Home / CZ Varmint 453 rimfire rifle review

CZ Varmint 453 rimfire rifle review

Is the CZ Varmint 453 rimfire rifle the best-value rimfire rifle in the world?

ShootingUK
ShootingUK 22 November 2011

CZ Varmint 453 rimfire rifle
The CZ .22 rimfire is probably the most widely used and well respected .22 rimfire rifle in the UK today.

It is excellent for vermin control, but it has always had an Achilles heel, namely its trigger mechanism. It was considered bomb-proof, but it lacked adjustability and finesse.

But now the new 453 model utilises a set trigger unit, whereby a standard trigger pull can be transformed into a light instant release simply by pushing forward on the trigger blade.

The high level of accuracy that we have come to enjoy from CZ rifles has been retained, but the Varmint model, as its name suggests, sports a heavier barrel profile combined with a 16in length for ease of fitting a sound moderator, and all bedded into a sturdy, varmint-style walnut stock.

></img> <br /> <br /> This might just be the best-value .22 rimfire on the market today, but a field test will confirm or reject that. <br /> <br /> <em><strong>STOCK </strong></em> <br /> CZ offers a diverse range of stock styles for its rimfire rifle range, with laminated thumbhole designs, standard beech, elegant walnut and, as on this model, a heavier Varmint profile stock. <br /> <br /> This is a no-frills walnut stock with a straight comb for scope use and a wider and deeper fore-end to accommodate the heavier barrel, while also giving a more stable platform either to hold or when using a bipod. <br /> <br /> The model tested had a plain figure and bland colouring, but I have seen some lovely walnut used on other CZ rifles. <br /> <br /> There is a solid black rubber recoil pad that really grips the shoulder when mounted, but this Varmint model does not have any chequering on either the pistol grip or the fore-end and this, combined with the heavy matt lacquered finish, makes it a bit slippery in the hand. <br /> <br /> There is no bedding between the action and the stock inletting, but the fit is actually very good and certainly helped with the impressive accuracy that the CZ 453 showed in the tests. <br /> <br /> <em><strong>ACTION AND BARREL</strong></em> <br /> What can I say about the CZ action that has not been said many times before? What you have is a perfectly crafted and scaled-down Mausertype action designed specifically to handle rimfire rounds, whether .17 Mach 2, .22 LR, .17 HMR or .22 WMR. <br /> <br /> The receiver is all steel and of tubular construction, with a matt black bluing on this Varmint model. <br /> <br /> The top of the receiver has the dovetails cut into it so a scope can be fitted directly to it ? lower than if you use separate bases and mounts. <br /> <br /> The bolt itself is similarly well built, with a twin extractor claw arrangement and a fixed blade ejector that sits in the action and flips cases out when the bolt is retracted. <br /> <br /> <img width=

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