I have a 455 training rifle in 17HMR and have been thinking of getting something in 22lr. I could just get a 22 barrel for the 455, but some of the features of the 457 (push to fire safety and the loss of the crappy bottom metal) have me thinking I should go that route. I don't know much about the 452 other than one would be hard to find.

So, what is the general consensus on these? Was the 452 the best and things went downhill or is the 457 a good update. Is my 455 worth keeping and just get a barrel?

Can these barrels be threaded or are they a bit thin?

Thanks.

Barrels can be threaded on all of them.

452 = traditional threaded barrel.

455/457 = interchangeable barrels. Both use the same. Headspace maybe needed with shims to fit new barrel. Receiver similar in appearance to 452 with differences. 11mm optic dovetail.

457 = new design receiver.

All three use the same magazines.

452s are becoming harder to find. 455's heading that way as expected.

My 455 with the heavy varmint barrel is pretty damn accurate.  I changed the trigger spring which made it really nice to shoot.  If you look around, you may be able to find a takeoff 22LR barrel for pretty cheap.

Two 5 shot groups with SK Standard at 25 yards
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I can only say that i have a 452 heavy barrel. With 40 grains center x ammo i swear i can put 5 round in a single hole at 50 meters (not 5 hokes touching each other, litrerally almost a single hole). Astonishing. Last Time I took it to the range I was Playing With my brother. we were 130 meters from a field with many  flowers. He was telling me which petal to shoot and i simply couldn't miss. I had a harris bipod and a cheap 3-9×40 scope.

I bought the 455 for my daughter since all other bolt rifles were centerfire. She never shot it much though so no idea how accurate it is. It's the training rifle so not a heavy barrel target model. trigger is surprisingly good. Pull weight is probably 3-4 lbs but it has zero travel and just breaks clean. If it's adjustable I might try to drop the weight a bit.

I guess what I'm wondering is if like most companies the newer rifles just aren't on par with their older versions or if the 457 is as good or better.

Both 455 & 452 are adjustable, but the factory spring is the limiting factor.  You can get a set of lighter springs from DIP in Idaho.

I used the second to lightest (out of four) to drop my 452/455 trigger pulls down to 1 lb 10 oz. from ~4 lbs.

Talyn,

Can you post a pic of your 452 mag in your 455?

Just a reminder the 452/455/457 use the same magazine.

Magazine from my 452 American Special in my 455 American.

The 452 is a mini-Mauser with machined receiver and threaded barrel. Typically things like the stamped trigger guard were the cheap parts, but it is really a 1940s rifle Quality. Love mine.

455 and 457 were designed to be less expensive to manufacture.

I’d love to find me a 453 Varmint. Right now I have two 16” threaded 452’s and one heavy barrel 455 Varmint. All are in .22LR and I need to find a threaded barrel or send this one out to be threaded for the 455. All are MOA guns or better at 100yds on a calm day. Just get a new barrel. 17 HMR is sort of useless. Too much for most small game and beyond 150 yds or so not enough for medium sized pests like raccoons and groundhogs. Once you get a .22LR barrel that 17 barrel will sit in the safe collecting dust.

ETA....ARF is fucked and is rotating the picture but you get the point. As for the 457’s....the ones I’ve held felt cheaper and didn’t have the same old school feel as the 452/455, but I didn’t get to shoot them so I cannot comment on how well they shoot.

Picked the 455 up slightly used for $265 back in November. Couldn’t pass on it at that price.
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