Seeking feedback on CZ 457 & Ruger Precision Rimfire rifles

[BroncoMustang]

I have read a little bit about the CZ 457 and the Ruger Precision Rimfire rifles; both are bolt action and seem to have a fairly close cost. I was hoping to learn from your experience with these 2 bolt action .22 rifles, to see which you would prefer among them (or perhaps another). I eager to hear from others as to what they like and dislike about these and other possible competitors versions. Which do you think would have the best accuracy, etc. Thank you.

[somereloaderdude]

I very recently picked up a CZ 457 MTR, courtesy of Reeds Indoor Range. I mounted a Vortex Diamondback 6-24 x 50 on a 15moa Area 419 rail, an Atlas bipod and packed up a bunch of 22lr, CCI Subsonic, Standard and MiniMag and headed off to Sunnyvale Rod and Gun. Now, the caveat here is, I'm almost a beginner when it comes to rifle and am learning as I go. The first thing I learned was you can't see a laser bore sighter at 100 yards on a bright sunny day. So... my first task was to try and hit the paper. Surprisingly, I was able to zero the scope after about 20 rounds. I was using the standard velocity. There was a fairly brisk wind, flags at between 45 and 90 degrees and shifting left, right, and front. I switched to Subsonic and was able to shoot a 1.75" 10 shot group at 100, after much messing around with rear bag placement and height. The action was very smooth and my setup was very comfortable. My main experience is shotgun and pistol, so I felt like this was a fairly encouraging start. I can't compare it to any other 22lr rifle, except the ones I shot at arcades when I was a kid, and that definitely won't help, but that's all I have for this caliber to compare. The test target that came with the rifle shows a 12mm 5 shot group at 50 meters, using Lapua X-act 40gr, so I could only conclude that I was somewhere in the ballpark, considering the conditions that particular day. Any tips on where to pickup Eley or Lapua 22lr locally would be appreciated.

[BroncoMustang]

Thanks for the feedback.

Also, heard about Kidd .22 rifles, which are pretty accurate from what I have learned. Any thoughts about any of these?

[as_rocketman]

I've seen just about every .22 ever made at Appleseed. (Just about. Still haven't seen a Lee-Enfield No. 7, so if you've got one, come on down.)

I myself have a CZ 452 V, which is jolly nice. Back when we were allowed to loan out rifles this was my most requested one, and it made many bolt-action Riflemen and Riflewomen. It doesn't have strong ammo preferences, performing decently with everything, though I usually feed it CCI SV, Eley Target, or SK+ if I'm trying to show off.

What's important for a .22 is that it fits you, it has sights you can work with, it fits you, you can work the trigger and controls properly, and when slung up it fits you. That's why there's so many choices. People are different.

All else being equal, same price, I'd take the CZ every time over an RPR. Less to mess with, quality throughout, classic design. But the RPR is going to be a lot more adjustable out of the box. If you have flexibility problems the RPR might be a good bet.

A Kidd rifle is an aftermarket-tuned Ruger 10/22. 10/22's have an enormous following with customizability second only to the AR-15. If you like its options and are comfortable with its price, why not. It is exactly what it claims to be.

But don't get hung up on accuracy. Even my $99 Marlin will hold a 2 MOA group with halfway decent ammo. Once you've worked on the shooter and found a rifle that fits, after that your accuracy depends on a perfect match of bullet and barrel. Mechanically, none of the rifles in this thread will make a competitive rimfire rifle. Compared against each other I'd lay odds on the CZ out of the box, but the difference is likely to be so small you'd never notice.