New CZ455 Varmint .22lr today!!! But I screwed up...

[Kid_Lefty]

The rifle looks great! The trigger has some creep to it and feels closer to the 4lb setting but I'm really pleased with the overall fit and feel of the rifle itself. I was so excited to get it to the range tonight with my sightron SII 6-24x42.

Unfortunately, I purchased 11mm dovetail rings that are too short! Leupold's website said that medium rings should fit a 50mm objective( I know, I know... I'm retarded. LOL). So I used a Bushnell 1.75-4x30 to put 10 rounds down range. The bolt handle hit the underside of the scope so I had to cycle it slowly and carefully but I was able to sight it in close with the first five rounds, then shoot one, five-shot group. "0.440 at 50yds! I'm pretty happy with that as a first group. I know that one group does not make the rifle a shooter but I wanted to share my first thoughts.

I guess the scope ring mistake was kind of a good thing because I went ahead and ordered a DIP picatinny base mount. Everybody seems to speak highly of them and I already have some picatinny rings that SHOULD work(I measured them and DIP says the base should add .220 to the height so I should clear by about .180ish).

So hopefully the base shows up next week and I can get my scope mounted and get a couple good groups. I'd like to establish a good baseline/average before I start "accurizing".

-Kid

Edit: I was shooting Eley Tenex. 85deg F, basically no wind, pretty high humidity... There was a storm on the way.

 

[Defusion]

Also keep the clearance between the eye-bell and the bolt in mind, impossible to run it fast without damaging your scope if its tight.
I had that issue with DIP base+low rings, should've ordered mediums instead...

 

[Kid_Lefty]

Got to the range this morning and shot some groups and took some pictures... I've got some things to work on but I wanted to share the experience anyway.

That first group I shot a couple days ago was a fluke based on today's results. Today I shot eight groups on a sled, then seven groups on a bipod. out of all the groups, only two of them were close to MOA. I'm shooting Tenex still with today's 75 rounds being #56-130 that have been shot through this rifle. The rifle is still factory issue, but I did adjust the trigger pull all the way down.

Some things I noticed today and some things that could be causing me problems:

1. I don't have the correct scope rings. Thanks Defusion for the heads-up on the eye-bell. They were too short so I placed some stiff rubber gasket material inside the bottom of the ring and some longer screws to attach the top of the ring. The scope seemed sturdy enough but...
2. POA shift after shot. My POA would be at the center of the target and when I pull the trigger and the rifle recoils, the POA would rise about a 1/2" or so and the POI would be where the new POA was. I need to keep learning and practicing. When I was on the bipod, I used a sand bag as my rear support and I would set the natural POA about two inches below the target, then lean into the rifle and pull the stock into my shoulder and into the rear bag. When I focused on keeping the rifle in my shoulder REALLY tight, the POA shift seemed to decrease but... Justin Amateur talks about allowing the rifle "slide' back and not loading the bipod and I wasn't any better doing it that way. LOL. I've got to work on my technique!
3. The wind picked up 5-10 MPH blowing from behind me.

I can understand my issues on the bipod... because I suck. I'm kinda surprised at the results off the rest, though. Averaged 1.7 MOA through eight groups of five. I know some have said that CZ will ship rifles that shoot up to 2 MOA... I guess I just thought I would be the exception. LOL. Oh well. I'll get the correct base and rings, see if I can find some Center-X or Midas+, and hopefully next month send this thing to djdilliodon for some "accurizing". The house is paid off so now I can spend some money!

 

[Mr. Winchester]

Hey Kid, How do you like your 455 Varmint?

I'm looking into getting one but on the fence between the 455 Varmint and 455 Precision Trainer.

When you bought your rifle were you also deciding between the two?

 

[Kid_Lefty]

I really like the rifle itself! I was not willing to spend the money on the Precision Trainer... so I had told myself that I was going to replace the stock pretty quickly with a Boyd's Tacticool. BUT, now having the rifle, I actually like the factory stock. I think it's comfortable and well made. I have ordered a cheek rest pad for it because the comb height is a little low but it's a lot closer than I thought it was going to be. I may still get the Tacticool later but, at the moment I'm going to spend the money elsewhere.

Keep in mind though... I do not have a lengthy background with rifles! This is the first bolt gun I have ever owned and I bought this rifle because, while waiting six months to get some money together, my research on the WWW found that this rifle fit what I was looking for: a middle of the road rifle with a strong reputation and a good aftermarket that allows for improvements. I know it won't hang with the Annie's but hell, neither can I at this point!

So, short answer: I really like it. Looks great, feels good, and IT'S MINE!

 

[justin amateur]

I heard my name mentioned.
Bipods can be a royal pita.
Took me a while to figure out what works for me.

Regarding the 455, remember:

1) Mass produced, assembly line rifle.
That means accuracy can be great, or horrible, or anywhere in-between.

2) Those slim pretty lines on the 455 wood or injection molded stock means inherent flex.
That translates into them being hold sensitive and inconsistent on target.

3) Stock screw holes are open to the action inletting.
This will allow the bottom metal to kink when tightening the screws.
Makes it difficult to maintain a constant clamping force on the action
which leads to alignment shifts every time the rifle is fired.

4) Fixes have already been worked out to deal with those irritations.
Pillaring, action bedding, barrel bedding, match quality barrels.

5) Rimfires are entirely dependent on ammo quality.
If your ammo reeks, so will your target results.


Back to bipods...this is my typical shooting position,
just put the towel under those feet.

Bipod legs adjusted so the rifle sets level on the rear bag.
Free arm wraps under the rifle so hand can squeeze the rear bag to raise or lower butt.
The squeeze of the rear bag allows for fine adjustment of the sight picture.
I don't snug the stock to my shoulder, it's there but not tight.
I grip the stock, apply slight pressure through the ball of my trigger finger to the left.
Squeeze is slow and easy while maintaining sight picture up until the round impacts.
The recoil pushes the rifle back and there is no muzzle jump, which happens when I snug up.

 

[Kid_Lefty]

Hey Justin! Thanks as always for all of your input. As money allows, I'll start fixing some of these issues... BUT I'll keeping working on my form. Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[Kid_Lefty]

Another range report... I had about an hour before a line a rain showers hit so I went out. The wind was pretty inconsistent... 0-10 mph but I feel like most shots were taken at the low wind velocities. 80 deg. and overcast. about 75% humidity.

CHANGES SINCE THE LAST REPORT - I received my DIP 0 MOA base in the mail today! Slipped it on and used a set of picatinny rings that came with a different rifle. Also, I did some spot bedding to help remove some clearances in between the wood and the metal. I placed just a little bit of Devcon at the back of the receiver to keep the receiver forward; this forward position is where the action screws naturally pulled the receiver when they were tightened so I just wanted to fill in the air gap behind it. And I placed two puddles of Devcon under the barrel, one towards the muzzle and one near the receiver. I did this to help eliminate the side to side lash that the barrel/receiver had. I put some masking tape inside the barrel channel and at the back of the receiver channel before I put the Devcon in. This way, I can remove the Devcon a little easier and I've not made any permanent modifications yet. I still plan on having this rifle pillared and fully bedded but since it still need to get the money together, I wanted to try a little bit on my own.

Ok, sorry... here's the range report:

six groups off the rest = 0.80083" or 1.53 MOA
five proups off the bipod = 0.7476" or 1.43 MOA (I only brought 60 rds and I had to use two of those to get the scope sighted and I didn't want to count a 3-shot group)

So, on 9/7/2014 with all 15 groups averaged together = 1.747 MOA
Today with all 11 groups averaged together.............. = 1.484 MOA

Summary: I think that the actual numbers are a little too close to be able to call absolute improvement. There's four less samples in the second set so that could disturb the results... I'll never know what the last four groups would have looked like! And the doofus behind the rifle is still learning and after adjusting my grip of the rifle a little bit, the improvement could be due to a more properly operated rifle. Having said that, I only encountered one real bad flier tonight. SO... maybe the bedding helped remove some oscillation? OR... again, the Kid could've just had a better night. LOL. Numbers are numbers and I wanted to share my experience.

Kid

 

[Kid_Lefty]

Range Report - 9/19/2014 74 degrees, 49% humidity, very slight breeze. Eley Tenex @ 50 yds. round count: 191 - 240.

no significant changes to the rifle... I have a new set of Burris XTR medium rings. That's it.

I shot 5 warmup shots, then nine groups.

nine shot average: 0.6594" or 1.2597 MOA. I had one group that measured at 1.007" and I know the shot I screwed up but I left it in the calculation because data is data and if you can take out one shot, you'll try to take out other bad shots. Best group for this rifle came today just after I made a shooting position adjustment: 0.418". four of the nine groups were near one MOA.


I made one tiny change to my grip after the third group and it seemed to make a positive difference. Again, I am NOT an experienced rifle operator BUT I am learning. Shooting off the bipod with a rear sandbag, I learned that if I adjust the natural POA to 1-2" above the target, then (VERY)slightly lift the stock off the rear bag, it eliminates the jump that I was experiencing the first few times I was out. The rifle stock is still touching the sandbag but the full weight of the rifle and my cheek is not just resting on it.

So, while it's possible that the rifle is shooting better with more rounds down the barrel, I think I'm just holding it back and it's still capable of more. With that said, I need to know if this rifle will shoot better with the barrel free floated; the way it came from CZ. So I removed the barrel bedding and performed a more complete receiver bedding job. I did not do the pillars, just filled in the gaps on the sides and at the back of the receiver.

Work is picking up a bit but if the weather's nice next weekend, I'll try to shoot at least nine more groups.

-Kid

 

[Lazer]

[/IMG
Hey kid, I'm just getting started with my cz vpt 22lr w a 3/9 hawke scope, here's my groups from yesterday at 50 yds prone. It's a stock rifle but had barrel cut to 16in, form 1 suppressor and eley black box ammo. I just put my knightforce on today to give it another try. But I believe the factory barrel will do 3/8 for 30 rounds we will see, this target averaged like .468. Prone with bags no bipod, quality ammo is key! (Moved scope down each group trying to get closer to center would have done it before I shot this target instead of during but that eley is expensive!)

 

[djdilliodon]

Range Report - 9/19/2014 74 degrees, 49% humidity, very slight breeze. Eley Tenex @ 50 yds. round count: 191 - 240.

no significant changes to the rifle... I have a new set of Burris XTR medium rings. That's it.

I shot 5 warmup shots, then nine groups.

nine shot average: 0.6594" or 1.2597 MOA. I had one group that measured at 1.007" and I know the shot I screwed up but I left it in the calculation because data is data and if you can take out one shot, you'll try to take out other bad shots. Best group for this rifle came today just after I made a shooting position adjustment: 0.418". four of the nine groups were near one MOA.


I made one tiny change to my grip after the third group and it seemed to make a positive difference. Again, I am NOT an experienced rifle operator BUT I am learning. Shooting off the bipod with a rear sandbag, I learned that if I adjust the natural POA to 1-2" above the target, then (VERY)slightly lift the stock off the rear bag, it eliminates the jump that I was experiencing the first few times I was out. The rifle stock is still touching the sandbag but the full weight of the rifle and my cheek is not just resting on it.

So, while it's possible that the rifle is shooting better with more rounds down the barrel, I think I'm just holding it back and it's still capable of more. With that said, I need to know if this rifle will shoot better with the barrel free floated; the way it came from CZ. So I removed the barrel bedding and performed a more complete receiver bedding job. I did not do the pillars, just filled in the gaps on the sides and at the back of the receiver.

Work is picking up a bit but if the weather's nice next weekend, I'll try to shoot at least nine more groups.

-Kid

View attachment 50705View attachment 50706

Skim bedding can improve accuracy sometimes but not like a full bedding job ! I'd put pillars in the stock and level off the inlet removing 1/16" to 1/8" of material. I'd bed the entire length of the stock and see what it can do then, I bet it will surprise you .
[/URL

 

[Kid_Lefty]

Hey kid, I'm just getting started with my cz vpt 22lr w a 3/9 hawke scope, here's my groups from yesterday at 50 yds prone. It's a stock rifle but had barrel cut to 16in, form 1 suppressor and eley black box ammo. I just put my knightforce on today to give it another try. But I believe the factory barrel will do 3/8 for 30 rounds we will see, this target averaged like .468. Prone with bags no bipod, quality ammo is key! (Moved scope down each group trying to get closer to center would have done it before I shot this target instead of during but that eley is expensive!)

Hey Lazer, thanks for sharing your experience! It shows that I still have room for improvement. I hate that I'm not doing this rifle justice. I'll try the sandbag on the front next time.

 

[Kid_Lefty]

Skim bedding can improve accuracy sometimes but not like a full bedding job ! I'd put pillars in the stock and level off the inlet removing 1/16" to 1/8" of material. I'd bed the entire length of the stock and see what it can do then, I bet it will surprise you .

Yeah dj, I'm still planning on bedding, I just wanted to do a little bit on my own in order to see the differences each modification makes. Thanks for all your help, too!

 

[djdilliodon]

Yeah dj, I'm still planning on bedding, I just wanted to do a little bit on my own in order to see the differences each modification makes. Thanks for all your help, too!

Nothing wrong with experimenting and is the perfect way to find out what works and what doesn't.