Thread: CZ452 stiff bolt

My CZ 452 .22 has developed a stiff bolt, and the friction seems to be increasing the more I shoot it. It's really smooth sliding, but to actually cock it takes a lot of downward pressure.
What might be the problem?

Have you had the bolt apart for a squiz?
Nothing binding or gumming it up with some light lubrication

Reloads or factory?

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I havent pulled the bolt apart yet. About to give it a try

People reload .22??

Originally Posted by Brad S

I havent pulled the bolt apart yet. About to give it a try

People reload .22??

Sorry...didnt see .22 assumed centre fire....as you were

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Originally Posted by Brad S

My CZ 452 .22 has developed a stiff bolt, and the friction seems to be increasing the more I shoot it. It's really smooth sliding, but to actually cock it takes a lot of downward pressure.
What might be the problem?

CZ452 cocks on opening, so taking a lot of downwards pressure doesn't sound like a cocking problem.

Give the shoulder of the chamber and inside of the action a good clean, might be a build-up of detritus somewhere in there that the bolt is working against..

Originally Posted by StrikerNZ

Give the shoulder of the chamber and inside of the action a good clean, might be a build-up of detritus somewhere in there that the bolt is working against..

...also when cleaning the chamber with a bronze brush, remember to go forward into the throat area as a strong carbon ring can form which can cause difficult bolt closure.

Okay, so I pulled the bolt to bits, and took an embarrassingly long time to figure out how to put it back together. That all looked fine, a bit of lube hasn't made any difference there

I'll see if I can find any stuff to clean out in the action

Muzzle down.big squirt of CRC down barrel to loosen up any crud in chamber area if you have cleaning rod etc give it gentle clean through barrel too. Pretty hard to clean chamber and not barrel.

Had a good poke around and found a few bits of carbon to remove. Seems a little bit happier now. Still not smooth, but no longer as irritating

Clean out the recesses on either side of the chamber where the extractors grasp the rim as well.

A earbud and a bit of solvent. Also clear the bolt face and extractors.


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Yes there was a bit of stuff in those recesses.
I've put 500 rounds through it since I bought it. And who knows how many rounds @viper put through it before I bought it off him without cleaning it.
Seems alright ish now. I'll take it with me next time I visit the local gun shop and see what they reckon

Hi Brad, sorry I am now based in Australia and have only just seen the post. The CZ would have been lucky to have had more than 500 rounds through it. It has always had a tight chamber. Wax / fouling build up could be the problem. Give it a good clean and retry putting some rounds through it.

Have you tried different ammo? I like CCI Subsonic and so does my rifle, but had a bad batch once. Experienced the problems you described plus a few misfires and poor accuracy. Happy to see that box go.