CZ 455 Varmint or CZ 455 Precision Trainer

Mr. Winchester

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Mar 3, 2012
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I was looking into getting either a CZ 455 Varmint or 455 Precision Trainer. Has any seen and compared them side-by-side or have any thoughts on either?

Can't seem to justify the extra $400~$500 for the 455 Precision Trainer over the Varmint.

I forgot to add most of my shooting with be typical paper bullseye. So I think I just want to keep it at 22LR.

If I change my mind and decide on 17HMR or 22Mag I can get a new barrel sway it out.

Below are the CZ links for the Varmint and Precision Trainer (with Manners Stock)

http://cz-usa.com/product/cz-455-varmint-22-lr-5-rd-mag/

http://cz-usa.com/product/cz-455-va...-camo-22-lr-5-rd-mag-manners-composite-stock/
 
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The Manners stock justifies the price difference. Whether you're willing to pay for it is up to you.

One option is to get the Varmint, then purchase a Boyds Tacticool stock (~$100) if you wish to convert it to a budget trainer.

The Boyds isn't in the same league as the Manners, but on a 22 trainer, it serves fine.

This is a painted Boyds on a 452 Varmint:

 
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shooting wise, the same
cool kid facter, manners stock.
side by side,(which we have done) both are the same as far as accy.
they, CZ do offer one with a Boyds tacticool stock, for the money that is what i would get
just my 2cents
YO
 
The manners stock is comfortable, super rigid, and made to last forever! The ones I've done are never inletted perfectly but then again which stock is. The factory front pillar is a joke and IMO they shouldn't even install it. If money isn't an issue the manners is worth it.

For those who are on a budget but want a stock that has a similar feel to the manners, the boyds tacticool (poor mans manners) is very hard to beat. It can be modded to have similar stiffness in the forend. I reinforce the forend on these stocks by putting in 6-10 steel rods in under the barrel channel and filling it in with epoxy.




After I glass bed over it.
 
Thanks to you all for the input! I'll weigh out my options of either getting the 455 precision trainer or get a varmint and do some custom work on it.
 
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mr2.0 where did you get you base? Do the 22LR cases clear easily with that base?

Looks like it is a Murphy Precision base.

I have one, and I've had no problems so far. (disclosure; has only shot a few hundred rounds) I researched pretty hard, but found zero complaints about casings getting stuck inside like some people experienced with other scope bases.

Mr2.0, I'm curious, who makes the adjustable cheek pad you have on there?
 
Cheek piece looks a lot like the one XLR uses.
I have the 455 Tacticool model. It came from CZ in the Boyd's Tacticool stock and has had some other "goodness" applied. I am very pleased with the performance so far.
Just not sure CZ still offers them but could be easily added for not a lot of money.
 
I have no doubt that the CZ Manners trainer is the shizzle...but I just have a hard time accepting a set up with a stock that costs more than twice as much as the rifle, with no easy options for an oversized bolt handle.
 
I'm sure mscott is a great guy, and maybe I'll give him a shot, but the last time I sent my CZ bolt handle a guy on the hide that many folks said would do a great job, it turned into a 90 day cluster F***.

I've used mscott many times and he is like lightning! His work is also exceptional! 3 months is a mighty long time to wait for a bolt handle!!!!
 
mr2.0 where did you get you base? Do the 22LR cases clear easily with that base?

The base is from a gentlemen in Oregon, similar to Murphy but you have to drill and tap,its 10 moa, it fits absolutely perfect and all cases clear so far . If you are interested I'll send you his number


El Gordo2 can do the knob from filling the void to thread and custom knob and ship it to you in 10 days
 
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Cheek piece looks a lot like the one XLR uses.
I have the 455 Tacticool model. It came from CZ in the Boyd's Tacticool stock and has had some other "goodness" applied. I am very pleased with the performance so far.
Just not sure CZ still offers them but could be easily added for not a lot of money.

It is the XLR but I got rid of the cheap foam and glued a piece of leather in place
 
Thanks! Several folks here on the hide have pointed me toward DIP and it sounds like the best game in town right now
.. i just jumped on the 'back order bus' for the DIP stainless (will Cerakote) trigger guard over at the DIP web site. From what i hear they only need a couple more orders to seal up the deal and go to production. If anyones interested the thread with the details over at RimFireCentral is here ... Poll: Interest in DiP CZ 455 STAINLESS trigger-guard (group buy)? - Page 2 - RimfireCentral.com Forums
and the link to the order page @ DIP is here ... Diversified Innovative Products - Product Detail - 455 Trigger Guard Stainless Steel - $149.97
 
I have no doubt that the CZ Manners trainer is the shizzle...but I just have a hard time accepting a set up with a stock that costs more than twice as much as the rifle, with no easy options for an oversized bolt handle.

BenY 2013 here in the Hide can help you would with the bolt handle.
 
Now that is impressive. The mag holders mounted on the stock caught my eye. Tell me where that came from please.
Hey Shoot4fun
I had a rifle stock pouch that came with a removable Velcro 6 round holder and all I did was cut the thread from every other loop so that gave me 3 doublewide loops that would fit my .22 mags. I put Velcro on my stock and there you have it
 
Hey Shoot4fun
I had a rifle stock pouch that came with a removable Velcro 6 round holder and all I did was cut the thread from every other loop so that gave me 3 doublewide loops that would fit my .22 mags. I put Velcro on my stock and there you have it

It seems the value of it is knowing where those mags are. I am constantly misplacing mine!
Thanks!
 
I'm still trying to justify the extra $$$ getting the Precision Trainer over the Varmint. I know some of you mentioned get the PT and don't look back.

Having bought the Varmint Tacticool recently, I can tell you that I was a little disappointed in the inletting/fitment of the wood. I spent a few hours cleaning things up, particularly the barrel channel and action area. (sandpaper wrapped around different sized sockets to get good even clearance) Even still, I don't feel the action sits quite perfect in the wood, as it seems the action isn't perfectly plumb when indexed off the top rail/dovetail area, compared to supposedly parallel areas on the stock. (I'm notoriously obsessive though, so I may be nitpicking)

Some of this is the design of how the 455 fits into a stock, having overly large areas cut out to allow for trigger and magwell components. Or the fact that the action's position can be influenced by the magwell slot that is milled into the wood. (and I very much dislike the proximity of the front action screw to the magwell screw which prevents a good/easy pillar bedding) Regardless of what stock you get, those are problems that will be part of the deal.

Having not held a Manner PT myself, I can't say for sure it would be worth the extra $400+ to go that route; I certainly would have paid $200'ish more if it would have avoided the issues with the inletting and sat the action more precisely in the stock though.

In the end, I made my decision based on the reality that this is just a .22LR, and the budget I'd be spending should reflect that to some degree as my allowance for these purchases has to be moderated. YMMV of course, but as much as I'd like to be able to spend the extra on the PT, I think it would strain my budget too much.

E.
 
I have had several 452's. All I can add here is the CZ know what to do and their own wood is nicely done and there is no premium attached. If not opting for the manners stock, the sporter straight comb is really a nice bargain.
 
The Manners is a great stock. It is truly a trainer as it's the closest thing to a full size rifle I have found. My next project is with the McMillian with a 17HMR CZ455. Here's my trainer:

PB3_zps28c5288b.jpg
 
The Manners is a great stock. It is truly a trainer as it's the closest thing to a full size rifle I have found. My next project is with the McMillian with a 17HMR CZ455. Here's my trainer:

PB3_zps28c5288b.jpg

i
I have said it before, an will say it again,
that is the best damm good looking CZ ever.
thanks tank, for another picture of your setup.
what scope is that, i can not tell, on my phone
YO
 
i
I have said it before, an will say it again,
that is the best damm good looking CZ ever.
thanks tank, for another picture of your setup.
what scope is that, i can not tell, on my phone
YO

Thanks YO. The scope is a Bushnell 3-12x44 G2DMR. I am proud of the rifle and it is a ton of fun to shoot. And as you can see through all of these threads with customized 455s we are all proud of our rifles. They PT is not inexpensive and most of us go a bit further with triggers, bolt knobs, and all sorts of other mods. But the pleasure of shooting them and with the cost of 22 ammo (which is slowly getting back to normal) greatly exceeds the cost of the rifle. This rifle always goes with me to the range and I shoot it while the center fire is cooling down. I was originally on the fence with the 455 PT (considering a Quad or Annie as a PT) but usmcchet9296's 455 solidified my decision. I simply could not be happier with it.
 
Thanks YO. The scope is a Bushnell 3-12x44 G2DMR. I am proud of the rifle and it is a ton of fun to shoot. And as you can see through all of these threads with customized 455s we are all proud of our rifles. They PT is not inexpensive and most of us go a bit further with triggers, bolt knobs, and all sorts of other mods. But the pleasure of shooting them and with the cost of 22 ammo (which is slowly getting back to normal) greatly exceeds the cost of the rifle. This rifle always goes with me to the range and I shoot it while the center fire is cooling down. I was originally on the fence with the 455 PT (considering a Quad or Annie as a PT) but usmcchet9296's 455 solidified my decision. I simply could not be happier with it.

yes they are a fun rifle
after i 1st saw your rifle build post, i copied yours for my sons build as close as i could.
of the 2 other rifles, i am shooting a annie MPR64, an damm what a hammer.
thanks again for that porn picture.dont be so long on another picture, maybe with a target,LOL an yes I have dropped a ton of money in my sons CZ455 PT
YO
 
yes they are a fun rifle
after i 1st saw your rifle build post, i copied yours for my sons build as close as i could.
of the 2 other rifles, i am shooting a annie MPR64, an damm what a hammer.
thanks again for that porn picture.dont be so long on another picture, maybe with a target,LOL an yes I have dropped a ton of money in my sons CZ455 PT
YO

OP, if all this is pressure to get one then I don't apologize. ;)

Below my original post. It has more pics and groups about 2/3 of the way down. There were several factors in getting it to shoot as well as it does. One major factor was testing well over a dozen types of ammo, another was the trigger. I went with the Timney option. I'm not sure if I just got better with the rifle over time or things like the barrel had to break in, but somewhere north of 500 rounds it got really dialed in. I did most of these mods at the same time so it's impossible to tell which ones affected accuracy the most. There is some debate about whether or not bedding does any good with a 22, but I did it anyways. Finally, had it not shot this well I was planning on a Lilja. Theses rifles come with a test target and if you open 10 boxes you will see 10 different group sizes. Sometimes very different.

http://www.snipershide.com/shooting.../178606-first-day-cz455pt-bushnell-g2dmr.html
 
OP both are great, don't think you could not go wrong with either one.
you can add mods as you go

yep Justin it is a 4$$ LOL, but now it is shooting like a money pit, should. whoo wup wup
tank I have done about all the mods I could think of, trigger, lilja barrel, bedded, one of DJ A5 trigger guard, tac knob, custom paint on stock by short bus, alum mag well, dip scope base, an a ton of different match ammo (just found a brand that shoots).
this was a father/son project, before he went off to higher learning,(another money pit, but at lest he has stayed on the Deans list, an 2nd in class, money well spent)
after our TSC season over going to put the 22mag, barrel back on, for fox season.
the factory mag barrel showed that I got a good one.(it shoots very well).

to the OP hope you see both models work with a little work.
but I do like the manners stock better
YO
 
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OP both are great, don't think you could not go wrong with either one.
you can add mods as you go

yep Justin it is a 4$$ LOL, but now it is shooting like a money pit, should. whoo wup wup
tank I have done about all the mods I could think of, trigger, lilja barrel, bedded, one of DJ A5 trigger guard, tac knob, custom paint on stock by short bus, alum mag well, dip scope base, an a ton of different match ammo (just found a brand that shoots).
this was a father/son project, before he went off to higher learning,(another money pit, but at lest he has stayed on the Deans list, an 2nd in class, money well spent)
after our TSC season over going to put the 22mag, barrel back on, for fox season.
the factory mag barrel showed that I got a good one.(it shoots very well).

to the OP hope you see both models work with a little work.
but I do like the manners stock better
YO

Congratulations on your boy! Dean's list and 2nd in class is great! Nice to have a cool father/son project like that. Thanks for your input.
 
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The stock is the stock and the receiver and the barrel are the receiver and the barrel. Whichever you are going to purchase is going to have be pillared and bedded if you are target shooting and not aiming at a squirrel for an anywhere on the animal hit. I would save my money, go for the less expensive stock and do the work necessary. Otherwise, get the Precision Trainer, pillar and bed it anyway and you are darned close, if not over, the price for a NIB Anschutz 64 without interchangeable barrels.

One way or the other, as stated above in this thread, extra work has to be done to the pillar near the mag well. I have done this on two 452's and it ain't as easy as it appears.
 
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May I ask what scopes are you guys using on you 455 Precision Trainers? I just picked one up! Looking forward to taking it to the range.

My buddy uses the SS 3-15 on his, the parallax goes down to 15 or 25 yards and it works well.

I use the PST 4-16 on mine. Parallax doesnt go as low (50 yards I believe) but it works for me just fine out around 25 yards.