Scope suggestion for CZ 455 22lr/17hmr

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gregp74

gregp74

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I have been doing a lot of wheeling and dealing and now I'm looking for a new scope for my CZ 455 Varmint rifle.

I do a lot of different things with that gun, so I want something flexible. It goes from indoor ranges shooting 30-75 yard paper targets to punching paper at 100-sometimes 150 yards outside, to hitting critters with the 17 hmr rounds.

I'm looking for something with adjustable parallax and a nice range of power. I'd like to be able to zoom in and see where my 17 cal holes are at when the targets are 100+ yards.

The gun is used on a bipod 99% so I'm not worried about having the scope be super lightweight. Probably looking for a fine duplex. Not really interested in something with the bdc markings, especially as I switch between 2 calibers. It would only confuse me.

I stuck my Leupold VX3i 4-14x50mm scope on there after I sold the rifle it had been on. I tell ya, that was probably overkill but man was it nice. My plan was to move that to my new 220 Swift, but I am also tempted to keep it on the CZ and put something else on the 220.
 
I actually had a pretty similar scope on there for a while. With medium rings, the end of the scope sat about 1/4" off the barrel. That was fine, but I'd added an extended bolt handle and with the medium rings it tended to rub and I had to go up to the tall rings. It felt like it was too high up then. (That's about the time I temporarily stuck the 50mm version of the same scope on and liked that.) My best option might be to just go back to the regular bolt handle and a 40mm Leupold again.
 
I have a 455 with a 1-4x power Leupold on it. I find it adequate for 50-100 yards. I can dial it down to 1x (bigger field of view) for critters like squirrels at less than 50 yds. I use a 32x spotting scope to mark my hits at the range. For me a scope is just a device to place my shot, the lighter the better. Military snipers use a fixed 10x for everything. I learned to shoot using a fixed power scope and never felt handicapped shooting deer or varmints with 6x. I have a 3x9 Leupold on my .223 bolt rifle but I really wish I had purchased a fixed 6x with better glass.
 
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The 4.5-14x would be a good choice. I put a 4-16x on my first .17HMR and rarely take if off 8x to shoot varmints out to over 200yds.
 
It has AO. Set trigger. I've gotten multiple sub .4" groups @ 50 yards in one session using Wolf Match Extra. I let my friend's kids shoot it at a 2" metal target at 100 yards with Federal Automatch and there were way, way more hits than misses.
 
Both my 452 American and 452 Lux wear Nikon Prostaff Rimfire II 3-9x40s. The rifles are in 17 HMR and 22 WMR respectively. I love these scopes for the price, and I've never felt like I need more magnification. Of course, they don't have the adjustable parallax like you would like.

But if you currently have a VX3i on it, nothing else is going to cut it, especially my bang-for-the-buck option. Just get another Leupold for the 220 Swift.
 
It's funny because I'm not much of a fan of Nikon but they do have a rimfire scope I like. It's called the Prostaff Target EFR Rimfire Scope. The first place I looked - Midway, has them for $189.95 with free shipping. I still would prefer the Clearidge I've referenced in other posts. I have one on my CZ 512 .22WMR. But the Nikon costs less and I think it's an excellent scope.
 
I have a Leupold VX-III 3.5-10X on my Anschutz 1517MPR. It will do everything you are asking for. I like it so much that I bought the VX-3i version of the same scope to put on my new Sako FinnFire II 17HMR. It is the best scope I've ever used. But, in order to see the holes in the target at 100 yards you really need a spotting scope. Those 17 gr bullets make mighty small holes in paper targets. So unless you have the eyesight of a falcon, you're gonna need more magnification.
 
I have a CZ 455 Varmint and a Brno #4 equipped with a Mueller 8-32x44 Target dot. No problem seeing the tiny holes at 50 or 100 yds. Over kill? Not if you want to shoot without a spotting scope.
 
I have had 2 of these 3-9x32mm scopes mounted on my CZs for quite a while. No, they aren't a famous brand and, yes, they're are inexpensive. Most importantly, however, they've been reliable performers with a really nice feature set IMO. http://optics-store.com/3-9x32aol-scope-with-front-ao-rgb-mil-dot/

CZ 455 Trainer (.22LR)
DSCN0034_crop.jpg


CZ 527 Carbine (.223 Rem)
DSCN0108e.jpg
 
For 100 yards when I'm trying to shoot my tightest groups I want nothing less than 24x, and good clarity and resolution. I'm willing to go with 20x, but I WANT nothing less than 24. I have some pretty decent 4.5-14x scopes and have shot them side by side numerous times against my similar quality 20x and 24x (was doing so several days in a row a couple weeks ago using about 6 different CZs) and the higher level of aiming precision allowed by the extra magnification results in smaller groups for me.
 
There is a reason they make rim fire scopes. For the optics they use they optimize performance at a near-field parallax. Usually 50 yards.

I put a Weaver 3-9 rim fire scope on my daughters CZ 455. She won the 4-H matches 3 years running. They shoot 14 matches each season. The scope was a good choice.

Not sure you can make a bad choice with the scopes that have been mentioned but I would caution you to explore and understand the differences between rim fire scopes and center fire scopes.
 
I'd only add that the scope I linked to above has an Adjustable Objective (AO) lens. That feature allows the shooter to correct for parallax, typically over a wide range of distances. AO is not a necessity but it does make life simpler IMO, regardless if one is using a rimfire or centerfire long gun.
 
I'd give Vortex a look. If I cut a notch in my 452 stock for every starling I've taken out of a fruit tree or sparrow off a blue bird house I'd just have a barreled action.
 
Another one here, I just purchased a CZ 455 American .22LR. As such, I am looking for a scope. I see the recommendations above and they aren't quite what I am looking for.

Budget, 250-350 for scope and rings.
Purpose, informal target and plinking.
Magnification, low, I would like something that starts closer to 2x.
I prefer covered turrets, just one less then to accidentally mess up.
Finish, and this is the one that makes it hard, I would prefer gloss, not matte. The reason is simply that I want it to match the rifle.

Frankly, I am window shipping for the scope right now. I have time as I will not be home, to pick the rifle up, until December. That being said, I am not finding what I want. Any suggestions?
 
Hasaf said:
Another one here, I just purchased a CZ 455 American .22LR. As such, I am looking for a scope. I see the recommendations above and they aren't quite what I am looking for.

Budget, 250-350 for scope and rings.
Purpose, informal target and plinking.
Magnification, low, I would like something that starts closer to 2x.
I prefer covered turrets, just one less then to accidentally mess up.
Finish, and this is the one that makes it hard, I would prefer gloss, not matte. The reason is simply that I want it to match the rifle.

Frankly, I am window shipping for the scope right now. I have time as I will not be home, to pick the rifle up, until December. That being said, I am not finding what I want. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

For $269 Leupold makes a fixed 2.5x20 that might fit your needs but it's a matt finish. Like you said, the gloss finish is the difficult part. You don't see as many of those as you used to.
 
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