My little cz 457 22

[BillBro]

Is an amazing little gun.

Its the Varmint model which I bought as a 22WMR and as such, in factory form, it was far more accurate than I was led the 22wmr to be and has produced some great groups down to less than .25" at 50yds and always with 5 or more shots. 22WMR ammo though is freakin expensive for what it is. On the plus side mine happens to favor the cheapest 22wmr ammo Ive seen, Armscore jhp, loves the stuff, and just avout every other ammo brand I shot through it. So I was reluctant to do what I did, which was change the caliber (barrel) to 22LR.....

But I did, figuring it would save me money in the end. Two or 300 rounds of the mag stuff every weekend can get spendy.

Bought the CZ Varmint barrel in 22lr and performed the cleverly simple swap in about 30 minutes. Kudos to CZ for for the simple design and for some amazing workmanship. The bore of that barrel, which I cleaned and inspected before shooting looked like a mirror inside. I really didnt see any kind of machining marks at all. I was excited to try it out.

Packed up my ammo and targets and went shootin. My 10/22 lives the Norma TAC-22 ammo so I started with that, not impressed. It did alright but not what I was hoping for. 50 rounds later I decided to try something else in my box, some Agiula. Not a known match winning round but usually works well enough for me. Shockingly it was better than the Norma but still nothing impressive and Im starting to question my decision. However I next stepped up to some Federal HV Match and wad flabbergasted when the first five rounds produced this,

5 3 bank locations

I packed up and left after that.

 

[growr]

Shoots like a CZ should!

Randy

 

[M29since14]

That’s nice, but now the question is what will it do with that ammo over the next 30 rounds or so the next time you go to the range? Let us know. If you can claim to do that on demand, that will be impressive!

 

[Bro. Dave]

Those CZ .22 rifles just seem to be inherently accurate. My 457 with a semi-custom barrel was the best grouping .22 I had ever shot until I lucked into a second hand Vudoo. I do have to say that the Vudoo is in another class, though.

Those precision .22's are pretty well known to be picky on ammo in regard to accuracy, even down to the specific lot number of the same brand.

 

[ColbyBruce]

I like CZ’s too, and am not surprised how well your gun shoots. I like the 527 models. I swapped the third gun from the top, replaced it with a HS Precision stock varmint model. The .222 leaning against the tree was a gift to my brother.

 

[series guy]

I have a 455 that shoots really well and a 457 MTR that does very well also. The target pictured is a 5 shot group from the 455 at 25 yards.

 

[BillBro]

I like CZ’s too, and am not surprised how well your gun shoots. I like the 527 models. I swapped the third gun from the top, replaced it with a HS Precision stock varmint model. The .222 leaning against the tree was a gift to my brother.

Nice collection you have there. I really like the one second from the top. This is my first CZ rifle. Ive liked it from the first shot.

 

[BillBro]

Those CZ .22 rifles just seem to be inherently accurate. My 457 with a semi-custom barrel was the best grouping .22 I had ever shot until I lucked into a second hand Vudoo. I do have to say that the Vudoo is in another class, though.

Those precision .22's are pretty well known to be picky on ammo in regard to accuracy, even down to the specific lot number of the same brand.

My 10/22 liked the norma so well I bought 1k of it and I was hoping that the cz would too.
I am not going to be shooting in the olympics or anything so I wont be taking the deep dive into the rimfire world and being concerned about the lot numbers and on and on.
Believe me, the group above was probably more luck than anything as has been eluded to. Ill be the first to admit that. Ive impressed few with my shooting but that one did impress me.
The sad part is that I only have two boxes of that HV Match.

 

[22hipower]

I like to buy American made but those CZ rifles, in every caliber I've tried, are likely the best value for the money available. I have one of those 457s although I don't think I've shot any one hole groups with it; will have to get serious about seeing if it will do it. Had a most unusual experience with my last CZ purchase, a 527 6.5 Grendel with set trigger. My first 6.5 Grendel so didn't have components to load so bought three different factory brands. After getting it on paper tried one round from each box (Alexander Arms 123 Lapua Scenar, Hornady 123 ELD Match, PPU 120 HP BT) and they all went in to about .5 inch at 100 yards. Amazing little rifles, enjoy that 457.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

 

[BAM-BAM]

Nice....

Got my first CZ a 452FS .22 mag in 2011....... will do sub-MOA at 100yds!!

Added a few more in .22lr,.22mag, .17hmr and 223/5.56...452FS and Trainers, a 453 Varmint and 527 FS and Americans.


.22mag and .17 hmr are not "an afternoon at the range round" ..... in the field shooting varmints

 

[tt66]

The CZ rimfires are amazing shooters. I have a Model 455 Varmint in 22lr that I bought new. A couple of years later I added a 17 HMR barrel. The HMR barrel is very accurate, but to me it nearly as expensive to shoot as a .223 rd.

I prefer mine as it came in the .22lr set up. I can attest to the accuracy as stated above. 25-50 yd groups are really sweet and consistant.

I have found that mine shoots standard velocity ammo more accurately than a hi speed load, especially at longer distance. My go-to's are SK Standard Plus, SK Rifle Match and Wolf Match Target. I have a Vortex Crossfire 4x16x50 with a MOA reticle. Once you nail down the hold over, 100 yds targets are easy. After that, wind becomes more of a factor, but 200 yds targets are very do able.

Everybody needs an accurate 22lr bolt gun, or two. They are good for the soul.

Enjoy your rifle, you made a good choice.

Tim

 

[Empe]

That’s nice, but now the question is what will it do with that ammo over the next 30 rounds or so the next time you go to the range? Let us know. If you can claim to do that on demand, that will be impressive!

I was thinking the same thing . It's an impressive group but it is just one group . Can it be repeated on a regular basis ?

 

[tt66]

I was thinking the same thing . It's an impressive group but it is just one group . Can it be repeated on a regular basis ?

The Model 457 is the next generation of a solid platform. Several versions of the 452, 455 and now the 457. From my experiences with standard velocity ammo, my 455 is as accurate as the pics posted. It is truly a tackdriver.

 

[BAM-BAM]

I was thinking the same thing . It's an impressive group but it is just one group . Can it be repeated on a regular basis ?

While I'm getting old and slow...... I spent 8 years on the High School and College Rifle Teams. But in the last few years have been spending time with rimfires at 50- 100yds. Bench and three position.

These CZs will shoot..... my first the .452FS in .22mag. has done lots of groups under MOA (.85-1") off the bench at 100yds.. It now wears a 1-4x 20 Leupold for Pa. small fields and woods.....it will keep groups "under the crosshairs" at 100yds so figure 1-1.5 at 100 with this small scope. Good enough for small and mid-size varmints.

The three (FS and Trainers) in .22lr.; again with fieldglass, are all good for less than an inch at 50 all day long.

Mine are all the older 452/453s.... haven't tried the 455 or 457s.

If you find one you will not be disappointed!

The wood ranges from "nice" to "spectacular"

 

[BillBro]

Nice....



.22mag and .17 hmr are not "an afternoon at the range round" ..... in the field shooting varmints

Precisely why I switched it to 22lr. Now I need to try some of the SK or Wolff or other known target grade ammo to see what it prefers and that I can buy bricks of.
Which of the SK variants do most of you have good luck with?

 

[Patrick L]

I was thinking the same thing . It's an impressive group but it is just one group . Can it be repeated on a regular basis ?

I shoot groups for fun during the spring, summer, and fall. I keep a 3 ring binder and a page is devoted to every round I try. If I shoot something that looks promising, I repeat it over multiple trips, often months apart, to see if I get consistent results (or the above mentioned lucky group.) As a result, when I say such and such brand shoots well, that is borne out by repeated performance over a long haul.

 

[KalamazooKid]

I have 452’s, 455’s, and a couple 457’s and in multiple calibers - 22 LR, 22 MRF, and 17 HMR. They all shoot fabulous for the price point and if you’re lucky, some sport some beautiful walnut stocks.

One of my favorites and likely the most accurate one I own is this 452 FS in 22 LR. 30 shot groups inside of a quarter at 50 yards if I do my job.

 

[ralph7]

What is the trigger pull weight and is it adjustable on the 457?