CZ 452 American Farewell Edition
- Thread starter yodave
- Start date
easyrider604
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Greater Vancouver, BC
I may agree with the zero collector value part.
But I don’t think the CZ452/3 will ever be obsolete. How can a beautiful, well-made, solid, reliable and accurate rifle ever be obsolete?
I bet fifty years from now, after CZ has had to introduce many generations of newer and better .22s, just to satisfy the marketing need for “newer and better”, they can re-introduce the 452, call it their epitome of rimfire rifle design, and people will gobble them
up, just like now.
You mean the one in classifieds?
I would pay at most the same as the new CZ 457. At MOST.
Doesn't have push to fire safety, and can't release bolt with one button. Don't care that it's a "special edition". It's only worth more than the current model if theres something about it you REALLY want.
I totally disagree, with all due respect.
The 452 is the better designed rifle for accuracy, and not surprisingly it's the more expensive of the two to manufacture.
The improvements that you mentioned -- push-to-fire safety and the side bolt release -- are both ergonomic conveniences but they don't improve accuracy, whereas the two big cost-cutting changes they made can negatively affect accuracy, at least in theory.
(1) abandoning the threaded barrel attachment for a dual set-pin barrel attachment.
A pinned or clamped system is generally not as strong as a threaded system. The 457's set-pins allow for quick barrel changes, and it's a cheaper system to manufacture, but how will those set-pins hold up after repeated barrel changes and other mechanical stress over time? Will there be wear or sloppiness? The 452's threaded attachment has already proven itself to be strong and accurate.
(2) abandoning the double lug design for a cheaper single lug design -- and shortening the bolt and action.
Again, the 452's top and bottom locking lugs are inherently better than the 457's single lug, in theory.
They add to accuracy by using two opposing points of contact to keep squareness in line with the bore axis.
Over time, you also get symmetrical wear on opposed lugs, unlike with a single lug.
The situation here reminds me of the Model 70 in '64 when Winchester went from controlled round feed to push feed as a way to reduce costs -- which resulted in pre-64 M70's becoming highly collectible.
Similarly, CZ's aim here was to reduce costs. That makes the 452 the pinnacle of their bolt-action rimfire lineage.
Combine this with the fact that the 452 has already earned legendary status for accuracy.
The 457 hasn't earned anything yet, other than through association with the 452.
So not only will the 452 Farewell Edition likely become collectible with time -- I think all 452's will become collectible with time.
I say "with time" because it will take a while for people to realize that the 457 is not a better rifle than the 452.
- Location
- Okanagan Valley B.C.
Canadian Mint sells limited run run "Collector" coins every day , I have been a numismatic (coin collector ) for 40 years and have yet to see a "Collector" coin to sell for more than issued value .
If CZ built only 1000 for world wide sales why then can I go out any given day and buy one even 3 years after issue , are there not 1000 CZ 452 lovers with $1,000.00 ?
Don't misconstrue my thread I love these 452's as well as 457's.
If CZ built only 1000 for world wide sales why then can I go out any given day and buy one even 3 years after issue , are there not 1000 CZ 452 lovers with $1,000.00 ?
Don't misconstrue my thread I love these 452's as well as 457's.
The analogy with collector coins may well be apt. So, too, is the question about the continuing availability of a supposedly "collectable" rifle. While the Farewell Edition almost certainly has nicer wood than the everyday CZ 452 American, and it has a much finer finish with the polished bluing, jewelled bolt, and timed screws, to mention some of the obvious differences between the two, part of the reason for the inability to sell out 1000 such rifles in Canada may lay in the price. The classic style of the 452 American may no longer have the same appeal as it did in the days when rifles were blued steel and walnut wood. Experienced CZ shooters know it's still a CZ, albeit a very nice one. Newer shooters may not see the value in an older design that was replaced first by the 455 and now by the 457. At the same time it remains the only option for anyone wanting a new 452 American.
As for its value, currently no one will recover the cost of a new Farewell Edition rifle when selling it. But I wonder what the CZ 452 sold for when it first came on the market in Canada. Some .22LR rifles bought decades ago for a few hundred dollars can easily sell today for twice that. Perhaps in ten or twenty years the Farewell Edition will seem like a better investment.
My guess is that when the Farewell Edition was offered, because CZ made it known that the 452 was being replaced with a new model, buyers naturally wanted to wait and see how it compared before buying the last 452's at a premium.
The 457 was released in the spring of 2019 I believe -- so not long ago. The consensus at Rimfire Central (taken with a grain of salt) is that the 457 is an excellent, competent rifle that's more ergonomic than the 452 but not more accurate. At best it's as accurate.
That corroborates the theoretical prediction based on design differences -- that the 452 should be the slightly more accurate rifle.
But owners of the 457 seem very satisfied, including those who own both. In addition to the improvements already mentioned is the 457's 60-degree bolt throw which allows more scope choices. The 452 is known for being unfriendly to low-mounted scopes because of its 90-degree bolt.
But all those ergonomic improvements in the 457 have merely turned the 452 into the dedicated purist rifle -- which demands that the user tolerate old-school inattention to ergonomics in the pursuit of accuracy.
Instead of considering coins I would again refer to the pre-64 Winchesters as the better analogy, only because of the performance aspect i.e. coins don't perform tasks and just possessing them is the end goal; whereas rifles perform tasks and are prized for doing the task well (being accurate) above all else.
Shooters are willing to pay (a lot) for accuracy, once they know the claims are real and not hype.
The Farewell Edition will eventually sell out for that reason. It will be a steady trickle with a rush at the end.
Then when owners need the cash, the used market will pay them back or close to it, but not more.... initially.
But eventually, the price will go up as the market comes to appreciate that the 452 was the peak of CZ's bolt action rimfires, because now we have clear evidence that we are past the peak.
Been looking for a CZ dedicated scope 22.
I have a 452FS that I put a scope on but it just wasn’t right. It an iron sight gun.
Also have a 453 Lux that’s a great iron sight shooter.
Had an opportunity on a used Farewell edition and couldn’t resist.
Put a Nikon 3-9 EFR on it and it’s shooting pretty decent to start.
Shot my best off hand 20 yard target with it (94)
Glad I bought it.
I have a 452FS that I put a scope on but it just wasn’t right. It an iron sight gun.
Also have a 453 Lux that’s a great iron sight shooter.
Had an opportunity on a used Farewell edition and couldn’t resist.
Put a Nikon 3-9 EFR on it and it’s shooting pretty decent to start.
Shot my best off hand 20 yard target with it (94)
Glad I bought it.
