Not a 457 American, but instead the Varmint model with a heavy 20.5" barrel.
In 2019 was assigned a review article on the then-new 457 by a magazine, and would have requested one from CZ but noticed this one for sale on the Campfire Classifieds. Bought it and mounted the only semi-appropriate scope that wasn't already on a rifle. The conditions weren't ideal except for just about perfect calm, since it was the 19th of February and I had to wade through nearly knee-deep snow to the shooting bench. The groups were fired at 50 yards with three different kinds of ammo, both hunting and target. The flier in the middle group was no doubt my fault.
Wasn't crazy about the trigger even after adjusting it to the minimum, so gave it the same sort of treatment described in 1minute's post, which got it down to a hair over 2 pounds. Sold a couple of my other .22s and started using this one instead. The short barrel makes it very handy for ground squirrel shooting from a pickup, and so far I haven't dinged a rearview mirror, as drover described (but did note his "fix," just in case). It shoots even better now that the bore's slicker. Oh, and it has a different scope....
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
K22 - I didn’t ask and I didn’t see in your original post how many shots were fired before you shot those groups? Did you go right to group shooting when you switched from S&B to RWS? Like I mentioned a new bore typically takes 20-30 shots for the best accuracy to show and typically 10-20 between types of ammo (including different lots). This is assuming that no other typical issues were the culprit (besides some of the common ones mentioned and I know you know what was the wind like). Don’t be to discouraged - it will shoot for you and I haven’t met too many .22s that weren’t a project of some sort!
The odd thing about it is that on the 452/455 models they used a nice finish that let the wood grain show, why they went to the mud finish on the 457 is beyond me. The only reason that I can come up with is that they are saving manhours by not filling pores ands hoping that the mud finish will make it less noticable.
I have looked at six 457 American models and they all exhibited the same finish as yours - it's too bad that they are cutting corners on the stock finish.
drover
No, not cutting corners at all. Pore filling is a non-issue also. They are using cheaper wood because it is very light, non-uniform in color, probably has sapwood, and does not make the grade. It often has lots of figure but that is actually a defect in that grade.
The mud is simply paint to make them all look the same. Just like the red in old model 70s.
Fairly easy to improve a lot. Formby's Furniture Refinisher used with a heavy hand and lots of rags to get rid of the mud will show you what you have pretty quickly. Repeat until it looks good enough for your taste.
Let it cure after rubbing the finish off. Add some spar varnish and cut it with pure, quality oil. Apply heavily, wait 15 minutes and rub dry. In a few coats it will look good.
Certainly sounds worth trying. I was told Simple Green and water works also.
Wrong application for Simple Green... soap is usual corrosive and any left can do bad things to wood, structurally. Also, Formby's is nothing but gentle solvents (not harsh like full strength acetone, etc.) that slow the stripping down.
Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.
The odd thing about it is that on the 452/455 models they used a nice finish that let the wood grain show, why they went to the mud finish on the 457 is beyond me. The only reason that I can come up with is that they are saving manhours by not filling pores ands hoping that the mud finish will make it less noticable.
I have looked at six 457 American models and they all exhibited the same finish as yours - it's too bad that they are cutting corners on the stock finish.
drover
If I find a Premium stock before start unmuddying this one, I won't even bother making this one look normal.
Today I braved the weather just to see how well this rifle would shoot. It was 22 degrees. Not normal temp. for this area, oh and that was the high for today. I only took out two loads. RWS Subsonics, my favorite, and Sellier and Bellot subsonic. I use the Sellier's to get on paper normally when setting up a scope because I never have much luck with it shooting small groups. First thing I noticed is cold fingers don't work so well inserting the magazine and the mag. is not very forgiving like the Sako or Kimbers are. Then that trigger I will definitely have to work on it ........a lot. It was so spongy and 3.5 - 3.25lbs. is way to heavy for me. Now for the main event, accuracy........Nada. Could have been the weather, the trigger, or me, but my oh my this one has a long way to go. Feeding and ejecting were flawless so that is a plus. I was shooting at 50yds. and only snapped a photo of the groups, so no writing on the paper. The left group was the Sellier and Bellot and the 2 groups right of it was the RWS. I shot 5 shot groups.
Those groups are disappointing for sure. I had shot a couple of 457 American in 22 LR before, both were unmodified except for trigger work, and the groups from them was what piqued my interest in getting one. In both cases the groups were more like the groups that M.D. posted, not benchrest great but certainly good groups for a sporter/hunting rifle.
I already have Tikka T1x 22 LR that groups better than any thing in this price range should, and I still have a 452 American 22 LR that has a decent piece of wood with a good finish and it groups almost as well as the Tikka.
Unless I run across one with exceptional wood I doubt that I will be buying one - between the poor stock finsh and your poor results with this one I am pretty well turned off. The idea of a project rifle is less appealing to me.
I had noticed but forgotten about the magazine having to be pretty much perfectly centered so that it fits into the rather narrow floorplate - not a biggie but something that could have been improved on for sure.
I know that you will have warmer temps in NC long before I do here in Idaho but here is a little hint from a cold weather 22 shooter - keep your ammo box in an inside pocket when shooting in cold temps, even keeping them in a pants pocket is helpful. I have never been able to get as good groups from cold ammo as I have from warm ammo.
drover
223 Rem, my favorite cartridge - you can't argue with truckloads of dead PD's and gophers.
24hourcampfire.com - The site where there is a problem for every solution.
K22 - I didn’t ask and I didn’t see in your original post how many shots were fired before you shot those groups? Did you go right to group shooting when you switched from S&B to RWS? Like I mentioned a new bore typically takes 20-30 shots for the best accuracy to show and typically 10-20 between types of ammo (including different lots). This is assuming that no other typical issues were the culprit (besides some of the common ones mentioned and I know you know what was the wind like). Don’t be to discouraged - it will shoot for you and I haven’t met too many .22s that weren’t a project of some sort!
Keep the faith!,
PennDog
I've heard that switching ammo requires several rounds to settle the barrel back in, but I rarely do that. I've noticed that it makes a difference but not as much as some claim, leastwise not in mine. Then again, none of mine are target rifles.
The odd thing about it is that on the 452/455 models they used a nice finish that let the wood grain show, why they went to the mud finish on the 457 is beyond me. The only reason that I can come up with is that they are saving manhours by not filling pores ands hoping that the mud finish will make it less noticable.
I have looked at six 457 American models and they all exhibited the same finish as yours - it's too bad that they are cutting corners on the stock finish.
drover
No, not cutting corners at all. Pore filling is a non-issue also. They are using cheaper wood because it is very light, non-uniform in color, probably has sapwood, and does not make the grade. It often has lots of figure but that is actually a defect in that grade.
The mud is simply paint to make them all look the same. Just like the red in old model 70s.
Fairly easy to improve a lot. Formby's Furniture Refinisher used with a heavy hand and lots of rags to get rid of the mud will show you what you have pretty quickly. Repeat until it looks good enough for your taste.
Let it cure after rubbing the finish off. Add some spar varnish and cut it with pure, quality oil. Apply heavily, wait 15 minutes and rub dry. In a few coats it will look good.
Certainly sounds worth trying. I was told Simple Green and water works also.
Wrong application for Simple Green... soap is usual corrosive and any left can do bad things to wood, structurally. Also, Formby's is nothing but gentle solvents (not harsh like full strength acetone, etc.) that slow the stripping down.
Whoa! That is info I needed to hear. Thanks Sitka deer.
The odd thing about it is that on the 452/455 models they used a nice finish that let the wood grain show, why they went to the mud finish on the 457 is beyond me. The only reason that I can come up with is that they are saving manhours by not filling pores ands hoping that the mud finish will make it less noticable.
I have looked at six 457 American models and they all exhibited the same finish as yours - it's too bad that they are cutting corners on the stock finish.
drover
If I find a Premium stock before start unmuddying this one, I won't even bother making this one look normal.
Today I braved the weather just to see how well this rifle would shoot. It was 22 degrees. Not normal temp. for this area, oh and that was the high for today. I only took out two loads. RWS Subsonics, my favorite, and Sellier and Bellot subsonic. I use the Sellier's to get on paper normally when setting up a scope because I never have much luck with it shooting small groups. First thing I noticed is cold fingers don't work so well inserting the magazine and the mag. is not very forgiving like the Sako or Kimbers are. Then that trigger I will definitely have to work on it ........a lot. It was so spongy and 3.5 - 3.25lbs. is way to heavy for me. Now for the main event, accuracy........Nada. Could have been the weather, the trigger, or me, but my oh my this one has a long way to go. Feeding and ejecting were flawless so that is a plus. I was shooting at 50yds. and only snapped a photo of the groups, so no writing on the paper. The left group was the Sellier and Bellot and the 2 groups right of it was the RWS. I shot 5 shot groups.
Those groups are disappointing for sure. I had shot a couple of 457 American in 22 LR before, both were unmodified except for trigger work, and the groups from them was what piqued my interest in getting one. In both cases the groups were more like the groups that M.D. posted, not benchrest great but certainly good groups for a sporter/hunting rifle.
I already have Tikka T1x 22 LR that groups better than any thing in this price range should, and I still have a 452 American 22 LR that has a decent piece of wood with a good finish and it groups almost as well as the Tikka.
Unless I run across one with exceptional wood I doubt that I will be buying one - between the poor stock finsh and your poor results with this one I am pretty well turned off. The idea of a project rifle is less appealing to me.
I had noticed but forgotten about the magazine having to be pretty much perfectly centered so that it fits into the rather narrow floorplate - not a biggie but something that could have been improved on for sure.
I know that you will have warmer temps in NC long before I do here in Idaho but here is a little hint from a cold weather 22 shooter - keep your ammo box in an inside pocket when shooting in cold temps, even keeping them in a pants pocket is helpful. I have never been able to get as good groups from cold ammo as I have from warm ammo.
drover
I went out today again since it was a balmy 39 and used a new metal magazine to make sure it fed ok which it did. It seemed to insert much easier than the plastic one. I'm posting todays results below which were much better.
K22 - I didn’t ask and I didn’t see in your original post how many shots were fired before you shot those groups? Did you go right to group shooting when you switched from S&B to RWS? Like I mentioned a new bore typically takes 20-30 shots for the best accuracy to show and typically 10-20 between types of ammo (including different lots). This is assuming that no other typical issues were the culprit (besides some of the common ones mentioned and I know you know what was the wind like). Don’t be to discouraged - it will shoot for you and I haven’t met too many .22s that weren’t a project of some sort!
Keep the faith!,
PennDog
I've heard that switching ammo requires several rounds to settle the barrel back in, but I rarely do that. I've noticed that it makes a difference but not as much as some claim, leastwise not in mine. Then again, none of mine are target rifles.
Yep each rifle is different and sometimes it makes a big difference - other times not so much. Just trying to give possibilities to explain what you’re seeing. Hopefully another range session will give you some more information!
Braved the weather again today as it was a balmy 39 out, a whole 17degrees warmer. Made no adjustments to rifle, same horrible trigger, same ugly stock. A better scope would help these aging eyes, but I have 2 in mind to put on it when I've got it where it should be..........of course by then it will be a 17HM2.:love: So it appears weather might have had a bit of effect on it even though I don't think it should have had that much, but what do I know. Had several of my favorites on hand along with a metal magazine I wanted to make sure would work properly in it. As it was, the metal mag. was easier to insert than the plastic one. Who knew. o_O It appears by the grouping I now have something to work with. Ya!
Braved the weather again today as it was a balmy 39 out, a whole 17degrees warmer. Made no adjustments to rifle, same horrible trigger, same ugly stock. A better scope would help these aging eyes, but I have 2 in mind to put on it when I've got it where it should be..........of course by then it will be a 17HM2.:love: So it appears weather might have had a bit of effect on it even though I don't think it should have had that much, but what do I know. Had several of my favorites on hand along with a metal magazine I wanted to make sure would work properly in it. As it was, the metal mag. was easier to insert than the plastic one. Who knew. o_O It appears by the grouping I now have something to work with. Ya!
Thanks for posting that Mule Deer. And nice looking CZ. Stock looks much better than mine does.
OK! Thought it might be of interest to some.
Owned a CZ 455 heavy-barrel at the time, which grouped well but not like the 457. So the 455 was one of the .22s I sold after getting the 457.
Might also mention that because the heavy barrel is relatively short, the rifle only weighs 7 pounds 13 ounces with its present scope, a 3-9x Burris E1. Also own a CZ 452 Sporter .17 HMR, and it weighs just about exactly the same with a similar-weight scope. The 457 does hold a little steadier when "hunting" ground squirrels....
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
Thanks drover. I'm starting to get happier with it. From a 25" barrel in the cold the subsonic ammo is really quiet and probably isn't making it much above 1000' per second. The PMC Moderators were really quiet. If they made it above 800' per second I'd be surprised. I wish they still made the Moderators. I know they claim Aguila subsonics are the same as the old Moderators but I never found that to be true.
Braved the weather again today as it was a balmy 39 out, a whole 17degrees warmer. Made no adjustments to rifle, same horrible trigger, same ugly stock. A better scope would help these aging eyes, but I have 2 in mind to put on it when I've got it where it should be..........of course by then it will be a 17HM2.:love: So it appears weather might have had a bit of effect on it even though I don't think it should have had that much, but what do I know. Had several of my favorites on hand along with a metal magazine I wanted to make sure would work properly in it. As it was, the metal mag. was easier to insert than the plastic one. Who knew. o_O It appears by the grouping I now have something to work with. Ya!
That looks better!!
PennDog
Looks much better!! Glad to see it is shooting some ammo well. The first groups were a little concerning, but I've seen some 22lr's that just did not shoot some stuff well at all. Of course, this is why we test all kinds of ammo, to find what they like. This rifle will probably continue to shoot better and better, the more rounds through the bore too. Thanks K22, for starting this thread. Earlier, I was in a couple gunshops and saw some older CZ's. Now, I'm kicking myself in the azz for not buying the little iron sight trainer rifle (CZ455), that I saw here locally for $360.00, or the other Brno model 2, for about the same price!!! The CZ's I saw today were $700-$800.00!!
Originally Posted by raybass
I try to stick with the basics, they do so well. Nothing fancy mind you, just plain jane will get it done with style.
Originally Posted by Pharmseller
You want to see an animal drop right now? Shoot him in the ear hole.
You should have bought a 457 when you first seen them bsa. With a spring change mine is down to a 12oz. trigger pull. I have another spring to take it down to 8oz. if I'm so inclined. Most of my rimfires run around that 12 to 16oz. pull weight. My old Squirrel rifle is at 6oz. and the Rem. 541/581 is at 9oz.
You should have bought a 457 when you first seen them bsa. With a spring change mine is down to a 12oz. trigger pull. I have another spring to take it down to 8oz. if I'm so inclined. Most of my rimfires run around that 12 to 16oz. pull weight. My old Squirrel rifle is at 6oz. and the Rem. 541/581 is at 9oz.
Sounds good. Does the trigger feel good on the CZ457, after the spring upgrade? Just wondering. I don't like mine to be that light, but I do like a trigger that breaks with little to no creep. That's one thing I like about my new model 52. That trigger is very sweet. Just wondering how the American compares.. As for buying the CZ457 Americans that I saw, I am pretty sure the one small town gunshop still has one. It is 70 miles away, but she gets very little business. I may sneak over there, and see if she still has it. ha ha.. and that one was $600.00, but it was a beautiful rifle.
Originally Posted by raybass
I try to stick with the basics, they do so well. Nothing fancy mind you, just plain jane will get it done with style.
Originally Posted by Pharmseller
You want to see an animal drop right now? Shoot him in the ear hole.
This is one of the video's I watched a while back. He is talking about accuracy on his 457. Got bored when he started talking torquing the action screws, then he starts talking about bolt shims etc. etc. But check out the wood on this rifle. That's why I was surprised when you guys were talking about the "muddy" ones:
Originally Posted by raybass
I try to stick with the basics, they do so well. Nothing fancy mind you, just plain jane will get it done with style.
Originally Posted by Pharmseller
You want to see an animal drop right now? Shoot him in the ear hole.
![[Linked Image]](https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/gallery/80/medium/245210.jpg)
Not normal temp. for this area, oh and that was the high for today. I only took out two loads. RWS Subsonics, my favorite, and Sellier and Bellot subsonic. I use the Sellier's to get on paper normally when setting up a scope because I never have much luck with it shooting small groups. First thing I noticed is cold fingers don't work so well inserting the magazine and the mag. is not very forgiving like the Sako or Kimbers are. Then that trigger 
I will definitely have to work on it ........a lot. It was so spongy and 3.5 - 3.25lbs. is way to heavy for me.![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/GwTosfn.jpg)
A better scope would help these aging eyes, but I have 2 in mind to put on it when I've got it where it should be..........of course by then it will be a 17HM2.:love:![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/ZV0N0qu.jpg)