available cartridge configurations. Here's the results, from 5 shot groups at 50M (best performers only):
Lithgow LA101: Federal 714 Standard velocity = 7MM; Bushman HVHP (surprise!) and Winchester Superspeed HVHP (I have a sneaking suspicion they're one and the same!!) = 11MM.
Note: this rifle became noticeably more accurate as it wore in .... much more so than usual. In many cases the group sizes halved!! This rifle will NOT extract ANY Winchester loadings - even the Plano box bulk 2000 pack from USA. There must be an issue with their cases. It's been back to the factory and tweeked under warranty - it originally wouldn't extract ANYTHING!! The factory were extremely good about it. I won't send it back again ... just avoid Winchester stuff. This rifle ships with a polymer 5 round magazine. It has an extremely frustrating habit of failing to feed the final (5th) round very regularly ... however it cycles faultlessly with CZ magazines ...?!?! Moral of the story - throw away your Lithgow mag (if this happens to you)??!!
CZ 455: Federal 714 Standard Velocity = 0.456" ... likewise Winchester SubSonics.
Note: ours is the limited edition Bushman Special. Comes with a terrific red stock (beech???) embellished with black paint - but beware if you happen to shoot in damp conditions - this black paint comes off ... and STAINS YOUR HANDS!!! This rifle shoots and extracts everything and anything with utter ease.
CZ 452:Federal 745 HVHP = 0.607". Interestingly, Remingtom CBee ultra low velocity HP's shot 0.418" at 35M. The single most accurate reading I've seen for any ultra low.
Note: ours is the Ultralux long barrelled type. This rifle is still quite new, and the group sizes have improved ... although unfortunately I have yet to properly benchrest it again now that it's properly "worn in", so can't give you exact figures.
General notes: the above measurements were all measured accurately with calipers. Here's the cool thing - all 3 rifles use the standard CZ magazines. They all feel good in the hands ... although the Lithgow took some getting used to at the start. It's a very unusual stock configuration ... but I love it now, and that weird butt sits really well on the bench. It really feels solid too, whereas the CZ's feel ... I dunno ... more feminine perhaps for want of a better word. More slender and a little lighter. Honestly I love all three, and in my opinion you'd probably be happy with whatever you bought. I would gladly buy each again in hindsight. Be aware if you're looking at the CZ Ultralux - it has some truly classy iron sights on it. Unless you remove the rear one you'll be really handicapped in terms of the scope's objective lens possibly contacting the sight's body.
Enjoy!!!