Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires CZ 457 American

Great shooting! Those groups with the RWS sub and SK std plus look great. It may be hard to find anything that does better but half the fun is in trying.

I'm still waiting for some decent conditions to test mine - if it gets into the 30's it is windy and if it isn't windy then it is in the teens. I have some SK std plus that I am looking forward to trying, so far the little shooting I have done has been with TAC 22 and CCI S/V and they both are around 1/2" for 5 shots @ 50 yds.

You fixed a couple of things I don't like about the 457, I was disappointed to see that the cocking indicator is plastic and also that the ejector is plastic. Neither are likely a big deal but they just seem cheap, in particular I suspect that the ejector will eventually wear.
I am not a fan of the firing pin spring being exposed like it is, most all of my ground squirrel shooting takes place in areas where there is a lot of fine dust and I can see the possibility of a lot of dust build-up in that area.

drover

That shooting reflects very well on the shooter as well as the rifle!

Good info. Looks like some 5 shot groups. Were any of them 10 shot groups?? Also, a measurement of the groups would be cool!! I was looking at a write up about the CZ 457 American, the other day, and the writer shot quite a few 10 shot groups. Those groups were averaging somewhere around .8". That RWS and SK standard look to be shooting quite well. Thanks for posting..

American Rifleman CZ 457 American review

Yes, those are very good groups that were fired in that American Rifleman review of the 457. Note: the test protocol for American Rifle rimfire rifle reviews requires firing five (5) consecutive 10-shot groups at 50 yards. That's a damn tough test! In the case of the AR 457 review, the aggregate average of all those groups for the three (3) types of ammo (15 groups of 10 shots each or 150 rounds total) averaged 0.77 inches! For anyone that poohs poohs that result, try it sometime and remember, you don't get to throw out any 'called flyers' - all shots count.

I've seen some warped cocking indicators, but I had already planned on changing it. The firing pin is on my list to see what can be improved there also.

Thanks for compliments. These days I really have to concentrate when shooting groups. I can remember when it used to come so easy.
I briefly considered shooting 10 round groups but instead opted for 2 or more 5 shot groups. At some point I'll do some 10rd. groups so I can compare it to my Kimbers and the custom 581/541 of which I've shot 10rd groups. The Kimbers and the Rem. I've shot 40rd. groups and all were under a 1/2" so that will be a challenge for the CZ.
From outside to outside of the black of the black portion of the bullseye is 1.125". I almost never measure my groups, not sure why, and I almost never take photos of critters I've shot. It's only been in the last 7 or 8yrs. that I've even taken photo's of rifles I own or owned. Guess I'm just not a picture snapper.

Overall, this 457 shoots pretty decent and that makes it easier to like it.

As best I remember we were getting out butts kicked by the Russians in the Olympic small bore competition. The Russians were picking up all their brass. One of our shooters managed to snag a couple of fired rounds and Federal analized the brass and produced the Gold Medal Match ammo. The dimple in the base was supposed to aid in the priming compound being spread equally around the rim.
It was the most accurate ammunition I ever fired in my 40x and several other rifles. Again relying on an old mans memory Federal got sued and had to stop making it. It is indeed good stuff.

Success!.. second times the charm apparently... received the new 457 American 22 WMR last Thursday... wood looks real decent, curved grain in the rear with some attractive character marks & color variations, some tiger stripe in the grip area, and straight grain on the fore end... early observations, barrel is not centered in the channel, wood grain is not filled, trigger has a bit of creep but otherwise felt good... all easy to fix/adjust... getting serious shopping for glass & mounts... too many choices!!!

Congratulations, any pictures?

i snapped a few pics with a flip phone, dont know if any are post worthy? (certainly not bsa quality)... i dont have the skills to post them, so it will require a PM with a # to text them to, i can make an attempt later this evening if anyone is interested...

Oh dang. That explains a lot. I was reading where it was cost related as well. As the brass required more steps, because it is dimpled in the middle. Seems like a great concept though, to get the priming mix more evenly around the rim of the cartridge where it's actually needed. I really wish I had more of the dang stuff. I know this is a CZ thread, but I recently bought an old Winchester model 320 bolt action, and that rifle also loves that old Federal Gold Medal match:


Now, that damn rifle really impressed me. Almost as smooth functioning as my new CZ 457 American, but cost much less, and appears to be shooting more consistently:



Weather was crap at the range, but I still went out and shot the new to me rifle.


I'll get back to messing around with the CZ 457 American, as that is the rifle I've been wanting for the last couple years. However, if it came down to getting rid of the Winchester vs. the CZ, I'd keep the Winchester. Not to muddy the CZ 457 thread, but that is my feeling when comparing the accuracy between the 2. 2 damn good rifles from different era's that offer a lot for the money. But at the moment, the new to me Winchester 320 checks more boxes for me.

As we know, every rifle is different. My 52C based silhouette rifle preferred RWS R50 by a large margin over that dimpled Gold Medal ammo when I shot both back in the 90s. Fortunately the old blue box Remington standard velocity ammo shot nearly as well as the R50 and was very usable for practice. Wish I still had that rifle. Sold it to fellow Campfire member from Arizona, Thomas Magnum, many years ago.

I’m posting the pictures for 7mm_Loco’s, here is his new CZ 457 American in 22 WMR.

Thank's Namuh, i tried to send several more pics but the phone refused to cooperate... likely caused by my ignorance with tech... there's a good reason i never post pics...

Yes, we know every rifle is different. But to find an ammo that works very well in every rifle you've tried it in, speaks very highly of that ammo. It's obvious that some guys think a certain ammo should work well in these CZ's, for example. The fact that mine hates the RWS really hits a nerve with some. As soon as I find some RWS 50, I'll try that in my rifle. That RWS that I recently found is very old. There may actually be an issue with that ammo. When I shoot it, I can hear a difference in report from shot to shot. That says a lot right there, as well. I remember trying some RWS semi auto in one of my new 10/22 clones, and that dang rifle loved it. I wish I still had some of that to try in my new CZ. You can tell when a rifle hates a certain ammo. Trying different torque settings, for example, just to get one type of ammo to shoot well, is futile at best. Sorry to say.

There's a reason I started a thread on which ammo shot the most consistently in our rifles. Keeping in mind, that it isn't always the most expensive ammo that shoots the best. That's why we test as many different kinds of ammo as we can in these rimfires.

Another ammo that shot extremely well in all of my rifles was the Eley Club Xtra.


Also, some older SK match gold was excellent. Even though the lube had all but dried up:



Wolf match target seems to be very consistent. Where some of the Wolf Match Extra seems to get a lot of fliers. A consistent ammo is a godsend. The ones that get many/any fliers should only be used for practice, and not for shooting any matches. Some rifles, I could grab a box of Federal Automatch and do well enough. Probably like you did with the old blue box Remington. I actually found a few boxes of the old blue box Remington "target" ammo last month. One brick in Reno, and another couple bricks in town. That ammo I found was made in the late 80's. After reading some reviews, I decided not to buy it.

Norma Tac22 is loved by many, but I've found that to be so damn inconsistent in some of my rifles, that it's not even used for practice!!!
Savage MK2 FVT:



New to me stainless 10/22 clone:


I almost threw a few boxes right in the trashcan, a while back. But after shooting it in my new Winchester 320 today, I'll keep it around just to shoot it in that rifle. That's the thing about these dang rimfires: You just never know what they are going to like, and nothing is written in stone. If it is, please show me where that is!!!

That one is a little "muddy" looking, like you said. I look forward to hearing how it shoots though.. As much as it sounds like I may be bashing on my new CZ, I actually really like it. I love how it functions. But I will go back to what I've said before. I will not replace the barrel, I am not going to mess with the action screw torque. A good rifle should shoot very well, with just tightening the action screws, not messing around with them. A rifle that benefits from that, is a rifle that is sick. I may glass bed mine down the road, but for right now, it seems to be sitting in the stock very solidly. I'm not an engineer, but I work on rifles a lot. Probably more than most here. The design of the pillars on these rifles is good. EVEN though they are plastic. I tend to hate anything that is plastic on a rifle, but as long as the pillars are, they are plenty strong enough. Couple that with the density of these stocks, and it's strong. If the stock felt like it was crushing under 30 inch pounds of action screw torque, something would be insanely wrong with the rifle and system. However, it's pretty strong, from what I can tell. I'd be the first one to glass bed one of these actions, if I thought it absolutely needed it.

Speaking of plastic parts on these CZ's, I still don't like the magazine. This is coming from a guy that uses the hell out of Tikka's and their plastic mags. These CZ mags just seem cheaper than hell to me. I'll eventually change mine out for a steel mag. Even though someone said the plastic ones are better. I sure the hell hope not!!

Really, if you have to start putting in bolt shims and barrel shims and ridiculous stuff like Lilja barrels to make a factory rifle shoot well, at that point it becomes a money pit. To me, the best route to take is find an ammo that the rifle shoots real well, stick with that ammo, and rock on. If mine likes cheap azzed Federal Automatch, or American Eagle/Federal hollow points better than RWS, so be it. I'll actually take that as a win!! Contrary to what some think.

You’re welcome, if you have anymore you can try again no problem.

Thank's for your patience, a woman i know says i have too many old pics stored in the phone, so it wont send pics reliably ?... i may take you up on your offer after clearing out some old pics tomorrow.. i obviously need some formal schooling with this stuff instead of just trying to wing it!... kind'a feel like Jed Clampett...

Your stock is definitely better looking than most. Very little to no mud.
Looking forward to hearing how it shoots.

I'm quite sure you would know.
Just for informational purposes, this is what I did for a living for many years of which tuning and testing was a part of it, so I've done one or two in my past. Do I consider myself the absolute expert? No. Always room to learn more. What dog I may have had in this fight I am removing so this thread can move forward. Testing ammo is always fun.