One of the replacements for the CZ 455 line at the 2024 SHOT Show is the 457 Jaguar long-barreled .22 rifle. The rifle has one of the longest .22 barrels in production at 28.625 inches. It has open sights regulated from 25 to 200 meters. The long barrel allows precision shooting without a telescopic sight. The rifle replaces the 455 Ultra Lux. The wood on the Jaguar is beech and often produces an excellent figure in a rifle stock.
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The exhibit of CZ rimfire rifles at the 2023 SHOT Show displays the Jaguar barrel as over four inches longer than the next longest barrels. Even with the 28.625-inch barrel, the Jaguar only weighs a comfortable 6.4 lbs. This correspondent has the older version, the Ultra Lux. It handles well. The long barrel helps to stabilize off-hand shooting. Another advantage of a long barrel is it allows more time for combustion gasses to cool and lose pressure, reducing the sound of the report when the rifle is fired. Care must be taken with very low-velocity cartridges. CCI has put a warning on their Quiet 22 ammunition. The Quiet 22 should not be fired in barrels longer than 24 inches. This author had a Quiet 22 bullet stick partway out the muzzle of his Ultra Lux rifle.
With the introduction of the 457 line in CZ,the company has made improvements in their excellent rifles. The action of the 457 models are almost an inch shorter than the 455 models. They have had mass removed from the sides to reduce weight. The safety on the 457 models is pushed forward to fire, bringing CZ into line with most other rifle safety directions from major manufacturers. Many youth instructors had asked CZ to make the change, to prevent confusion on the part of young shooters. The bolt rotation has been changed from 90 degrees to 60 degrees. This helps to prevent contact between the bolt and telescopic sights with large ocular bells. The trigger on the CZ Jaguar at the SHOT Show was excellent. It broke at about two pounds, or a little less. It had a very clean break and almost no over-travel. In the CZ 457 models, the trigger group is easily removed, making trigger adjustment and maintenance simple. The trigger on the Jaguar was much better from the factory than the trigger this correspondent had from the factory on his Ultra Lux, which was better than average.
The long barrel on the Jaguar makes for a fairly quiet .22, especially if sub-sonic ammunition is used. The Jaguar comes from the factory with a 1/2×28 threaded muzzle and a thread protector. Owners can easily add accessories such as flash hiders or suppressors. CZ is responding to customer demand. Over 3 million silencers/suppressors are now legally owned in the United States. The growth pattern is in the shape of an exponential curve. The main reason to produce firearms without threaded muzzle options are legal ones. Some states forbid threaded muzzles. The barrels and magazines on the 457 are interchangeable with the barrels and magazines on the 455 models.
The upgrades from the old Ultra Lux to the new Jaguar long-barreled CZ .22 rimfire are responses to market demand. These upgrades make already excellent rifles even better.
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
