PROTECT • HUNT • COMPETE
CZ's new bolt action rimfire allows the shooter to convert their rifle to a new caliber in just minutes.
The CZ 455 retains the accuracy and quality that have made CZ rimfire models favorites with shooters, both in the woods and in competition.
Also available in a .22 LR/.17 HMR 2 barrel combo package.
get an idea where the speed is going over my chronograph. I don’t load hot; my target speed is going to be close to 3,900 fps, maybe less. That is fast enough and will save somewhat on my barrel throat and heating. I just want a .20 caliber, not a 4,400 fps gargantuan that burns the jacket off the bullet as it goes down range. Some .220 Swifts do that, don’t ya know … and burn a lot of powder, too. Not what I’m looking for. As I started the loading process I quickly found I needed
a .226 bushing for my Redding S die. The .228 fi nal bushing wouldn’t size one group of military cases tight enough on the neck tension. Another problem I came across is that the Pacifi c reamer cuts a tight chamber. The military cases shot in an automatic fi rearm expanded the web more than the standard Redding S die full length resized it to. Even though the case fi t correctly in the Wilson Case Gage, it wouldn’t fi t like I wanted in the rifl e chamber. Too snug. I put in an order for the .226 bushing and a small base
.223 Remington full length die. From now on I will use the small base die to do the initial sizing of the .223 Remington brass. You need to do this only once to get the web to specs. But for now the rounds I have loaded to test will be fi ne … just a little snug in the chamber. When loading I get the OAL (over all length) using a
CZ 455
• Action forged from steel billets • Premium hammer forged barrel
• Trigger adjustable for weight of pull
• Integral scope dovetail • Detachable magazine • Walnut stock
• Rifles and additional barrel kits availabe with or without sights.
• .22 LR, .22 WMR and .17 HMR AMERICAN
digital caliper. But to get the seating depth, I seat to the BTO (base to ogive) using another digital caliper with a Stoney Point Comparator (Now Hornady brand) attached to it. The Comparator gives you a quicker and more accurate measure- ment of the bullet’s bearing surface. Some times hollow-point and soft-point bullets get damaged, but not the ogive.With these fi rst test loads I’ll be using formed brass. After the fi rst round I’ll test more groups using the newly fi re-formed brass and mark them as “Using fi re-formed brass.” I chose to test only the above loads. I left out a couple
of powders I might try later, but not now. It’s still winter and all of the above loads will change when the weather warms up. Some may change to the point they may be too hot, but that’s a problem for later. For now I’ll use the 25.3 grains of Ramshot TAC to fi re-
form the other 750 pieces of brass I have. At around 3,800 fps it will do just fi ne on winter and early spring prairie dogs. As I fi nish fi re-forming my brass I’ll use one of each of the four powders as my shooting loads. I may tweak the loads up or down to stay around the 3,900 fps range; they don’t need to be any hotter. I didn’t include AA2230 as the fi fth powder because in my rifl e I just didn’t get the speed I was hoping for. During the test fi ring I didn’t clean my rifl e, nor did I
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let the barrel cool down. The fi rst fi ring I shot 70 rounds; the second 75 rounds, much like I would shoot on a prairie dog town. I even moved my shooting bag and stand around to simulate fi eld conditions. I want to know what a load will do in the fi eld, not under ideal conditions and using a rest. You don’t need to shoot one-hole groups. It would be nice, but you will score more hits with a rifl e that gives you consistent half-inch to three-quarter-inch groups all the time. It took me a long time to consider building a .20 caliber
rifl e, as I was stuck in a rut on the .22 caliber, but I like this economical .20 Practical rifl e. It’s pleasant to shoot, doesn’t kick a lot, and it’s speedy. I’m sure it will become one of my most-used rifl es.
Page 138 October — December 2011
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