I like to think of my CZ 452 America chambered in .22 LR as a working man’s Anschutz. Mine came with the skinny barrel but, even so, this gun is crazy accurate out to about 100 yards or so. Having said that, the CZ 452 has a couple of features that make you understand why it’s a $350 gun instead of a $1000 gun and the biggest one is its factory trigger. No, it isn’t horrible by any means, but it could be so much better. Most CZ 452 owners eventually opt for an aftermarket drop-in trigger or they get a gunsmith to tune their factory trigger. After owning the gun for 4 or 5 years, I finally broke down and bought a kit from Rifle Basix . . .

If you want to improve the CZ’s trigger, you have plenty of ways to go. It’s been my experience that most gunsmiths generally take too long to get anything done, so I wanted to go the DIY route. Fortunately, there are quite a few options out there. I chose the Rifle Basix kit through a process of elimination.

First, I rejected the $95 Timney Trigger because it requires the end user to inlet the factory stock. That, and its minimum trigger pull is 2 pounds. I eliminated the $49 Automation Solutions replacement sear because folks had reported that it’s difficult to install. I thought hard about the $18 YoDave spring/shim set largely because of its low price. But I eventually concluded that the Rifle Basix unit was going to be easier to fine tune and offered a greater range of trigger pull weights.

The Rifle Basix kit is a single stage trigger that can be safely adjusted from a feathery 12 oz. up to 3 lb. It includes a new trigger spring, pivot pins, a trigger lever and optional sear adjustment screws for creep adjustment. So, $85 bucks (+ $10 for S&H) and four days later, I received the Rifle Basix unit direct from the manufacturer. You might even find it at a cheaper price if you shop around.

The Rifle Basix trigger assembly is fairly easy to install and requires no alterations to the rifle – other than removing two pins. While I’m not going to bore you with detailed instructions on how to install it, suffice it to say that the instruction sheet provided is easy to follow. The whole task took me around 30 minutes. All you’ll need are a punch set, a rubber mallet, and a little epoxy. Here it is all installed and ready to go:

And oh what a difference it makes. My new trigger breaks at a little over one pound and is as smooth as Catrinel Menghia’s abs. I was also able to adjust the trigger so that it breaks without any creep at all. I also did a few bump tests to make sure the gun would not go off if it’s jostled, dropped or otherwise jarred in any way.

Having an adjustable trigger like the Rifle Basix kit makes it easy to customize the trigger pull to suit the situation. For example, when I take this gun hunting, I will adjust the trigger closer to three pounds for safety reasons. Hey, speaking of hunting, it’s almost squeakie season!

You can see how accurate the rifle was before installing the new bangswitch. I haven’t had a chance to range test it yet with the new trigger, but I’ll post my results as soon as I do.  As the photo demonstrates, the CZ 452 is capable of some pretty nice groups, and I am hopeful that this new trigger will make it even easier to repeat those nice cloverleafs.

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22 COMMENTS

  1. That’s a pretty light trigger! We’ll have to go blasting another weekend so I can try it for myself.

  2. It’ll be very interesting to see how much additional performance you can wring out of the rifle with the new trigger. Given the rifle’s excellent accuracy before the trigger upgrade, I would say not very much. However, the fun factor might be exponentially higher.

  3. I’ve never fired a weapon with a one pound trigger, but if it is indeed as smooth as Ms. Menghia’s abs (and thems is some FINE abs!) then you got a bargain!

    • Sadly, I have no firsthand knowledge of how smooth Ms. Menghia’s abs really are. My comment reflected a certain amount of supposition on my part. 🙂

  4. I have one of YoDave’s trigger kits in my 452. I do not have a trigger scale, but I suspect the trigger is less than a pound, no takeup, no creep. You paid about $80 more to get the same thing.

    • I’ve heard good things about the YoDave kits. At the end of the day, I went with the Rifle Basix kit because of the fact that it is easier to fine tune the trigger. I wanted a light trigger for target shooting, but I want to be able to switch to something a bit more substantial when in the field.

  5. Joe,

    Nice looking blond CZ. What is your scope? Bipod? I see Remington and Wolf Ammo in the first pic, but cannot tell what ammo you have on your second pic.

    I have a CZ 455 Varmint on order so I am intersted

    • Scope is a Leopold VX-II “Century” edition, which was a run they did in 2007. It has a “LR Duplex” reticle that works well for 75, 100, and 125 yards with a 50 yard zero. I bought a couple of these at G.I. Joes when they went out of business – for $200 (ish). I had Leopold add the target turrets ($120) and adjust the paralax to 75 yards ($15, if my memory serves me). Bipod is made by Harris. Ammo in second pic is Gemtech 42 grain subsonic (review pending). Blonde stock is factory CZ – they did a run of these in maple back in 2007 or so.

    • Better hurry, they stopped making them. Current product is the CZ455.

      If anyone at TTAG is up for it, I would be very interested in a review of the CZ 455 and comparison to the 452.

      “Very interested” meaning “I’m looking to buy a bolt-action .22LR this summer and don’t want a 10/22”.

  7. I’d be interested to see a more statistically significant sample than that. I know we’re not showing off the accuracy of the rifle itself, but 3 shots, in any statistical sense, means absolutely nothing. It is an impressive group, but by no means does it mean anything at all other than the combination of factors involved in determining the placement of the shot just so happened to be correct. A proper group should 10 shots or more, preferably 25 shots or more. It really annoys me to see gun journalists throwing out insignificant groups and calling the rifle laser accurate.

    • Put enough rounds downrange, and you will eventually have one ragged hole. It might be good marketing, but it’s not terribly useful.

      • Please tell me how being able to prove with statistical significance how accurate a rifle shoots is not useful.

    • Three shots tells you how good your barrel is. Ten shots tells you how good your ammo is.

  9. Can you direct me to an instructional video showing the install of the rifle basix into a CZ 452 American. Thanks
    David

  11. Hell, my CZ s shoot like that now & the adjustable triggers on them are fine, you can have sub-1lb pull if you want, no need for all the extra aftermarket junk…….CZ 452 .22mag & CZ 527FS .22Hornet , thinking about a 455LUX .22LR next , always wanted one……
    CHEERS Y’All

  12. Thanks Joe. good review.

    My 452 has the Ace spring fix and is a .25 shooter. The trigger is 1.4#

    But the gun deserves a better trigger (CZ QC very poor). I’ll try the Basic.

    thanks

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