Lilja Barrels For CZ 455...

Theron

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Is there anyone in Canada who retails these? I'm playing around with the idea of swapping out the barrel on my CZ 455 Lux .22LR.. What can I expect for an accuracy upgrade? The gun already shoots real well, but I want to see how much better it can be.

Thank you in advance..

-Josh
 
crankyshooter@gmail.com

I got mine about 2 years ago. It was imported from a fellow named Bob Richards. His email is posted above. He was very good to deal with and took around 3 weeks I believe for the barrel to show up. As far as what you can expect for accuracy, I can't help you. I ended up selling it like a dummy before I shot it.
 
To take full advantage of a Lilja barrel, the rifle should have pillars and be glass-bedded. Additionally, you should shoot the really good stuff, at the very least Lapua Center X.
 
Is there anyone in Canada who retails these? I'm playing around with the idea of swapping out the barrel on my CZ 455 Lux .22LR.. What can I expect for an accuracy upgrade? The gun already shoots real well, but I want to see how much better it can be.

Thank you in advance..

-Josh

What ammo have you shot so far?

R
 
Maybe I'll give pillar bedding a shot first.. I'm still working on finding decent 22 LR. Thanks for the thoughts!

Like the others have already suggested. There are a few things you can do to your CZ 455 before you sink a huge amount of money into a Lilja barrel.

This is what I did to my 455s in 22LR to make them shoot MOA at 50 yards. Others might have done more or less, a lot of this have been discussed in the past.
1) check torque values on the action and the barrel attachment screws
2) the barrel should be freefloated from the factory with a plenty of clearance
3) lighten up the trigger to 2.0 - 2.5lbs, take out creep. You can buy yo dave or do a "poor man's trigger job" as per RFC
4) shoot with good target ammo and see what the rifle can do (I would suggest sk standard plus or better; try few reputable brands like SK/Lapua/RWS/Elley).
5) check crown and fix it with lapping compound if required
5) ensure that the bolt is not shaving your bullets while travelling over the next round seated in the magazine (just cycle 5 rounds through without firing and check with magnifying glass for scrapes in the lead on the "last" 4 rounds)
5) pillar and glass bed the action and the first 1.5-3 inches of the barrel.
If the rifle still doesn't shoot consistently close to 0.5 in at 50 yd, you might have done a bad bedding job (I know I did when I was learning....), or you might have a bad barrel assuming you optics/set up is all good and your bench shooting technique is good and rifle is clean.

Good luck
Kody

ps: If nothing else works just buy a 452 :)
 
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There was a used Lilja barrel on the EE recently that I was very tempted to buy. Instead I ended up selling my CZ 452V and buying a CZ 455 with thumbhole stock and fluted .920" bull barrel. The rifle upgrade ended up costing significantly less, than a Lilja barrel upgrade, (after selling the 452) and gave me a big boost in accuracy. I had been trying to qualify for the 1/2" challenge with my CZ 452V and always seemed to get one or 2 flyers. Once I switched to the fluted barrel CZ and found it's favourite ammo (RWS) the challenge was no problem.

IMG_6852_zpsy34sokdi.jpg


I could be wrong, but i can't imagine how the Lilja could be much better than the fluted CZ.
 
There was a used Lilja barrel on the EE recently that I was very tempted to buy. Instead I ended up selling my CZ 452V and buying a CZ 455 with thumbhole stock and fluted .920" bull barrel. The rifle upgrade ended up costing significantly less, than a Lilja barrel upgrade, (after selling the 452) and gave me a big boost in accuracy. I had been trying to qualify for the 1/2" challenge with my CZ 452V and always seemed to get one or 2 flyers. Once I switched to the fluted barrel CZ and found it's favourite ammo (RWS) the challenge was no problem.

IMG_6852_zpsy34sokdi.jpg


I could be wrong, but i can't imagine how the Lilja could be much better than the fluted CZ.

If your CZ can do this consistently you have a real gem! Heck, if you get groups like this occasionally but the CZ shoots sub 0.3 consistently you have a real gem! Time to buy a Super Seven ticket now.
Congrats

Kody
 
If your CZ can do this consistently you have a real gem! Heck, if you get groups like this occasionally but the CZ shoots sub 0.3 consistently you have a real gem! Time to buy a Super Seven ticket now.
Congrats

Kody

This is definitely an occasional group size but not unusual. It can do .3 consistently though, post #458 has my 1/2" challenge target, the average was .306:

http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/895924-My-22-shoots-1-2-quot-groups-at-50-yards-meters-all-day!-Really-Prove-it!/page46

I am curious if other CZ fluted barrel 455's are similar, I have not seen many posts about them either here or RFC
 
There was a used Lilja barrel on the EE recently that I was very tempted to buy. Instead I ended up selling my CZ 452V and buying a CZ 455 with thumbhole stock and fluted .920" bull barrel. The rifle upgrade ended up costing significantly less, than a Lilja barrel upgrade, (after selling the 452) and gave me a big boost in accuracy. I had been trying to qualify for the 1/2" challenge with my CZ 452V and always seemed to get one or 2 flyers. Once I switched to the fluted barrel CZ and found it's favourite ammo (RWS) the challenge was no problem.

IMG_6852_zpsy34sokdi.jpg


I could be wrong, but i can't imagine how the Lilja could be much better than the fluted CZ.


Wow that's nice..
 
I had a 455 .17hmr and I wanted a 22 so I decided to do the lilja thing. Nobody here retails them- you have to go through an importer (Bob Richards for me). They are pricey now with the exchange- but I am happy. I am sure you can get good factory barrels that would compete with it, but you may not. The targets shown above are similar to what I can get at 50 and I usually do most of my shooting at 100 yards. My lilja .22 shoots similar groups as my factory hmr heavy barrel at 100 yards and I am sure someone with some more skills would be able to do some really impressive stuff. I'm just a hack...

The best thing to do is go through your gun and torque everything properly (action/barrel screws). Next- buy a whole selection of ammo (good stuff only- leave the dynapoints for plinking with the kids)- and try to get some faster and slower ammo to compare. Third- find a good CALM day and head to the range. Shoot the ammo in lots and I like to run a patch in between. Take a box of 50- the first 5 are "foulers" and then get down to business for four 5 shot groups. That leaves 25 to run the whole exercise again later- because you will get tired and the groups at the end probably won't be as good as the ones at the beginning.

Find a second calm day and shoot the rest of the ammo- but in reverse order.

If you do this you will find some things: 1- if your gun likes slower or faster lots of ammo and 2) what lots of ammo your gun likes.

Find the best lots of ammo for your gun and buy a case or two.

Then if you still aren't happy I would recommend looking at barrels. It is likely that your factory barrel is capable of impressive stuff if you feed it right.
 
I had a 455 .17hmr and I wanted a 22 so I decided to do the lilja thing. Nobody here retails them- you have to go through an importer (Bob Richards for me). They are pricey now with the exchange- but I am happy. I am sure you can get good factory barrels that would compete with it, but you may not. The targets shown above are similar to what I can get at 50 and I usually do most of my shooting at 100 yards. My lilja .22 shoots similar groups as my factory hmr heavy barrel at 100 yards and I am sure someone with some more skills would be able to do some really impressive stuff. I'm just a hack...

The best thing to do is go through your gun and torque everything properly (action/barrel screws). Next- buy a whole selection of ammo (good stuff only- leave the dynapoints for plinking with the kids)- and try to get some faster and slower ammo to compare. Third- find a good CALM day and head to the range. Shoot the ammo in lots and I like to run a patch in between. Take a box of 50- the first 5 are "foulers" and then get down to business for four 5 shot groups. That leaves 25 to run the whole exercise again later- because you will get tired and the groups at the end probably won't be as good as the ones at the beginning.

Find a second calm day and shoot the rest of the ammo- but in reverse order.

If you do this you will find some things: 1- if your gun likes slower or faster lots of ammo and 2) what lots of ammo your gun likes.

Find the best lots of ammo for your gun and buy a case or two.

Then if you still aren't happy I would recommend looking at barrels. It is likely that your factory barrel is capable of impressive stuff if you feed it right.

Where did you find a mag well spacer when you made the switch from 17 hmr to .22lr. I could not for the life of me find one and ended up selling the lilja before i had the chance to shoot it.
 
Where did you find a mag well spacer when you made the switch from 17 hmr to .22lr. I could not for the life of me find one and ended up selling the lilja before i had the chance to shoot it.

I ended up carving a piece of scrap delrin from work to fit the gap between the .22 magazine and the .17 hmr mags. I also failed at finding the spacer... It wasn't too hard and I would think a small piece of wood would work too. I cut an old drill bit for the dowel to hold it in place- can't remember the size- maybe 3mm? It is a total pain for what looks readily available south of the border, but CZ parts in Canada seem ridiculously hard to get. I thought about organizing a direct from CZ group buy, but carved it instead.
 
I ended up carving a piece of scrap delrin from work to fit the gap between the .22 magazine and the .17 hmr mags. I also failed at finding the spacer... It wasn't too hard and I would think a small piece of wood would work too. I cut an old drill bit for the dowel to hold it in place- can't remember the size- maybe 3mm? It is a total pain for what looks readily available south of the border, but CZ parts in Canada seem ridiculously hard to get. I thought about organizing a direct from CZ group buy, but carved it instead.

Cool, glad you got it figured. Note to anyone wanting a lr, hmr combo, buy the rifle in .22lr to avoid this pain in the butt. Then buy the hmr barrel later.
 
I don't know that the fluted barrels differ in any way from the "regular" factory barrels -- except, of course, in weight.
While the flutes themselves are only for weight savings, the barrel is larger in diameter (.920") than the tapered Varmint barrel so I believe they are stiffer. You can see the difference in diameter here (top: 452 Varmint, btm: .920" fluted):

IMG_6815_zps952m3mqf.jpg
 
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Wow, lots of really good info here.. Up until now, I've had an impossible time finding any Elley, RWS, Lapua, or anything fancier then Federal Gold Match here in Prince George.. I know the Federal gold match is pretty basic stuff, but I did get some pretty good groups with it (it was some time ago.. Maybe .6" at 50 yards?), and most of all I want to see how much further I can push the envelope as it were.

I've been checking out the 1/2" challenge every now and then.. I'd love to find a 455 with a fluted bull barrel and go at it, I just don't have the money right now..

I've already worked on the bolt and the lugs for some time, and put a Yodave trigger kit in it. Looks like the first thing to do is verifying everything is tight in the action, bedding, and finding some decent ammo.

I've also been looking at a thumhole stock from Boyds.. Worth it, or no?

Thanks guys, I really appreciate all the info,

-Josh
 
Note to anyone wanting a lr, hmr combo, buy the rifle in .22lr to avoid this pain in the butt. Then buy the hmr barrel later.

Or buy the American Combo, which comes with both barrels and all the fixin's (i.e. includes the magazine adapter) and is likely less expensive -- only $100 more for the combo than the .22LR alone at Wanstalls.

While the flutes themselves are only for weight savings, the barrel is larger in diameter (.920") than the tapered Varmint barrel so I believe they are stiffer. You can see the difference in diameter here (top: 452 Varmint, btm: .920" fluted):

The 455 Varmint barrel is a non-tapered 0.862" which makes it thicker than the 452's tapered barrel.

I've also been looking at a thumhole stock from Boyds.. Worth it, or no?

If you have large hands you will probably find the thumbhole stock small. I don't have large hands and I wouldn't want the TH stock to be any smaller as it would be uncomfortable.
 
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