Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires CZ 457 American

Shot down in Flames!... got a call about 11 AM, 457 American 22 WMR showed up today. i popped in about 2 PM to take a look... the guy behind the counter opened the box and slowly slid off the bag as he showed me the right side first... wood was real decent with nice grain, a little figure and even some tiger stripe at the top of the butt going up over the comb, fore end and bottom looked nice as well ... i was starting to get a bit of a Woody lol... he seemed a bit reluctant to show me the left side, and when he finally did, my heart sank!... a large hideous multi layered bullseye covered the entire butt, with a couple smaller ones on the fore end, it looked even worse under a bright light... no amount of Refinish gonna' fix that... I declined, he was not surprised... could'a named this one "Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde"... when my pissy mood improves, i will continue my quest for a 22 WMR... maybe buy a "Royal" or a "Premium" and do a factory barrel swap?... : as a side note, that 457 American 22 lr that was priced @ $569.99 is now sale priced @ $519.99 as of today... Hmm?

If you want a barrel, go to their online store and sign up for a notification on the one you want. They go fast, so don’t dawdle. Occasionally they appear on GB, but again they go fast.

What do you mean by "...large hideous bullseye..."?

when the stock was cut, it exposed the wood grain (layers) in an irregular "bullseye" like circle, and created some ugly wide areas that didn't take stain properly...

Too bad. Sorry to hear that..

I bought another American stock at a decent price with plans on using a barrel with a different contour that may require opening up the barrel channel some. I installed my barreled action in it thinking I would start de-mudding my original stock. Torqueing the action screws to the 20"lbs. like my original stock had my favorite RWS Subs shooting 1" groups at 50yds. instead of the less than 1/2" groups it was doing. But, the Norma subsonics were under 1/2" and so were the Selliot and Bellier subs. Hhmmmm! There was no action movement in the 2nd stock using 20"lbs. so I started experimenting. At 35"lbs. there was action movement so I backed off to 30"lbs on both screws. That was the answer. Now the RWS subs are back to itty bitty groups and the Norma subs grouping has expanded. So interesting how different torque settings can make such a difference. Next I'll get it pillared with aluminum pillars then bedded. That should help out all of the different rounds I like to use.

Funny how the little things affect accuracy. In another thread, I'm asking about glass bedding a rifle and you say you'd bed it, and then I read your thread and I say, I'd definitely glass bed that one!! ha ha.. I was out shooting my 10/22 yesterday, testing a new trigger. Had that rifle out of the stock multiple times, checking the trigger. That means hammering out the retainer pins, polishing a little, and making sure it was perfect. After doing all this, the rifle never skips a beat: No POI shift at all. I like that, and it does not take much bedding to ensure that. Don't have to worry about torque on the action screws either. Just tighten and go.


Shot the staple out on that target^^^

Excellent shooting. Very impressive.

I'm hoping your CZ shoots better!!!! I'm still wanting to get myself a CZ457, but I'm waiting to see how yours does. I think the lady about 70 miles from me, ordered a CZ457, so I can look at it the next time I come in.. I'm thinking I'll eventually buy one.

I'll be checking out one tomorrow.. Called my lady 70 miles away, who runs a small gunshop, about some 87gr v-max bullets. She's selling those to me for $26/box. I said I'd take all she has at that price. Then she tells me she has a rifle that I need to come and check out. The CZ457 American she ordered a few weeks ago, when I was asking if she had one in the shop. She's a nice lady and says this one is beautiful. I guess I'll be the judge of that tomorrow!!!

i hope this works out for you!... as for me, i ordered another 457 American 22 WMR yesterday... found an online seller that was willing to send pics... not lottery wood, but pleasantly handsome from the few pics IMO... best part is, the all in price will be a good deal cheaper than if purchased locally (even with the transfer fee)... money is on the way, and barring shipping problems, i should see it by the end of next week knock on Wood... kinda' feel like Ralphie waitin' for Christmas...

I keep thinking about picking up one of the little Scout models and dolling it up a bit like Don did. A slip-on pad will lengthen the stock and a Romeo 5 will keep it light, but still useably accurate.

No need to put a pad on it to lengthen the stock. Just adapt to the shorter lop, kinda like shooting an AR with the stock collapsed in carbine config..... Some guys are just frigging 'blocks' tho.

Thanks buddy. I checked it out today. It looks good, but not quite as good as the other ones I've looked at over the last 2 years. Some things I don't really like about it, is the matte finish, gritty feeling bolt, and the recoil pad looks cheap or poorly done. I bought the rifle, so I may end up putting a red pad on it. We'll see though. The bolt will be easy to smooth out, and other things will be easy to correct.

I traded my awesome shooting Savage MKII FVT target rifle for it though!!! Now I'll have nothing to do a side by side comparison with. I always like pulling the Savage out, and comparing every new rifle I get, to it. Most don't shoot as well. But nonetheless, I think I got a good deal on the CZ. I liked the Savage because it was the perfect sleeper. We'll see how the new CZ does, hopefully it impresses me!!!

Hopefully K22 doesn't mind me posting my findings and fixes on this thread. If not, I'll start my own thread on the rifle. We'll see what it's going to take to glass bed it. I am not going to be installing pillars or anything like that, but may do my cheap and quick bedding trick that I do on my 10/22's. But that depends on what it looks like when I tear it apart. Will keep you guys posted..

Post away BSA.
I like reading more than I do posting.LOL
I think you'll be happy you pulled the plug and bought one.
I know you said you weren't changing the pillars, but I would.
Adjusting the overtravel and takeup, then changing out the trigger spring will show a huge improvement.
Have fun.

Thanks buddy. Yeah, I forgot you said they have plastic pillars. Seems weird, they would do that. I’ll check them out when I get the rifle in hand. I’ll probably shoot it before any bedding work is done. I like to have a baseline, for before and after.

As for the stock finish, it’s a little “muddy” as well. It’s not horrible though, as I like the dark finish. I plan on treating it with something that my gunsmith friend told me about a long time ago. Something simple that I’ll show in another post when I have the rifle.

Ok K22, since you gave the go ahead. I picked up the rifle yesterday (2-23-24). Didn't get a chance to work on it until 10:45 P.M. Worked on it for 2 hours. Checked everything and corrected a few small things. Here are some pics:

The first thing I adjusted was the trigger. This thing was breaking around 3.5 pounds, and there was a little creep from the factory. I don't think they had it adjusted properly:


I managed to adjust it down to a very nice 2 3/8 pounds:


Loctite when done:



Like I said the other day, the bolt was a little gritty feeling. You can see wear on the bolt body:

I polished those scuffs out, and lightly oiled it, and now it runs very smooth. Didn't take any pics of the finished work, but you can picture it. It's nice and polished. I hit the whole bolt body (the part that is in the white).

Next thing I did was I wiped the stock down with old english, for dark furniture. It helps to touch up spots, and brings a shine to the wood and finish.






A while back (when I made up my mind that I'd be buying a CZ), I bought some medium height rings. I'm glad they fit the scope perfectly. This is one of my favorite rifle scopes to use. I run them on my 10/22's, bolt action centerfires, AR's. You name it, I use this scope on everything:


We are going to see how it shoots in about 10 hours or so. I'm looking forward to shooting it. I like a lot of things about the rifle, don't mind the "muddy" finish, really like the trigger, like the checkering, and have high hopes that it's going to shoot well. I also don't mind the plastic pillars. You are not really putting a lot of torque on the action screws, so the plastic pillars should hold up well. We will see though. Thanks to K22 for letting me post my opinions on this rifle. I'll get some target pics up later today. Good or bad, we'll be seeing some targets!!!!!

I should probably just shoot 5 shots per group, but am so dang used to shooting targets where we have to shoot 10 for score. My first impressions of this rifle is great. No malfunctions at all. It fed wonderfully. Very smooth, no hangups or anything unusual. Reminded me of my Winchester 52's.

However, the plastic magazine is weird/different. It may take a while for me to get used to it. I'm used to steel mags. I don't know if there is a break in period for these barrels, but wouldn't think so. I cleaned the bore before shooting it and it felt very smooth. I didn't really know what to expect for accuracy on this rifle, but have always heard CZ's shoot damn well. Some Youtube videos show otherwise, but I digress.

I left the range thinking it's a "hunting" rifle, I should only be expecting hunting rifle type accuracy. Didn't shoot anything real impressive, but I said I'd post results: Good bad and otherwise:



What surprised me the most was some of the cheap ammo, like Federal Automatch, and some of the copper plated hollowpoints shot as well as some of the match ammo I tried. That is always a huge plus in my book. One of my buddies wants to go ground squirrel hunting soon, but I don't think I'll take this one. Even though it is squirrel hunting accurate. I have other rifles that are faster and shoot better/more consistently.. A17 for example.




First target of the day, and zeroing:


It doesn't shoot as well as my new to me Winchester model 52, but it functions every bit as well. The trigger feels great at 2 3/8 pounds. But if you shoot the 2 rifles side by side, you get a sense the 52 is more of a quality piece. The CZ seems to be a great rifle, though and offers a lot of rifle for the money. This was my first day impression of the CZ 457 American. Take that for what it's worth..

BSA…….very nice - both rifle and shooting BUT I can’t believe I read it right……you TRADED the Savage?? I don’t think I would have ever parted with that one!! A couple of rifles I’ve shot recently really liked the Federal Gold Medal ammo (711b)…..may have to get some more of that?!

FWIW just lighted the trigger on my buddies 457 from 2.5 pounds (lowest I could adjust on stock trigger) to 12 ounces with a CZ457 spring kit. My friend only shoots the informal local matches with it so he was looking for a lighter pull. Very easy to do and was “safe” (i.e. passed bump test). There was a heavier spring in the “kit” but he wanted as light as possible.

PennDog

Thanks PennDog. Good info on the spring. I was thinking about those spring kits the other day, and told myself if I could not get the trigger down to a useable weight, I'd get one. Generally if I can get a trigger adjusted down to where my hunting rifles are set, I'm pretty happy. Those are generally set at 2.5 pounds, and very nice. Sometimes I'll set them to 2 pounds, on a really lightweight rifle, or a range toy.

Yes, I will miss the Savage, but she gave me $25.00 less for it than I originally paid for it brand new. When I brought it in, I brought in 4 targets, 2 from recently when I was shooting it scoped. 10 shots in the .3's, and 2 targets from shooting it with the irons on it. Those 10 shot groups were from .3-.6". I still have my MK 1 FVT single shot in the laminate stock. It's set up just like the MK II FVT was, but a little nicer. The MK II was worth more money though, since it was clip fed.

She had her husband look the rifle over, and he told her it looked like brand new. They were very fair people to deal with.

As for the Federal Gold Medal Match ammo I shot. That stuff shoots very well in my Kidd barreled Ruger 10/22. Generally groups are in the .3's, with that rifle and ammo. I don't like to waste it, as I'll never find anymore of that stuff. It was made in 1992, so it's older ammo. I'm actually happy the new rifle shoots the cheap stuff well, as well as the bulk pack hollow point ammo. That's one criteria I look for, when I look for a good 22lr rifle. However, generally those are the ones that are said to have sloppy tolerances. I'm not sure if that is true or not, but I always love it when a rifle shoots Federal Automatch and American Eagle h.p's well right out of the box. As for the CCI standard velocity "target" ammo, that has really been hit and miss with everything I've tried it in. I know guys rave about how it does. The only rifle that really loved it was my Savage MK II FVT that I just traded. I might just take the few boxes I have left and give it to the nice lady that I traded my Savage to. I think her husband wanted for himself. He said he loves the aperture sights and that you don't ever see them anymore.

As for the rifle and it's precision, in the back of my mind I'm wondering how it would shoot with an epoxy pad out toward the forend. IE: non freefloated, or barrel bedded? Wondering if anyone has messed with that on a CZ? On the other hand, I'm just happy it's not throwing weird fliers. I'm looking forward to working with this rifle a little more, but don't want to shim the bolt or get crazy with it, like needlessly installing a Lilja or something like that.

I also look forward to hearing how K22's rifle shoots. Maybe he can throw in some 10 shot groups, and tell us what ammo works best for him. I'd appreciate that!!! I need to get some more SK match ammo of some sort, or even some Eley target ammo. I've also had very good luck with Norma match ammo in multiple rifles. I'm very limited on my match grade 22lr ammo at the moment.