Got to try out my new gun

[u/SocksOfDeath]

Picked up a CZ 457 Varmint on Friday and had to try it out asap. The wood on the stock is gorgeous, I’m not sure if they accidentally used a nicer grade on it but it’s the best patterning I’ve seen on a rifle.

Only put about a hundred rounds through it so far. I’m a little let down by how poorly it was grouping at 50 yards. I’m sure some of it is me being unfamiliar with it but I can get much nicer groups out of my wife’s 10/22. Middle groups were with subsonic Eley and seemed to be the best so far.

Don’t judge the scope mounting, I quickly threw it on at the range last minute. It will soon live on my preordered Makasi.

[u/kestik]

The cz 457 can be extremely picky about ammo. Others at my range need to run expensive Eley club, Eley biathlon, SK match, etc, through theirs while mine shoots tightest with a $6 box of S&B Canadian Match. My recommendation is go buy like 10 different boxes of ammo and start running groups to find what yours likes best.

Congrats on the rifle, it's such a fantastic rifle imo.

[u/SocksOfDeath → u/kestik]

I’ve got 8 new ones to try next time out, but I’ll grab those too and see how they perform. Hopefully something will agree with it!

The bolt takes a bit more force to lock than it looks like other people online need. Is that normal from it being new or something that I need to address?

[u/BuyRelevant1000 → u/SocksOfDeath]

My 457 varmint eats anything, FWIW

[u/kestik → u/SocksOfDeath]

Not sure how much force but mine is stiff as well. It's a match chamber in the varmint with the heavy barrel so it's tight. I wouldn't say mine feels unusually stiff though so maybe not quite normal? Also as /u/BuyRelevant1000 mentioned below, mine also eats pretty much anything, just some ammo groups tighter than others - in my case I got lucky that the cheap stuff performs so well for me.

[u/SocksOfDeath → u/kestik]

I would say it’s stiff but I don’t have a frame of reference for what it should feel like as it’s my first bolt action. Doesn’t seem like it’s binding on anything, so maybe it is just the tight tolerances?

[u/Whispersfine → u/SocksOfDeath]

Match chamber is very tight. It’s perfectly normal

[u/No_Fox_6868 → u/kestik]

Do you clean the gun between each box?

[u/kestik → u/No_Fox_6868]

Not really. We tested 3 ammo types in one session, cleaned and tried another 2 +1 from the first 3 another day, cleaned then tried 1 more plus the same first type (S&B Canadian Match because we were shocked it grouped better than anything put up against it).

[u/CanadianLanBoy → u/kestik]

Also had very good experiences with Canadian Match in my 457 Training Rifle. It's just rebadged S&B Club. Kinda makes sense that Czech match ammo shoots well out of Czech match rifles :)

[u/Current-Speed4096]

I have a Canada edition of 457, the red wood furniture is absolutely gorgeous.

[u/Hoth-Wampa]

Check your action screws, should be around 25 inch-pounds for wood stock. Try Norma TAC-22, works really good on my MTR.

[u/SocksOfDeath → u/Hoth-Wampa]

I’ll check that out, thank you for the tip

[u/TheOriginalFarmboy → u/Hoth-Wampa]

I love TAC-22. Only subsonic that will cycle my semi reliably.

[u/Dhcbchef]

Really pretty rifle.

[u/SocksOfDeath → u/Dhcbchef]

Thank you! My first wood stock and it’s a banger

[u/Whispersfine]

Have you tried cci standards? This is nice grouping for sure.

This what my CA Ranger 22 did at 50 yards. The best grouping was done by Norma tac22. RWS is a tad less accurate but it could be me.

Try different flavors until you find the best one and buy bulk.

[u/SocksOfDeath → u/Whispersfine]

I haven’t but I’ll give them a shot. Was using the cci blazers for the first 50 or so as they group really well out of the wife’s gun.

[u/Whispersfine → u/SocksOfDeath]

I think you’ll have better results from standard. I have a 457 American and it loves cci standards

[u/SwordJabbingAction]

In addition to the other comments about action screws and ammo variety, remember that a barrel will have a "seasoning" period. I'm no expert but a few hundred rounds down the barrel will break down the factory imperfections in rifling.

[u/CanadianLanBoy]

The 457 has a "match" style bore, meaning it's tighter than .22, to the point that normal .22 cleaning rods physically don't fit in the bore. It is a bit picky

IME, for whatever reason, I've had good luck with euro match/club ammo. Mine likes S&B club (Canadian match), eley and SK offerings also perform very well.

My gun doesn't like American stuff although federal champion is good 'nuff blattenfodder

[u/Swellchapo95]

Why do people always put cantilever mounts on bolt guns lol

[u/SocksOfDeath → u/Swellchapo95]

Was just temporary as I already had it in there. It’s now mounted on some lower rings for when I get out again this week.