CZ 457 American 22lr

[HuntClub]

A month ago my local dealer had one on the shelf - a rarity for them and it was the first one they had received in a year. After all of the research culminating with a decision last year to get the CZ 457 American when opportunity was there, I had it in hand and paused... Then we had our "Storm of a Lifetime" here in the Florida panhandle - 9.8" of snow - and the dealer was closed a couple of days. I showed up 10 minutes too late upon their reopening... the gun was just sold right before I arrived. Heart sank.

Friday, 2/14/25, I walked into the shop to see about a new suppressor, which they had. The owner behind the counter smiled at me and said, "Look at this," as he handed me another CZ 457 American that had arrived a couple of days earlier. Wow! Had my wife with me (Valentines) Day and handed her the rifle. She liked it. I bought it for her right then. And she gave the green light on the suppressor too! What a Day!

The CZ 457 will be topped with a Leupold 4x12-40 VX Freedom that has been sitting idle at home and will see plenty of range time... and squirrel time, too... I hope!

What is your experience with the CZ 457 American in 22lr?

 

[Dgd6mm]

I gave my wife a CZ457 American for Christmas in '23. Also under the tree was a Athlon Argos BTR 10-40.
She certainly enjoys it with Tac22 to SK Standard Plus. She doesn't compete but enjoys shooting 50 yard 5 shot groups or the ARA factory target. She has taken it out to 325 yards shooting steel and also like that.
Bipod and Protector tall ear bag.

 

[jwv2001]

Funny!!!!! On Feb. 14 I filled out the paperwork for a CZ 457 American 22LR. I got it for a good price, under $500. Now I have to wait 10 days to pick it up. Cooling-off period! Like I have to wait 10 days to shoot someone with my new CZ 457. That's California and that's infringement!

 

[jwv2001]

What are you doing for rings?

 

[HuntClub]

What are you doing for rings?

I ordered this and already have Leupold rings:

Warne Picatinny Scope Base 15 MOA CZ 457 11mm Matte Black

Warne Mountain Tech rails offer shooters the advantage of a consistent mounting platform across multiple firearms, enhanced ability to adjust proper eye...

www.midwayusa.com

 

[B Nettesheim]

They are really nice rifles, mine prefers cci mini mags. It’s plenty accurate for squirrels at 100 yards

 

[flatlander]

I bought my 457 American not long after they first came out - really liked the proportions of the sporter stock and the new features of the 457 action, including the fully adjustable trigger, bolt stop lever, 60* bolt lift, and the new investment cast trigger guard, which looks much nicer than the stamped ones on the 452-455 actions. And the action fed, extracted, and ejected very smoothly, with 100% reliability. The stock on mine also has some pretty wood. But, it didn't shoot worth a hoot, not with any of the std vel SK & Lapua ammo I tried in it, even though all that ammo shot great in my custom 40X repeaters. I borescoped the bbl and wasn't impressed with the lands in the leade - looked like the chamber was cut with a dull reamer, and the lands were 'smeared' rather than cut cleanly. The crown at the muzzle was also rather ragged, so I pulled the bbl, dialed it in on the 4-jaw in my lathe, and cut a new 11* target crown which cleaned up all the ragged appearance. The new crown did improve groups a tiny bit, but not being able to get any 5-shot groups at 50yds under 1-1/2" was not impressive...certainly not what I was looking for.

So, I ordered in a Shilen #5 select match ratchet blank, parted off the 1.20" diameter shank, and turned the transition radius down to form a fairly snug tenon. Chambered the Shilen with an EPS reamer, got the headspace set at .042", then cut the extractor slots with a slitting saw in the mill with the bbl held in the 3-jaw chuck of an Enco Super Spacer/indexer clamped to the mill table. I mixed some CeraKote graphite black & tungsten in an attempt to match the action's nitride finish, got the bbl de-greased, blasted, coated, and cured, then glued it into the 457's bbl socket with Loctite #609 retaining compound and let it set overnight. I know that sounds like a lot of work, but as mentioned, I was really impressed with the new 457 action, and the stock was really nice (not fancy like some of the 'wood lottery' winners I've seen posted on RFC, but still nice). I thought it was worth the cost & effort to find out how the rifle would shoot with a quality custom blank, and wasn't disappointed. The Shilen #5 contour is about 1/2lb heavier than the OEM pencil bbl, so I had to sand the bbl channel a bit larger, but the little bit of extra weight does feel good on this rifle, especially when shot offhand. Have never regretted giving this rifle a 2nd chance, and always enjoy getting it out to the range, whether just plinking, or trying to print some decent groups with it.

 

[HuntClub]

I didn't win the wood lottery with mine either. It's a bit dark for my preferred taste but I been thinking about trying to rub it out. Just waiting on picatinny rail to get scope mounted and head to the range. If it shoots I will likely just leave it alone and shoot like is. Pretty happy about having it though!

 

[DGP4]

I had the same bad experience with a CZ455 American when they first came out. My solution was a lot easier. A friend sold me an MTR Match barrel off his CZ 457 that he was switching for a Lilja for $150. Being a heavy barrel, I bought a beautifully bedded CZ 455 Varmint barrel from a gunsmith in North Carolina for $100. I now have a rifle that consistently shoots 3/8th inches at 50 yards with Norma Tac-22 ammo at $3 a box. Problem solved.

 

[TheCZKid]

First CZ I got was a 455 Varmint 22LR. It is beautiful gun, and shoots very accurately. Likes CCI Standard Velocity and Federal American Eagle very well, and Eley too. I ended up pillar bedding it, and love the tight smooth bolt. One thing that's nice, it they can shoot / be barreled to 22 LR, 22 Magnum or 17 HMR, and two screws to switch. Since I shoot sage rats I purchased a fluted CZ 17 HMR barrel and got mags for that, and it's an excellent shooter in that caliber as well.

 

[jepp2]

Since I'm nearly as skilled as @flatlander I refinished the stock on mine and put a Lilja 17 Mach2 barrel on it. Has been deadly on prairie dogs.

 

[flatlander]

jepp2 - that's a great looking stock, and I love the reddish tint of the wood, reminds me of some of the old pre-64 M70 stock color. Mind relating what you did to get the wood looking that nice?