Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires CZ 457 American

BSA,

Understand on the trigger pull - I have my hunting rifles set around 2lbs give or take and my “target” rifles set lower (or set triggers).

That Federal ammo you have is the UM1 stuff? Man I wish I would have known anything back in those days as I would have bought as many cases of that stuff as possible - I’ve only found a few types of ammo that could equal that stuff over the years and it was MUCH more expensive!! The Federal I was talking about was the “new” 711b ammo. It is shooting better than my Norma Tac (which shoots very well) and some of my SK standard ammo. Really like the stuff so far - finding it around $80/500 which is substantially higher than Norma Tac and more in the SK Match range.

I’m looking forward to both some more range reports from you with any different ammo types you come up with and K22s reports!!

Thanks for the information and sharing the results!!

PennDog

I have three CZ 457`s .A MTR 22LR , Varmint 22 Mag and Varmint 17 HMR .I need an American in 22LR . The triggers are easily adjusted to 1 1/2 pounds using the trigger pull screw and sear engagement screw . I actually got them to 1 pound ,but that was too light for my sausage fingers .

You guys here are always very helpful. I appreciate what you guys offer as well. You guys love shooting, and that is appreciated too!!!

The Federal GMM ammo I have is unique. In that I've never seen it anywhere, until the day I bought it. That was a couple years ago, and cost $45.00 for the brick. I would have bought more if they would have had it. The shop I buy a lot of match grade 22lr from sells ammo on consignment, or they buy old ammo and resell it, so you never know what is going to come in. I've found some old hard to find match grade ammo there, so it's always fun to share those results with you guys. Here's what the Federal looks like:



I found a date on the box, that said 1992, when I first bought it. I thought it was cool, and then realized how cool it really was after shooting it.

I'll definitely keep an eye out for some of the new Federal Gold Medal Match ammo, as I would like to stay true to Federal, as I've had so much good luck with that brand of 22lr ammo.

That's pretty light. I generally have to think about the people that may be shooting with me, so I keep them very safe. Don't want to have an accidental discharge or any other accident happen with too light of a trigger. If you can adjust them down that low and keep them safe, that is great.

Recently I posted a thread on a Sako rifle that I recently bought, and one of our well known posters said you can't safely go under 3 pounds with that trigger. I told him I adjusted it down to 2 5/8 pounds, and I think some members felt that was unsafe. As with everything, it also depends on the rifle. As we know every rifle is its own entity. Some may go lighter and still be safe, while others will not be. I'm pretty diligent when adjusting a trigger. I'll adjust it down to where it is barely safe, so I know where the line is. I'll then adjust it so the sear engagement remains safe, and I'll also get rid of all the creep I can. I also don't like a lot of overtravel.

Also, keeping all of my triggers around the same pull weight ensures that when I switch from rifle to rifle, there will be no guessing or getting used to a different trigger. If that makes any sense. I like to bring multiple rifles to the range, and often duel them or pit them up against one another to see which one shoots better. I don't want a trigger to limit the mechanical accuracy or my muscle memory when going from one rifle to the next.

I know that sounds anal, but the second I have to think about my trigger, means that trigger needs some adjusting. The Sako I mentioned earlier slightly falls into that category. I wished the damn thing was more like a Tikka!!!!!!!! The guys that love the old Sako's are probably set in their ways enough that they are extremely biased. Too hard headed to want to admit that the Sako is not the rifle they think it is. Often said the Sako rivals the pre 64. They are nice, but let's not get carried away!!!!! ha ha.. Rant over.

On the triggers I could adjust two 457s a little below 2 lbs but they didn’t pass the bump test and like you BSA I was more concerned about safety. That’s, of course, only a small sample and maybe I missed something in the adjustment process that caused that - the springs were a super easy exchange and the triggers were reliable at the weight they were at.

Also BSA that ammo I believe is UM1 or UM2 (should be marked on the end label). That was the stuff that was supposedly made for the USA Olympic team (or so I was lead to believe?). I haven’t shot all the American made ammo but in the years I have shot it is at a whole other level for accuracy! I have about two boxes of that left🥴. Watched a couple of bricks of that sell a few years ago for $400/brick (out of my league!!).

PennDog

Yes, I believe you are right. I think it says US olympic team on it. It's been great ammo. I'm going to be crying when I shoot the last box!!!! Holy cow, I can't imagine paying $400/brick for it though!!!

Wasn't the Federal Gold Medal actually made by RWS? Seems I recall reading that.

RWS and Norma ammo is partnered somehow. RWS being made in Germany, but don't think they made the Federal Gold Medal Match ammo. As far as I know Lapua also used a similar priming system as this Federal GMM, with the dimple in the middle of the case. As far as the research goes, that I've done, the older Federal ammo like what I have was made in America by Federal. It was quite the operation from what I hear. I did see where the newer Federal Ultra Match is/was made by RWS on the R50 production line. It is made to Federal specifications, but from what I've heard, is not quite as good as the older stuff I have pictured. It would be fun to research it further.

Those are called knots

Yes... and damn ugly knots they were...

Good post Jim. Do you have any targets to share with the crowd? I'm really liking my new rifle. It feeds so smoothly, it surprises me. Reminds me more of my new to me Winchester 52 sporter than anything else. I'm still trying to get used to the funky plastic magazine though. I think I'll eventually buy a steel mag or 2 for mine.

A lot of good posts in this thread, but minimum targets posted. I also like how your rifle shoots the Federal Automatch ammo very well. Mine is doing the same, which is exactly what I look for in 22lr. I'd rather a rifle shoots the cheap stuff real well, than have one that doesn't. Mostly because ammo like that is much easier to find at the local Wally world. I know some guys bad mouth Automatch, but it's some of my favorite plinking ammo. It's turned in some damn impressive groups in all of my rifles. The Kidd barreled 10/22 has shot it into the .3's, the new Winchester model 52 sporter has shot it into the .5's, and the Savage's love it.

It seems like there have been many guys say they just got one of these, but with no targets posted, except for mine the other day. This CZ 457 is actually pretty well thought out. I like how you can switch barrels, and even go to 17 HMR, HM2, or 22WMR. That is pretty dang ingenious on their part, and beneficial to its customers.

Later today, I'm going to work on the barrel channel on mine, a little more. The barrel is not perfectly centered, and I want to make sure it's totally freefloated. Enough that when I put a bi-pod on it, that the stock does not slap the barrel.

CZ magazines - I have had a 452 for over 20 years and when I purchased spare mags for it I purchased the polymer mags, I prefer them over the metal mags, IMO they feed smoother than the metal mags do. Wear on them has not been an issue and neither has breakage.

Federal UM ammo - from my memory the dimple design was copied from the Russiam match ammo that they were kicking our butts with in international matches. Federal took the dimple design and incorporated into their ammo and developed the UM for the US teams., IIRC they did quite well with it.
I do recall reading an interview with a Federal manager when they quit making it and when he was asked why the reply was that the market was so small and manufacturing it was so costly that they were losing money on it - just too specialized of a market at the time.

Tightening groups with the CZ 457 American - the American has rather sharp (grabby) checkering on the bottom of the fore-end which catches on the seams or the front bag (Protektor) and on other frontbags, depending on the type of bag material it will catch on the material itself, which is bad for accuracy since the recoil is already starting to occur before the bullet leaves the barrel.
I cut group size and got rid of flyers by using a folded micro-fiber cloth laid on top of the front bag. It has been too windy the last few days to do any testing but when the wind dies down in a few days I will establish a baseline for the micro-fiber and then try a folded towel on the front bag to see hoif there is a'y improvement over the micro-fiber.

At this time it looks like it wants to shoot 1/2" ten shot groups at 50 yards but the only ammo I have tried is CCI S/V and TAC 22 (red box), that seems to be about the limit of those ammos accuracy in any of my 22's.
Once I am satisfied that I have a valid baseline with those two I will try some midgrade match ammo. Although ten shot 1/2" groups at 50 yards from a sporter is nothing to be sneezed at, the only other 22 LR sporters I have had that would do that were my Cooper 57, Tikka T1X, and Anschutz 1710.

drover

bsa1917hunter,

What was the distance you shot the targets with the CZ? My apologies if it was written and I missed it.

Thinking about buying either the Tikka T1X or the CZ457 American as they both are offered in left hand. There are things I like about each one.

I have owned both during the past two years.

After thorougly testing and examining both guns, I would take the CZ 457 without hesitation.

Mike, those were shot at 50 yards. That's generally what I shoot my rimfires at. The club I belong to always has their rimfire shoots at that distance, so that is where I do my testing at. I just finished freefloating the barrel a little better. I hate it when a barrel rides against one side of the barrel channel. Wasn't much, but enough to erk me..

Next time out I'll try shooting it off a bipod.

drover, I use a terry cloth hand towel on my front rest, same as I do with my Kimber Montana rifles. As you stated, it allows the rifles to recoil freely without hanging up on the bag. It will certainly improve the groups. I shot mine the first time without the hand towel and afterwards noticed the checkering had little pieces of some kind of debris caught up in the checking from the front leather rest.

I don't mess around with that kind of crap. Different strokes I guess.. A 22lr doesn't recoil enough to make any kind of difference in regards to that type of stuff. Maybe I'll try a terry cloth between the stock and bi-pod.

The cloth on the bag was posted as a helpful hint for those mere mortals who may not be as skilled as you.

drover

Thank you for the info. I am not crazy about the 24” barrel but I do like the looks. Thinking about shooting it in CMP Sporter matches. I have a Savage MK II that is a good shooter, but sometimes you just need another one.

bsa1917hunter, thanks for the reply. It appears to be a good shooter.

After more changes to the CZ 457, I love making changes to a rifle, especially if it improves the rifle, the weather cooperated today so after I got back from some Bluegrass jamming with some buddies I took the CZ out for another test drive. I look forward to bedding and re-pillaring it, but haven't gotten to it yet. I did change the cocking indicator from plastic to stainless steel and at the same time replaced the striker spring to a heavier one. That of course up the trigger pull slightly so I'll have to do some more trigger adjusting. I also replaced the magazine well from plastic to aluminum, other than that, it's bone stock.......LOL.
While the weather was pretty nice today, 70 degrees, the Sun was directly in my eyes which makes shooting for accuracy a real challenge. Usually I put up a barrier to block the Sun, but didn't do it today.
So far it is shooting the RWS Sub. and Sk Standard Plus real well. CCI SV not so well, Fiocchi Sub was ok, and Norma Sub not so well. I've got plenty of other types to try next time I go out. CCI Sub. usually shoot ok in most of mine, Tac 22 I save for the Rem 504, it really loves them, PMC Moderator is a huge favorite of mine with most of my rimfires liking it. There's many, many more I've acquired over the years so I'll be giving them all a try at some point.