CZ 455 JAGUAR cal.22 LR (16")

CZ 455 Jaguar is the newest addition to the 455 family - now with new features such as:

• 726mm long cold hammer forged barrel
• cheekpiece for additional shooting comfort
• adjustable polished stainless steel trigger
• adjustable tangent sight
• beautifully engraved stock with Jaguar thematic

CZ 455 Jaguar

The Jaguar is a beautiful but deadly feline, the largest in the Western Hemisphere where its habitat spreads out from Mexico to Paraguay and Argentina. Basically, it is the local equivalent of a tiger. Today it belongs among threatened species, however, this doesn´t change the fact that without a doubt, most of the world´s population will shudder when hearing the word ‘jaguar’.

It is therefore no surprise that many manufactures of all manner of goods ranging from cars to glasses reached for this “brand”. Oddly enough, we do not see this word associated with firearms very often. The latest jaguar on the firearms scene is the CZ 455 rimfire rifle made by Česká zbrojovka in the town of Uherský Brod. It is not hard to imagine what the philosophy behind this name was – it is a nice and relatively slender rimfire rifle with several attractive and stylish decorative motifs (more about them later). At first sight, one may say that this.22 LR cal. rifle cannot do much damage. In reality, it is an effective hunting rifle which can reliably hit and kill smaller game at surprisingly large distances.

Remember that the CZ 455 rimfire rifles offered by Česká zbrojovka, Uherský Brod since 2010 are gradually replacing the well-established models of the CZ 452/453 series famously known as ZKM. Simply put, the creator of these new 455s took the best features of the original ZKMs and applied them to highly advanced rifles of modern design and technology featuring original modular arrangements. Thanks to this, the user can easily reconfigure one model into another calibre himself or attach a different barrel, or even build a completely original variant by combining various features (in addition to the stock and barrel, the trigger mechanism may also be interchanged). In this respect, the ever expanding range of components is more and more impressive every yea. When it comes to calibres, currently there are three on offer: 22 LR, 22 WMR and 17 HMR. However, the receiver and bolt are identical for all CZ 455 rimfire rifles, and only one magazine well is used, whose dimensions are reduced in the .22 cal. by inserting a simple plastic segment. In short, it is a rifle set thought-out in every little detail, which saves cost, time and space both to the manufacturer and the customer.  

The latest model of the CZ 455 Jaguar is so far available only in .22 LR cal. and is directly based on the CZ 455 Standard, with which it shares the basic shape and the beech stock. Nevertheless, there are several significant differences. The most striking is the length of the barrel.

You may know that the CZ 455 originally entered the market with a uniform standard barrel length of 525 mm/20.6 in. In this respect, the previous models CZ 452/453 were a much more varied subject matter. For various reasons, these models were attributed barrels lengths ranging from 412 mm/16.2 in. (this was an extreme case for the small Scout model) to 726 mm/28.5 in by their creators. Barrels of the ZKM series models were mostly 630, 572 and for some 532 mm/24.8, 22.5, and 20.9 in length.

The 525 mm was chosen for the CZ 455 series as the basis, giving the most appropriate barrel length in terms of structural and technological unification, as this specification was suitable for all three catalogue calibres and all intended model variants. In addition, measurements revealed that in practice such shortening of a barrel leads only to a minimum reduction in muzzle velocity and has no real effect on accuracy. On the contrary, it became apparent that due to the new system of barrel anchoring, the new 455s are slightly more accurate than most CZ 452/453 models.

Subsequently, Česká zbrojovka collected informative feedback and closely monitored customer demands to determine what direction to follow when expanding the range of the CZ 455 model series. This resulted in complementing this series with variants featuring 630 mm/24.8 in. long barrels, which are better suited to the more conservative of the shooting community. In the first wave, this concerned the CZ 455 Long, CZ 455 Ultra Match and most recently the CZ 455 Lux II models.

The new CZ 455 Jaguar brings to the 455 family a cold forged 726 mm/28.5 in. long barrel (featuring a 16 in. twist rate with six grooves), which previously appeared only in the CZ 452 Ultra Lux.

This parameter may seem a bit extreme to some people, but Česká zbrojovka know very well why they are returning it back onto the scene. Some less experienced users may be rather surprised but the reason is not the higher accuracy. With good ammunition, under favourable conditions and in the hands of a good shooter, most CZ 455 rifles perform equally well at ordinary distances. For example, you can shoot through the proverbial same hole at 50 metres/54 yd., especially with heavy barrel models and with the use of scopes – and you cannot beat this. What is more, those couple of inches of extra length contribute to somewhat higher bullet energy and to its better stability when shooting over longer distances. These two factors are significant when you use the .22 LR cal. rifle for hunting purposes, for example for varmint control. Today, it is fashionable to choose rifles designed for the use of modern rimfire rifle cartridges of higher performance for this task. Not everyone, however, wants to have one rifle for training and leisure time activities and yet another one for hunting.  Owners of 455 have it easier since for a .22 LR cal. rifle they only need to acquire an interchangeable set for a more powerful cartridge. But even this solution means some extra money is needed. For those who wish to get by with only one rifle (or are obliged to do so due to legislative reasons), the CZ 455 Jaguar steps in – a full-fledged hunting .22 rifle, which for the same money allows you to enjoy for example plinking.

Additionally, being a rifle designed for shooting at larger distances, the CZ 455 is equipped with a feature that has been missing so far in this series, a cheekpiece. The rifle stocks made in Uherský Brod are generally well shaped and comfortable to shoot with as well as being accurate even in their very basic form, since it is known - the barrel shoots but the stock hits. With the cheekpiece, the user comfort is increased significantly and aiming is quicker and more reliable.

And when we mean the jaguar, we mean the complete package. Another thing that immediately catches your attention on the new CZ 455 are the decorative elements already mentioned. The grip of the stock boasts four jaguar claws instead of the classic checkering– a very nice detail. The name Jaguar is burned by laser on the right side of the stock and also at the top of the barrel in front of the metal tangent rear sight for 200 meters/218 yd. adjustable in 25 m/27 yd. increments. This is incidentally also a departure from the existing range, because until recently, the CZ 455 came equipped with a compact LPA rear sight as standard. The reason for this change is clear: the LPA rear sight does have an excellent aiming pattern and occupies only minimal space on the barrel, but if the user often shoots at various distances, the classic tangent rear sight is better and faster to adjust. The last decorative element is the jaguar itself, burned on the bottom of the fore-end between the front swivel and the magazine well. Actually, there is one more detail –a silver trigger lever, specific to the CZ 455 Jaguar rimfire rifle only. The trigger mechanism itself is otherwise the same as in the standard 455 with the option to adjust the trigger weight in the range of 9 to 13 N.

The CZ 455 Jaguar with an impressive overall length of 1 191 mm/46 in. and weight of around 3 kg/ 6.6 lb. is an interesting addition to the fast-growing family of new rimfire rifles made in Uherský Brod. These rifles will especially delight fans of the timeless 22 LR cartridge, particularly lovers of accurate shooting and hunting at larger distances. For this purpose the classic mechanical sights are suitable only to a certain extent, so the 11mm standardized dovetail on top of the receiver designed for the accommodation of the scope mount or a Weaver rail is very useful. The only thing left to add is the fact that this rifle comes with a 10 round magazine as standard.