cz455 17hmr or 22wmr

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Thorsby AB
So I finnaly decided I want an accurate rimfire. Im more than done buying .22lrs as ive damn near stoped shooting them. Ive decided I want a cz 455 varmint but I have yet to decide whether I want it in .22 mag or .17hmr. Ive shot .22 mag before but ive never pulled the trigger on a .17hmr. I am leaning towards the .17 but im still close to the middle. The gun would be used mostly to shoot paper. Random crap and some gophers. I figured id see if anybody on here could sway me one way or another.
 
I had a 455 22wmr. Shot pretty good at 50 and about an inch to inch and a half at 100 with hornady vmax. All other ammo shot worse. Shot a gopher with it at 40 yards maybe and it ran away. I have a 452 hmr shot tons of gophers with it and some even do a flip in that air lol. Not as much as with the 223 but still more then a 22lr. 50 yards is pretty much one hole and 100 yards is an inch or less. For fun I often shoot shotgun hulls at 200 yards with the hmr 4 out of 5 hits in normal with plenty 5 out of 5 hits happening. The hmr is one caliber I won't be selling
 
I have one in 17 and its one of my favourite rifles in my collection. It's laser accurate and very fun to shoot. Last time I was out I got a .3" group at 100. Its just like a mini precision rifle. After I shot a 17hmr for the first time and saw what it was capable of I had to have one and the CZ455 is in my opinion the best bolt action rimfire out there for the money.
 
Sounds like you need an HMR. If you said you were wanting to hunt big varmints, I'd suggest the 22WMR. But paper/plinking/gophers~thats where the HMR shines.

My experience with 22WMR accuracy echoes what HTH said. I tried more than 9 varieties of 22WMR ammo in my Savage off a bench one day, and none of them would reliably put 5 rounds in a 1" ring. The best shooter, 30gr. V-Max, would maybe print a 1" group for every 5 attempts. HMR~my best group ever was with a CZ452 Varmint and 20gr HPs. 3/8" group @ 100 yards. That was exceptional for me, but the gun could keep them under 1" no matter who shot it.
 
My kids shoot gophers from 20 to 50 yards with a .22lr.. I shoot all others from 75 to 150 yards with my marlin xt-17. The .17 has never had a bullet stray from the target like solid lead. They are true and flat and if a yodie comes close it gets it too..
 
I have the CZ 455 Lux in 22mag and my pal has the CZ 452 in .17. On a calm day the .17 is more accurate. On a windy day the .22mag. Heavier bullet Xs 2. Generally the .17 is more accurate. But the 22mag has way more hitting power. The .17 is great on gophers but nothing much bigger than that. The 22mag is more capable on a wider variety of larger pests. The .17 is also a real PITA to clean compared to the .22mag. Don't think I'd ever bother with a .17. IMHO.
 
Absolutely the .17 for me it has mothballed all my .22s for grouse destruction duty. Now the only question is when I round a corner and see a grouse a hundred yards down the road is should I back up haha
 
I like the 17 so much I went out and bought 2 boxes of Hornady 17gr V-max this morning. To add to my summer stash. Springs a comin
 
My advice:
Buy the 455 in 22WMR, then post a WTB ad for a 17HMR barrel. It only takes a few minutes to swap barrels. I say buy the rifle with the 22WMR barrel because most people buy the 17 , so you will have an easier time finding a barrel for it. Also a lot of guys upgrade to a Lijja barrel and have barely used there original 17 barrel if at all.
The best of both worlds.
 
My advice:
Buy the 455 in 22WMR, then post a WTB ad for a 17HMR barrel. It only takes a few minutes to swap barrels. I say buy the rifle with the 22WMR barrel because most people buy the 17 , so you will have an easier time finding a barrel for it. Also a lot of guys upgrade to a Lijja barrel and have barely used there original 17 barrel if at all.
The best of both worlds.

Not really IMO, then you need 2 scopes (or re sight in every time you switch) Gets old real quick. Better to just get 2 complete guns.

17hmr all the way over 22mag, unless you are going for larger varmints but seeing how you are listed as from BC, I doubt that is the case.
 
Not really IMO, then you need 2 scopes (or re sight in every time you switch) Gets old real quick. Better to just get 2 complete guns.

I will admit I wouldn't want to be switching barrels every week. But if you switch a couples times a year, maybe for different hunts, its not too bad. And I use one scope and atleast between 17hmr and 22lr, its close enough that I will still be hitting on an 8x11.5 target, then it just takes a few rounds to get the scope dialed back in at 25 yards.

I know my 455 I bought from a dealer with cheaper Bushnell scope, and bipod and a brick of ammo and taxes was close $1000.
I then added the second barrel for $120 at a latter date.
So there is some hassle to switching barrels , but it can save you a lot as well.
It's just an option thats available.
 
I love my CZ 455 Lux 17 HMR. It's accurate enough to drop gophers all day at 200 yards, and if a yote get's within 100 yards while I'm laying out in the pasture I'll have a pelt to pay off the cost of ammo.

Ammo costs about the same, although there are more "bulk" options for WMR than HMR but we're not shooting a semi auto rifle here.

With either caliber you'll want to look for a yodave trigger kit for the 455. Lighten's the trigger, takes all the creep away, and gives a clean break to the trigger, best $18 upgrade I've ever seen for a rifle.
 
I have a 22WMR and I prefer it over the 17 although I did look at both when I made the purchase. What I found is that at 100 yards the 22WMR is more stable, has more hitting power and is cheaper to use. The 17 while more accurate is also more expensive to use and its killing power can best be described as in-humane. Wounding is far more common with a 17 than a 22WMR if both are used within proper range. As a side my 22WMR will shoot 1" or less at 100yds without missing.
 
I have a 22WMR and I prefer it over the 17 although I did look at both when I made the purchase. What I found is that at 100 yards the 22WMR is more stable, has more hitting power and is cheaper to use. The 17 while more accurate is also more expensive to use and its killing power can best be described as in-humane. Wounding is far more common with a 17 than a 22WMR if both are used within proper range. As a side my 22WMR will shoot 1" or less at 100yds without missing.

Splitting a gopher in 2 is inhumane? Hmm.
 
Seems like a runaway with the .17 caliber so far, but my vote goes for the heavier bullets that a .22 mag offers. Nice for the odd coyote that needs a high speed lead injection ...
 
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