Rifle Scopes CZ 455 Scope Base/Rail Recommendations

[Mike59]

I've got a CZ 455 (22lr) that has the 11mm dovetail scope rail. Since I've had it I have had a scope on it with 11mm rings but recently bough another scope and want to put it on it. I can't use the same rings since the current scope is a 1" tube but new scope is 30mm. There are ring choices out there for sure but the options are limited compared to picatinny or even weaver mounts/rings. So, to get away from dealing with it I'm considering putting on a picatinny rail. Of the ones I've identified I've narrowed it down to the DIP rail or the EGW rail. I'm leaning towards the EGW rail since I've heard good things about their rails in general from some other folks who have used them on other rifles, not the CZ specifically. I've never heard anything bad about the DIP rail and it seems to be a pretty popular choice among the CZ / 11mm dovetail crowd. I prefer the way the EGW rail mounts compared to the DIP (side clamp vs. top clamp) and I think the EGW is stronger but also think the DIP is fine for rimfire. The DIP rail is a bit cheaper but the difference in cost in background noise so the cost is not really a consideration. CZ also makes a rail but it's a weaver adapter rail and I'd prefer to go picatinny rather than weaver.

ETA - Also curious about clearance for the cutout and any shell ejection issues. Additionally, sometimes I prefer to hand feed 1 at a time vs. using the magazine so I's also be interested in any experiences, issues, or concerns about getting to the chamber w/ the base installed.

So, I thought I'd ask you all who may have already gone down this road or know of others who have and ask what are your/their thoughts, experiences, recommendations, ... etc. Also, any other rails I should consider?

Much thanks in advance!

Mike

 

[MDrimfirerookie]

Area 419 hands down. More expensive but has much better security than the set screw method used by the 2 you mention

 

[BLDTYLRY]

Go Area 419. And I have the DIP rail.

 

[Mike59]

Area 419 hands down. More expensive but has much better security than the set screw method used by the 2 you mention

Go Area 419. And I have the DIP rail.

I saw the Area 419 and was initially very interested but I only saw a 30 MOA version. But wait ... I just went back and looked again and I see they also offer it in a 15 MOA cant.

One of the things I use my CZ 455 for is 50 yard (casual) benchrest shooting. The scope that is primarily mounted on it has 64 MOA available (Leupold VX-3) so I was concerned about using a 30 MOA base at that range and running out of down room to compensate for the 30 MOA base. Do you agree with that or am I off on my thinking there?

Also, now that I see there is a 15 MOA base - I'm thinking shooting at 50 yards w/ 64 MOA available in the scope should not be a problem. Additionally, the 15 MOA base would give me some room to stretch it further out but haven't done any math to determine how far "further" would be. Agree with that or am I again off in my thinking?

Cost difference is minimal between the EGW and the Area 419 - only like $20 and that's barely background noise in the grand scheme of things!

Much thanks - very glad you got me to go look at the Area 419 again!

 

[MDrimfirerookie]

zeroed at 50 right? you should be good to go with either base. if you aren't planning on playing ELR games (think 300 and out) you should be fine with the 15 MOA

 

[Cotay]

I've got a CZ 455 (22lr) that has the 11mm dovetail scope rail. Since I've had it I have had a scope on it with 11mm rings but recently bough another scope and want to put it on it. I can't use the same rings since the current scope is a 1" tube but new scope is 30mm. There are ring choices out there for sure but the options are limited compared to picatinny or even weaver mounts/rings. So, to get away from dealing with it I'm considering putting on a picatinny rail. Of the ones I've identified I've narrowed it down to the DIP rail or the EGW rail. I'm leaning towards the EGW rail since I've heard good things about their rails in general from some other folks who have used them on other rifles, not the CZ specifically. I've never heard anything bad about the DIP rail and it seems to be a pretty popular choice among the CZ / 11mm dovetail crowd. I prefer the way the EGW rail mounts compared to the DIP (side clamp vs. top clamp) and I think the EGW is stronger but also think the DIP is fine for rimfire. The DIP rail is a bit cheaper but the difference in cost in background noise so the cost is not really a consideration. CZ also makes a rail but it's a weaver adapter rail and I'd prefer to go picatinny rather than weaver.

ETA - Also curious about clearance for the cutout and any shell ejection issues. Additionally, sometimes I prefer to hand feed 1 at a time vs. using the magazine so I's also be interested in any experiences, issues, or concerns about getting to the chamber w/ the base installed.

So, I thought I'd ask you all who may have already gone down this road or know of others who have and ask what are your/their thoughts, experiences, recommendations, ... etc. Also, any other rails I should consider?

Much thanks in advance!

Mike

I have DIP and EGW on various rifles. Love them both. For the CZ I like the Triggersbyscar rails: https://triggersbyscar.godaddysites.com/?olsPage=products

 

[Mike59]

Thanks @Cotay - I never heard of Triggers By Scar and did not stumble across him in my searching. Good info to have and consider .

 

[PAYDIRT]

Another vote for the 419

 

[Cotay]

Thanks @Cotay - I never heard of Triggers By Scar and did not stumble across him in my searching. Good info to have and consider .

I found out about these on Rimfirecentral where he is a member. I was going to use the new DIP version for my new 457 Varmint but they were OOS. $35 shipped and very fast...I'm glad I had an opportunity to support him. DIP are good folks too.

 

[Bluewater132]

I have a DIP and an Area 419 on different rifles. They both work well but I prefer the 419. It's rock solid and the built in 15moa help with the longer steel shoots. The built in level is nice also.

 

[Cartman]

Does 419's fit on the CZ453 or just the 455?

 

[carbonbased]

I've had problems with DIP rails with my CZ 527's, both in .204 and 17 Hornet. The attractive part about the rails is they are thin and low profile. However, perhaps because of this, the rail on the .204 got bent. The only thing I can think of, in this case, was it became loose when shooting and recoil pushed it repeatedly against the end of the dovetail rout (it's a one-way affair on that gun), bending it in the process. I had tightened it back up, but when I removed it, it was obviously bent. I chalked that up to user error.

The DIP rail on the 17 Hornet: my gun was very far off horizontally when sighting it in. After some troubleshooting failed, I bought the excellent Tier One dovetail rings and bam! the scope was instantly almost dead on horizontally. It seems the DIP rail was made incorrectly…you can't, even intentionally, produce that much error when installing the DIP (or probably any) dovetail rail. Don’t think it was the rings (Burris Signature XTR) because it reused them on another gun without problems. I liked the Tier One ring’s so much I bought another pair for the .204. Almost had the gunsmith drill a rail on since almost nobody makes a dovetail rail for the 527.

ANYWAY, for my CZ 455 Ultra Lux, I went with https://www.murphyprecision.com/Products/Item/1034. It's solid stainless steel, he cut off the front overhang no charge, and the 8 screws are much larger than the DIP ones and they are BRASS TIPPED (not shown in pics, look for the red text in the description). Seriously, this thing is light years better than the DIP, but it was $125 too. TIer One makes 11mm rings for the dovetail too, but I wanted to be able to remove and install the scope easily, as I might use the nice tangent iron sights on the gun sometimes. I should’ve asked him to rout a channel down the middle to make it easier to see the iron sights; the way it is works, but there’s a tip for you.

The problem with the Area 419 and EGW style is they are too high and the scope can wind up WAY up there. It's the trade-off with the side clamp style. The Murph is higher than the DIP, but not as high as 419/EGW. But, if you go the clamp route, go 419.

Edit - looks like Murph will make his rail out of titanium too. Mmmmmm…

 

[Mike59]

Much thanks @carbonbased - yet another entry into the higher end of the spectrum. I'm surprised I didn't come across this in my previous searches. Height is definitely a consideration. Murphy Precision lists the height as .450" but don't say if that's extra above the rail or from the base to the top. The Area 419 says. "our rail adds a total of about 1/2" of height to the dovetail". EGW lists height as .540" but again don't know exactly what that is so kind of have to assume the worse. I thought I saw somewhere for the EGW that said it "added .3xx"" to the dovetail but I can't find it right now so have to assume it was something else.

With my CZ 455 when I set up my current scope on this rifle (Leupold VX-3 4.5-14x40) using Warne rings I had to get the high that list a measurement of .525". Medium Warne and Leupold rings were both high enough to mount the scope but the bolt would lightly touch the scope when opening so had to go 1 up. Difference of about .1" so not a huge deal but given that measurement and comparing to the rails it would mean that just about any low rings should be more than adequate for mounting this scope and others.

Thanks - Mike

 

[Mike59]

Does 419's fit on the CZ453 or just the 455?

I don't have a 453 but from what I've heard and read the 453 American is a 3/8" dovetail (the american dovetail size) but the 453 Varmint is 11mm (the european dovetail size) for .22 lr .... but wait .... for .22 WMR or .17 cal is looks like it's 3/8". Check your owners manual or do a google search for your model doetail size and you should be able to determine what works. If you use this google search and look at the images you'll see the same image all over the place with all of the specs and apparently from some CZ documentation.

Google CZ 453 doevetail size : https://www.google.com/search?q=cz+453+dovetail+size

Good Luck!

 

[padom]

Have 2 Area419 30moa bases and love them. Zero at 50yd and I bang steel to 400yds with an Athlon Cronus BTR MIL.

Bought, tried and sold a DIP rail all in 3 days.

 

[Mike59]

Have 2 Area419 30moa bases and love them. Zero at 50yd and I bang steel to 400yds with an Athlon Cronus BTR MIL.

Bought, tried and sold a DIP rail all in 3 days.

Thanks @padom - good info. I recently bought an Athlon Ares BTR 4.5-27 and I can see that scope possibly making its way to the CZ for some longer / variable range fun.

 

[Dustysa4]

I saw the Area 419 and was initially very interested but I only saw a 30 MOA version. But wait ... I just went back and looked again and I see they also offer it in a 15 MOA cant.

One of the things I use my CZ 455 for is 50 yard (casual) benchrest shooting. The scope that is primarily mounted on it has 64 MOA available (Leupold VX-3) so I was concerned about using a 30 MOA base at that range and running out of down room to compensate for the 30 MOA base. Do you agree with that or am I off on my thinking there?

Also, now that I see there is a 15 MOA base - I'm thinking shooting at 50 yards w/ 64 MOA available in the scope should not be a problem. Additionally, the 15 MOA base would give me some room to stretch it further out but haven't done any math to determine how far "further" would be. Agree with that or am I again off in my thinking?

Cost difference is minimal between the EGW and the Area 419 - only like $20 and that's barely background noise in the grand scheme of things!

Much thanks - very glad you got me to go look at the Area 419 again!

It's worthwhile to see how far off of center your hitting at 50 yards before assuming anything. My latest obsession has been a CZ 457. I initially mounted my scope with elevation and windage turrets exactly at center. Initial groups hit 7.5" low at 50 yards. So right off the bat I'm using up ~15 MOA of scope adjustment. Suddenly a 25 or 30 MOA base seems pretty reasonable in order to regain some turret travel...

For what it's worth, I settled on 30 MOA inserts in some Burris Signature Zee Weaver rings (using dovetail adapters). This let's me shoot from 25 to 300 yards. For most scopes on a rimfire, I think a 30 MOA base is the best compromise. BUT, first you should see where you're at with everything centered out.

 

[Mike59]

It's worthwhile to see how far off of center your hitting at 50 yards before assuming anything. My latest obsession has been a CZ 457. I initially mounted my scope with elevation and windage turrets exactly at center. Initial groups hit 7.5" low at 50 yards. So right off the bat I'm using up ~15 MOA of scope adjustment. Suddenly a 25 or 30 MOA base seems pretty reasonable in order to regain some turret travel...

For what it's worth, I settled on 30 MOA inserts in some Burris Signature Zee Weaver rings (using dovetail adapters). This let's me shoot from 25 to 300 yards. For most scopes on a rimfire, I think a 30 MOA base is the best compromise. BUT, first you should see where you're at with everything centered out.

@Dustysa4 - you bring up a great point and I was actually thinking about this yesterday. I was about to pull the trigger on the 15 MOA Area 419 base and then thought ... what if I'm already low when centered ...as you say a 30 MOA base might be the optimal choice. My dilemma is complicated just a bit by the fact that I'm about to send that scope in to Leupold to have the capped target turrets replaced with M1 turrets so I may need to hold off on my base purchase. I was actually going to send it today but the custom shop was closed today for "process and product training" so I'll have to wait until Monday to get that underway. I know that it's zeroed at 50 yards as it sits right now so I can turn and count clicks but I'm a bit leary to do anything final until I get it back with the new turrets installed. There are some cheaper than the Area 419 options that I could go with while I wait for that scope to come back so I can use another scope in the meantime and then get the optimal base when I see how it is when it comes back. Unfortunately can't use the same/current rings since they are 1" and 2nd scope is 30mm tube. Or ... wait ... I know ... I can just shoot other rifles. It's tough though when I finally make the decision and I'm ready to go and then **have** to wait ... even when I know it's the right thing to do .... arghhhhhh

Much thanks again - you bring up an excellent point and I greatly appreciate it!

Mike

 

[carbonbased]

For me, since I shoot prairie dogs with a CZ Ultra Lux 455 in .22LR with subsonic CCI segmented hollow points, I really needed a 20 moa base. As mentioned prev, I got the Murphy rail and like the above poster, I also used Burris Zee Signature rings. If I remember correctly, I used the zero inserts and needed to adjust 12 MOA (or was it 9 MOA?) up at 100 yds, so I plan on using the 10 MOA inserts to get closer to optical center. A MOA rail and those rings are a nice combo. The only thing I hate about Signature rings is monkeying with the inserts when setting everything up. They tend to move around a bit and I'm anal.

Last trip (the only trip with this setup) I was shooting anywhere between 75-150 yds to good effect. The 28" barrel on that gun basically is a silencer, especially with subsonic ammo.

 

[boy412]

ANYWAY, for my CZ 455 Ultra Lux, I went with https://www.murphyprecision.com/Products/Item/1034. It's solid stainless steel, he cut off the front overhang no charge, and the 8 screws are much larger than the DIP ones and they are BRASS TIPPED (not shown in pics, look for the red text in the description).

Necro bump!

I'm looking at picking up one of these bases for my 457. Presumably the brass-tipped screws won't mar the bluing on the receiver?

And why did you have him trim off the overhang? Aesthetics? Just weren't needing that much rail?

 

[SEMO Shooter]

I had a Murphy Precision base on my CZ455, and it was a very quality piece for a 22. When I removed the base to sell the rifle the screws had not marred the receiver finish, just left light brass marks that easily cleaned off.

It looks like Murphy Precision will soon have a base for the CZ457. I currently have a DIP base on my CZ457.

 

[carbonbased]

Necro bump!

I'm looking at picking up one of these bases for my 457. Presumably the brass-tipped screws won't mar the bluing on the receiver?

And why did you have him trim off the overhang? Aesthetics? Just weren't needing that much rail?

I cannot say if they mar the finish as I haven’t taken it off. But the brass screws are much, much wider than the DIP screws and not sharpish like DIP’s either.

My deletion of the overhang was purely for looks, plus it turned out I didn’t need that much overhanging rail anyway.