Time For a New 22

[Peter988]

Seems the 1972 Winchester just isn’t cutting the mustard anymore. I’d be interested in any recommendations from what people are using these days. Rifle will be hunting only. Budget up to about $1200.
Thanks

[deye243]

CZ 457 20" sporter atm about $950

[Peter988]

I saw that Cleaver advert today. I am partial to the CZ but not sure about a 20 inch barrel. Just a bit of a dinosaur with that. I wouldn’t be shooting past about 80m so I suspect it’s not a problem. I was out last night chasing bunnies and the mate’s 20 inch Lithgow was getting out there fine.

[mchughcb]

Secondhand sako quad before they are all gone

[deye243]

I saw that Cleaver advert today. I am partial to the CZ but not sure about a 20 inch barrel. Just a bit of a dinosaur with that. I wouldn’t be shooting past about 80m so I suspect it’s not a problem. I was out last night chasing bunnies and the mate’s 20 inch Lithgow was getting out there fine.

My 20" cz is around 60fps faster than my other 2 and 3 mates longer barrelled 22s for everything from cci suppressors win555 cci VELOSATORS

[Damo300]

I recently became the owner of a Hatsun Escort.
It's an 18inch barrel.
Relatively light in hand.
Nice rifle.

[rossfrb]

I've got a Browning T Bolt in 17 HMR - can't fault the rifle.....much.
Trigger is plastic which will put a lot of people off. There are aftermarket metal ones from the likes of Jard - pricey.
No creep and crisp let off and can be dialled down to decrease pull ( to an extent). The magazines I think are brilliant, they sit flush and are easy to load.
If you can deal with a firm trigger then this looks like a bargain (no affiliation).

https://usedguns.com.au/products/215699 ... d052&_ss=c

[Willie]

I must admit that I am also looking at the CZ 457. Appears to be good value for performance and money.

[bigrich]

Secondhand sako quad before they are all gone

Lovely rifle, but I think they’d be well past his $1200 budget. Ruger American rimfire are getting themselves a good reputation. Me personally I’d give a CZ 457 a go . Cheers

[Peter988]

Yep. The CZ457 is under a grand at Cleavers at the moment. I will ring them tomorrow.

[Fester]

Yeah, I reckon a CZ 457 would be hard to beat, shoot like a CZ, but they addressed all the faults, it seems.

My 452 American did go bad for some reason but the smith got it shooting great again after about 3 attempts.
It is now like a match chamber and less ammo fussy, but is settling in to how it always was, SK ammo for groups and cheap CCI for plinking.

I have a couple of bricks of the old good Win subs for rabbits and nowhere much to hunt them, so good for a while.
I like the old long barrel and subs, as it's pretty quiet shooting.

[Mattraff]

I've got a Browning T Bolt in 17 HMR - can't fault the rifle.....much.
Trigger is plastic which will put a lot of people off. There are aftermarket metal ones from the likes of Jard - pricey.
No creep and crisp let off and can be dialled down to decrease pull ( to an extent). The magazines I think are brilliant, they sit flush and are easy to load.
If you can deal with a firm trigger then this looks like a bargain (no affiliation).

https://usedguns.com.au/products/215699 ... d052&_ss=c

The standard trigger can be modified by drilling a hole in the trigger cam to relocate the spring which will reduce tension. There is even a dimple in the cam where you need to drill it.

[Mattraff]

The CZ457 is a good rifle and is an endless amount of aftermarket parts available.
I have a fair collection of 22 rifles of which CZ is a main brand and a couple of 457's sre among them. In my opinion one of the nicest 22's on the market is the Steyr Zephyr. I own a Zephyr and it is my favourite 22. It is a full size rifle that is both light and extremely well balanced and exceptionally accurate. It is finished to a higher standard than the CZ rifles.

[Peter988]

Ok. I seem to have narrowed it down to

Tikka Synthetic T1X
CZ 457 American
Steyr Zephr

Madly watching YouTube reviews. Bloody hell - how do you decide between the three. Procrastinating now. It needs to have a 10 shot mag available, trigger adjustable to under 2lb and put 5 shots into a 10c piece group.

[bigrich]

Ok. I seem to have narrowed it down to

Tikka Synthetic T1X
CZ 457 American
Steyr Zephr

Madly watching YouTube reviews. Bloody hell - how do you decide between the three. Procrastinating now. It needs to have a 10 shot mag available, trigger adjustable to under 2lb and put 5 shots into a 10c piece group.

From my research the tikka is very good in most aspects but the ejection system involves plastic and a bent piece of wire. Steyr is supposed to be very good also, but magazines are expensive and hard to get from memory.cz fulfills all of your requirements and I believe the magazine they’ve had for years fits the 457 and are easy to find. JMHO for what it’s worth, fact check what I’ve said in case im wrong. Cheers

[deye243]

Ok. I seem to have narrowed it down to

Tikka Synthetic T1X
CZ 457 American
Steyr Zephr

Madly watching YouTube reviews. Bloody hell - how do you decide between the three. Procrastinating now. It needs to have a 10 shot mag available, trigger adjustable to under 2lb and put 5 shots into a 10c piece group.

At what range

[Jorlcrin]

Ok. I seem to have narrowed it down to

Tikka Synthetic T1X
CZ 457 American
Steyr Zephr

Madly watching YouTube reviews. Bloody hell - how do you decide between the three. Procrastinating now. It needs to have a 10 shot mag available, trigger adjustable to under 2lb and put 5 shots into a 10c piece group.

My 2 cents.

From those 3 I'd go the CZ457.
Why?
They are good value for money.
They are readily available.
Lots of spare mags and other accessories available for them.
But, my main reason being IF you found the .22LR just doesnt make your day, you can buy (and install yourself) either a .17HMR or a .22WMR barrel.

I bought a CZ455 in .17HMR some 8 years ago.
Never really warmed to the .17HMR; just wasnt doing anything for me.
Subsequently swapped it over to a .22LR barrel, and ran that for a few years, and was fairly happy with it.
Never liked the crap factory trigger and the safety on the 455, but they addressed both these on the 457, and the the rest of the rifle I was happy enough with.
Eventually chanced upon a .22WMR barrel going at a great price, and swapped to that.
Put an aftermarket trigger in the 455 and better quality Magpul Hunter stock onto it, and I'm REALLY happy with it.
Running CCI 30gn VNT rounds through it, and if I see a rabbit within 100 yards, I'm confident I can drop him from a rest.

I'm not using it for target work, so just nailing bunnies and the odd cat.

Anyway; thats been my experience; your mileage might vary.

[bigrich]

Ok. I seem to have narrowed it down to

Tikka Synthetic T1X
CZ 457 American
Steyr Zephr

Madly watching YouTube reviews. Bloody hell - how do you decide between the three. Procrastinating now. It needs to have a 10 shot mag available, trigger adjustable to under 2lb and put 5 shots into a 10c piece group.

My 2 cents.

From those 3 I'd go the CZ457.
Why?
They are good value for money.
They are readily available.
Lots of spare mags and other accessories available for them.
But, my main reason being IF you found the .22LR just doesnt make your day, you can buy (and install yourself) either a .17HMR or a .22WMR barrel.

I bought a CZ455 in .17HMR some 8 years ago.
Never really warmed to the .17HMR; just wasnt doing anything for me.
Subsequently swapped it over to a .22LR barrel, and ran that for a few years, and was fairly happy with it.
Never liked the crap factory trigger and the safety on the 455, but they addressed both these on the 457, and the the rest of the rifle I was happy enough with.
Eventually chanced upon a .22WMR barrel going at a great price, and swapped to that.
Put an aftermarket trigger in the 455 and better quality Magpul Hunter stock onto it, and I'm REALLY happy with it.
Running CCI 30gn VNT rounds through it, and if I see a rabbit within 100 yards, I'm confident I can drop him from a rest.

I'm not using it for target work, so just nailing bunnies and the odd cat.

Anyway; thats been my experience; your mileage might vary.

good practical advice mate . you make ME want to go out and buy a 457 now , and if i don't like it , buy a barrel in a different calibre . mind you i'm pretty happy with my 452 american 22lr . i fitted a lowey trigger kit , 2lb no creep, had my smith pillar bed it . shoots bloody good , but it likes it's barrel cleaned regularly for best accuracy . after about 150 rounds of eley club

[Peter988]

Ok. I seem to have narrowed it down to

Tikka Synthetic T1X
CZ 457 American
Steyr Zephr

Madly watching YouTube reviews. Bloody hell - how do you decide between the three. Procrastinating now. It needs to have a 10 shot mag available, trigger adjustable to under 2lb and put 5 shots into a 10c piece group.

At what range

50M. All my 22 shooting is bunny busting. Plenty of bunnies where I shoot and I rarely bother with shots past about 65M.

[rossfrb]

I've got a Browning T Bolt in 17 HMR - can't fault the rifle.....much.
Trigger is plastic which will put a lot of people off. There are aftermarket metal ones from the likes of Jard - pricey.
No creep and crisp let off and can be dialled down to decrease pull ( to an extent). The magazines I think are brilliant, they sit flush and are easy to load.
If you can deal with a firm trigger then this looks like a bargain (no affiliation).

https://usedguns.com.au/products/215699 ... d052&_ss=c

The standard trigger can be modified by drilling a hole in the trigger cam to relocate the spring which will reduce tension. There is even a dimple in the cam where you need to drill it.

At the time I researched the bejesus out of T-bolt trigger modifications - the consensus then was that it was hit and miss. Some people ended up with an acceptable result some didn't.
I ended up buying a Jard 20 oz jobby and happy with that. I figure if I ever sell the rifle I can swap back the unmolested original trigger and then sell off the Jard separately.
I jumped on the 17HMR bandwagon before I was aware of the split case issue that plagued early ammo (that I didn't research). The rifle is crazy accurate when the ammo performs. Trouble is I still have lots of the early ammo...

[Peter988]

Ok. Next quandary. Cz 457 in model Beech, American or Synthetic? Ring Cleavers tomorrow and see what is available.

[bigrich]

Ok. Next quandary. Cz 457 in model Beech, American or Synthetic? Ring Cleavers tomorrow and see what is available.

Depends on your view. Synthetic for a “working “ rifle. I think Ozzie Reviews covered the CZ 457 in various flavours. From memory the synthetic 22lr was silly accurate. Cheers

[Jorlcrin]

Ok. Next quandary. Cz 457 in model Beech, American or Synthetic? Ring Cleavers tomorrow and see what is available.

When I bought my CZ455, it was a Hunter Stainless Synthetic(Though the final .22WMR ended up being a blued barrel).
I wanted something that was unlikely to get upset with getting minimal care and attention to it.
I'm not a fan of wood for the thumping around in the ute my rifles get, so opted for a synthetic stock.

CZ factory stock was nice to use, but about 5 years of exposure to hot Outback weather, it became quite sticky.
Could have also been result of spending days in a hot car when I was using it, as I had a knife handle(Gerber Gator) do same from sitting in the car.
Tried cleaning the sticky film off it, which seemed to make it worse.
[Cant say for certain that I mightnt have accidentally sprayed it with something that reacted to the synthetic, so I might have been to blame.]

Ended up swapping it out for an MDT 'Field' stock, which are made for a heap of rifle styles.
Much harder polymer and slightly chunkier, with a more defined pistol-grip in the shape.
Also has a heap of slots for mounting accessory rails, so I have a picatinny rail on the underside of the forestock, if I want to add a torch or laser.

It's been a long journey, but I'm really happy with where I've got to with that rifle.
Quite a few rabbits would likely be a bit narked with my happiness..