[Rollo]

I've decided to pickup a new 22 bolt action. My goal is to start shooting competition at my local club. The rules are that we will shoot at 25, 50 and 100 yards. The rifle must be under 500 dollars new. I've tried a lot of different ammo in my Ruger American Rimfire and while it is extremely accurate at 25 and 50 yards it's lacking at 100. I've been doing quite a bit of research but am still having a difficult time making a decision. I have it narrowed down to a CZ 452 or 455. The hard part is that the 455 can be had new with either a heavy barrel or a standard barrel. The 452's can only be bought new with a standard barrel. From my research I have gathered that the 452's tend to be a bit more accurate than the 455's. I have tried to research if there are any real benefits of a heavy barrel on a 22 rifle but opinions seem to vary. I would like to try looking at it from another angle. Are there any NEGATIVES to a heavy barrel on a 22lr other than the rifle weighing more and being a bit more expensive? Also, which would you suggest for my intended purpose? 455 standard, 455 heavy or 452 standard?

Thanks!

 

[Rhinoman]

The purpose of the heavy barrel is to dissipate heat better and prevent barrel warping. It's not a big factor in hunting where you only shoot one or two rounds at a time, but in competition where you're shooting many rounds over a short period, a slight warp in the barrel can mean the difference between winning and losing.

 

[Texas Red]

I have a CZ452 with a heavy barrel, but it's a 22mag, not lr. I also have a Savage MkII BV with a heavy barrel. The Savage is VERY accurate out to 100 yards. I have a Weaver rimfire 2-7x scope mounted on it. A very sweet shooter - love the Accutrigger. The CZ has nicer wood and is definitely the winner in the looks dept. But being a magnum, I can't really comment on a comparison.

 

[Chuck R.]

The purpose of the heavy barrel is to dissipate heat better and prevent barrel warping. It's not a big factor in hunting where you only shoot one or two rounds at a time, but in competition where you're shooting many rounds over a short period, a slight warp in the barrel can mean the difference between winning and losing.

It also helps quite a bit for stability/balance in off-hand shooting. My off-hand practice .22LR weighs in at a little over 11Lbs.

Chuck

 

[gasmitty]

The accuracy of a .22 rimfire rifle is relatively unaffected by barrel stiffness compared to a centerfire, and other factors like action and barrel bedding contribute more. Barrel weight does contribute to the steadiness with which the individual shooter can hold the gun, though.

I've got a 455 Varminter and a 455 Full Stock, and the V. is 1.1 pounds heavier than the FS. If I was shooting offhand matches, I'd choose the heavier gun.

I may have mentioned this in an earlier post, but the 452 being more accurate than the 455 is more legend than fact. There are some design differences which aid manufacturability but these don't reduce intrinsic accuracy. I started out pining for a 452 but I love my 455s.

 

[Tommie]

If you are serious about competition, I would go with the heavy barrel. You didn't mention if this is open sights or a scoped competition. If it's scoped, I would concentrate on putting some quality glass on the rifle above all else.

 

[ghost tracker]

Weight of the barrel isn't ALWAYS "the" pivotal factor for .22 LR accuracy. There are "Standard", "Bentz" & "Match" chamberings (with little more than a reamer-turn or two between ALL of them). There are chamber-length (manufacturing tolerance) variances between identical rifles built minutes apart on the same assembly line. And "heavy" isn't necessarily the all-encompassing accuracy solution. I was once an NCAA 3-Position Rimfire Rifle competitor. We were a well-funded team from a major university. We regularly bought a half-dozen Anschutz SuperMatch 54 rifles to experimentally shoot 'em all, with Eley 10X, just to keep 2-3 and RETURN THE REST! And that rifle is among the most precisely-built firearms in the world. My point is that particular, individual rimfire rifles can shoot a particular brand & load of ammo amazingly well, while grouping another brand... like a quail gun pattern! And once you find that sweet-spot, made-in-heaven, perfect rifle/ammo combo. That's ALL YOU SHOOT! I've seen that be a Marlin 39A (a real surprise to the both guys), a custom lapped, trigger-tuned Stevens Crackshot (made ugly on purpose into the ultimate "sleeper"), a Vorquartsen Superlite (looks like a 10/22 & shoots like a SuperMatch 54), etc., etc. BTW, the Volquartsen (with its tensioned Carbon Fiber barrel) weighs 5.5 pounds! :biggrin2:

 

[dangerranger]

I've decided to pickup a new 22 bolt action. My goal is to start shooting competition at my local club. The rules are that we will shoot at 25, 50 and 100 yards. The rifle must be under 500 dollars new. I've tried a lot of different ammo in my Ruger American Rimfire and while it is extremely accurate at 25 and 50 yards it's lacking at 100. I've been doing quite a bit of research but am still having a difficult time making a decision. I have it narrowed down to a CZ 452 or 455. The hard part is that the 455 can be had new with either a heavy barrel or a standard barrel. The 452's can only be bought new with a standard barrel. From my research I have gathered that the 452's tend to be a bit more accurate than the 455's. I have tried to research if there are any real benefits of a heavy barrel on a 22 rifle but opinions seem to vary. I would like to try looking at it from another angle. Are there any NEGATIVES to a heavy barrel on a 22lr other than the rifle weighing more and being a bit more expensive? Also, which would you suggest for my intended purpose? 455 standard, 455 heavy or 452 standard?

Thanks!

If I were to take an educated guess I'd say you are still having ammo related problems. Ammo that performs well at 25 and 50 yards but fails at 100 is probably passing the sound barrier at between 50 and 75 yards. the sonic crack you hear is a mini sonic boom. Depending on the elevation where you shoot, Id look for ammo that is dependable at or near 1080 Feet per second from a rifle. This will limit the speed to below the speed of sound, and will therefore never drop below the speed of sound causing the disturbance that upsets the bullet path. This will be target grade ammo. If you have a silhouette club near you they shoot out to 100 meters and have the same problems. Their two longest shots are 77 and 100 meters, so they have to deal with the sub sonic ammo for both of these shots. Check the ammo you have tried and see if it's all 1300 FPS or faster. [ at sea level]. And then try several that are slower. Good luck DR

 

[Yotecallr]

Here is a 25 yard 10 shot group with my Kidd Ultra Lite barrel. CCI Std Vel.

 

[ghost tracker]

Here is a 25 yard 10 shot group with my Kidd Ultra Lite barrel. CCI Std Vel. View attachment 149777

That's pretty impressive Yote! Is there a rifle attached to that Kidd barrel (10/22?) or are you just... whackin' the rim with a nail? :biggrin2:

 

[gabbyh75]

Just about every one who advised you in this thread gave sound advice. I don't have the background that many of your advisers have. I have attended many small bore bench competitions however. There is a sporter class for lighter weight rifles but by far the most accurate rifles are the custom rifles with heavy barrels. Reread Rhinoman's comment.

 

[Yotecallr]

ghost..It's attached to a 10/22 Kidd build. Action, trigger, etc. In a Hogue stock. Looks kinda plain, but it shoots about everything I have to my satisfaction. That stock isn't used anymore, just a plain black Hogue stock.

I can't weigh more than 5 pounds.

 

[hardluk1]

ghost tracker Your info is spot on even down to the lot number of the ammo your using . Ammo rifle may never shoot as well again .

At a local 22lr match the range supplied the ammo , typically not great ammo ether , all one brand and if your rifle does not like it your done . That's when some guy with marlin 60 might win the day . I've seen that .

Want some fun ?? Put a few dabs of jelly on the target and while your working at refining your group size watch for fly's to land - shoot um . I use a red 1/4" square for a target for 25 and 50 yards

My ruger/kidd/jard/boyds with a low cost BSA 6-24 30mm tube tmd scope fun gun. Its another bug hole rifle literally .

102_0422_zpsevwkc0qm.jpg Photo by hardluk1 | Photobucket

 

[Stevew]

I love my CZ 455. I do not have the heavy barrel. Mine is scoped with Mueller 4.5x14, with adjustable parallex to 10 yards. For casual paper punching it is fine. It is easy to sink a lot of money on glass.
You might want to play around with your Ruger a little more. I have a $40 Remington single shot, with a $39 Bushnell that shots just as good as my CZ. There is a lot of things you can do to a CZ to get more accuracy from them. Small holes cost big money.

 

[Jpk0427]

My brother has a Ruger 77 .22lr with the heavy barrel and it is very accurate out to 60- 70 yards offhand for shooting squirrels in the head. I have a Winchester 52b with a standard barrel that's also very accurate, but I wish it had the heavy barrel on it

 

[SIXTO]

I'd buy the 452, try it out for a while. If you still feel you need a heavy barrel, add one later.

 

[1911srule]

How much was a remington 40 X when new? Or Winchester 52, Anshutz? They are built well...

 

[ghost tracker]

How much was a remington 40 X when new? Or Winchester 52, Anshutz? They are built well...

You're gonna' have to be more specific to get a valid answer. All three of those rifles were produced over long production-runs with dozens of variants. They were expensive then. They ARE expensive now. And worth...every SINGLE penny! :image035: