Souped up Ruger 10/22 or CZ 452 Lux

[nachosgrande]

So, if you had $400 in your .22 budget, would you add a nice thumbhole stock and bull barrel to your Ruger 10/22 or buy a CZ 452 Lux instead? Will be used for target shooting (only up to 100 yards at my range) and a bit of hunting.

 

[HOOfan_1]

CZ 452 hands down for me. More about the style than the accuracy, although they are accurate

 

[proven]

cz here too. i like the style, the accuracy is there, and they're just nicely built rifles.

 

[jmr40]

Don't care for the LUX, but would buy the American or Varmit.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

CZ....The average $400 "souped up" Ruger can onlg hope to be as accurate as the average CZ.

 

[steveo452]

I have 2 CZ 452 rimfire rifles & 2 Ruger 10/22 rifles. I'd take any CZ 452/453/455 rifle over a Ruger 10/22. It would take a lot of $$$ to get a 10/22 to shoot with a CZ, I'm talking (Kidd rifle) kind of money.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Yeah, and at the end of the days you still have a kid's rifle.

 

[powder]

597 LS HB, 22mag.. VQ trigger/extractor, voila. That's mine anyway...

 

[nosmr2]

I've got 2 10/22s and a CZ-452. If I want dead on accuracy I take the CZ with the spring kit. I've put about $200 into the Ruger, but the CZ still out shoots it. Both great guns.

 

[SleazyRider]

There's something inherently wrong with buying a rifle (10/22) and having to put big bucks into it for it to shoot right. I have both, and CZ right out of the box will outshoot the souped up Ruger. I'll admit, though, that the Ruger fills a niche: It's fun to "make it your own" by adding aftermarket parts and tinkering with it. After all, isn't that what a hobby is all about?

 

[nachosgrande]

Well, that answers that. Thanks for the help everybody.

 

[CraigC]

The average $400 "souped up" Ruger can only hope to be as accurate as the average CZ.

Depends on where you put your $400. If you buy a $79 barrel, then no, it won't be as accurate. However, if you put a good barrel on it, the CZ is in trouble. Now I've got quite a bit in this one but it also has an excellent Clark barrel, aftermarket CNC receiver, accurized bolt and a $300 KIDD trigger. Not only does it shoot better than my 452, it's more consistently accurate with more loads.

There's something inherently wrong with buying a rifle (10/22) and having to put big bucks into it for it to shoot right.

What's "inherently wrong" with a rifle that you can buy so cheaply and make it whatever you want it to be with only common hand tools on the kitchen table??? Seems to me there's a lot right with that concept. Nobody does it to make it shoot "right", they shoot just fine out of the box. Most folks do it to make them better. There are lots of cheap plinkers on the market but very few that allow the end user so much flexibility.


But I do love my little CZ 452FS. It's a fine rifle and accurate. I forgive it for having scope clearance issues, convoluted scope mount issues and a backwards safety. Which the CZ lovers conveniently forget. In the end, it all just depends on what the individual wants. But hopefully he makes his decision based on fact and not a lot of unfounded opinion.

 

[WoodchuckAssassin]

While I've never shot a CZ, I have heard very good things (and who can argue with the groups posted above!). Still, I'm a Ruger 10/22 tried and true. The CZ groups are tight, but not any tighter than my stock 10/22 SS. I honestly don't know if a bull barrel could group them better than my unmodified Ruger...but I'd like to find out

 

[desidog]

The CZ groups are tight, but not any tighter than my stock 10/22 SS.

Really? My results did vary from your finding.

I honestly don't know if a bull barrel could group them better than my unmodified Ruger.

Definitely. A bull bbl takes out the harmonics and vibration issues associated with the thinner barrel and it's contact with the barrel band.



OP, i think a 452 Lux vs. 10/22 thumbhole bull bbl is like comparing apples and oranges.

I have both, and another two 10/22's as well. I use the 452 Lux with irons, and the bull 10/22 with a Mueller scope. Both rock; but serve different purposes.

The CZ 452 Lux is a wonderful gun for hunting, but it would not be my choice for a range / benchrest rifle. I think your comparison would be more fitting with a CZ 452 American, or a 10/22 in carbine form. (They can be made accurate too.)

I get the impression that some of the posters here are the sort of shooters who buy a gun and use it as-is; whereas others (like myself) really enjoy the mechanics of the system and being able to make minor or major adjustments as suits our fancies.

 

[nachosgrande]

Really? My results did vary from your finding.



Definitely. A bull bbl takes out the harmonics and vibration issues associated with the thinner barrel and it's contact with the barrel band.



OP, i think a 452 Lux vs. 10/22 thumbhole bull bbl is like comparing apples and oranges.

I have both, and another two 10/22's as well. I use the 452 Lux with irons, and the bull 10/22 with a Mueller scope. Both rock; but serve different purposes.

The CZ 452 Lux is a wonderful gun for hunting, but it would not be my choice for a range / benchrest rifle. I think your comparison would be more fitting with a CZ 452 American, or a 10/22 in carbine form. (They can be made accurate too.)

I get the impression that some of the posters here are the sort of shooters who buy a gun and use it as-is; whereas others (like myself) really enjoy the mechanics of the system and being able to make minor or major adjustments as suits our fancies.

Thanks for this post. You just confirmed what my gut has been telling me. Get both!

 

[CraigC]

Barrel contour is really a much smaller factor in .22LR's. Harmonics are not really a significant issue and gilt edged accuracy may be obtained without heavy .920" steel barrels. Like the Clark mid-weight pictured above.

 

[jmr40]

The odds are in your favor with a CZ if pure accuracy is your main priority. But don't rule out all 10-22's. Especially the newer production guns. I have a CZ American, a tricked out 10-22 with a heavy target barrel and a standard stainless 10-22 that only has an aftermarket Hogue stock. They all 3 shoot pretty much the same. In all honesty, this is the most accurate factory 10-22 I've ever fired and is not typical.

http://s1129.photobucket.com/albums/m513/jmr40/?action=view&current=22s002.jpg

http://s1129.photobucket.com/albums/m513/jmr40/?action=view&current=22s001.jpg

http://s1129.photobucket.com/albums/m513/jmr40/?action=view&current=22s003.jpg

The tricked out rifle is for sale. It is no more accurate than the factory gun. The CZ is certainly a bit more stylish, but being able to fire 25 rounds at a time has it's fun moments at the range. Can't do that with the CZ.

 

[JohnBT]

"aftermarket CNC receiver"

You no longer have a Ruger if you replaced the Ruger receiver. You have something else that only looks like a 10/22.


"The CZ 452 Lux is a wonderful gun for hunting, but it would not be my choice for a range / benchrest rifle."

I can't think of one person who successfully competes in benchrest with a 10/22.

John...well known 10/22 disliker since 1964.

 

[bamajoey]

Edit

 

[TonyAngel]

Are you talking about a $400 total budget for the rifle and parts? If so, going with the CZ will likely get you better accuracy.

It will cost you a lot more than $400 to get into a 10/22 and then hot rod it to a point where it will shoot better than a CZ.

This is my 10/22.


Of course, the only thing left on it that is Ruger is the receiver.

This rifle gives nothing up to any stock CZ, Marlin or Savage; and I did successfully compete with it in a local benchrest rimfire match where other shooters were shooting the likes of Turbo, Anschutz 54 and 40X. I will, of course, admit that once I upgraded to a custom 40X, my scores went up a couple of hundred points, which translates into four better shots over the course of 75 targets.

In any case, I have about $600 in mine, plus the cost of the rifle and a lot of time experimenting.

EDIT: Sorry, I just looked at the picture again. That's a older picture. I'm also running a Kidd two stage trigger now.

 

[stubbicatt]

I have both of them. It doesn't matter so much to me that one is more accurate or the other more readily customized. To me it is the overall satisfaction I get from the experience of shooting my rifles that matters. By that measure the 452 FS is my favorite rifle of all my rifles right now. It is the one I shoot the most, it is the least expensive to feed, it cleans up the easiest.

The 10-22 is fun, to be sure. It is accurate, I like how it feels in my hands. I just like the CZ better. It just seems more refined, and I suppose it is, seeing as it cost nearly 4x what the 10-22 cost me several years ago.

 

[CraigC]

You no longer have a Ruger if you replaced the Ruger receiver.

You don't "replace" a Ruger receiver with an aftermarket one. You decide that you're gonna replace everything else and save a little money by starting from scratch with a better-made platform. Sometimes it makes better sense to buy a $130 receiver than a $230 rifle and replace everything.

You have something else that only looks like a 10/22.

Looks like one, functions like one, accepts all the same parts and upgrades. Yet is CNC machined from a solid aluminum billet with a real anodized hardcoat and the design was modified to accept a Marlin 336 scope mount with 8-40 screws instead of 6-48's. Yes, and I'm sure that a 1911 by any company other than Colt is not really a 1911.

John...well known 10/22 disliker since 1964.

And what exactly do you intend to accomplish? Do you really think you're gonna throw some words on a screen that will make millions of 10/22 fans run out and scrap their rifles??? No. All you're gonna do is ruffle some feathers and possibly offend some people. Because despite some unfounded hatred, these rifles appeal to a lot of people. A lot of people who, believe it or not, were not born yesterday. A lot of people for whom it is exactly what they want/need it to be. There is no other rifle in the world that can so easily be whatever the user wants it to be. Even the AR-15. You can make a Ruger look like an AR but you can't make an AR look like a walnut stocked Ruger sporter.

 

[viking499]

I own both. If I want an accurate bolt gun, I choose the CZ. If I want a semi, I go with the Ruger.

I shoot the CZ more than anything else.

 

[Maverick223]

I voted for the third option. The CZ-452 is an excellent rifle and comes equipped with good iron sights. The Ruger 10/22 is another great rifle, and can be quite accurate with the proper selection of parts (just check out the RF matches for confirmation; two 10/22s, one my own, tied for 1st place in the last match's Optics Div./Target Class), but there is a third option that is not only just as accurate as either, it's cheaper. A heavy bbl Savage Mk. II is hands down the best choice for the money, and those RF matches that I mentioned earlier can be used for evidence as they've won many a match.

 

[CraigC]

Savage MKII's and 93's are great rifles too! Particularly for their modest price. I've got one of each and they are both excellent shooters.