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CZ 457
- Thread starter A-Rob
- Start date
Just received and installed this bottom metal from @Thesepaperwings at L3i. The part is well made and really helps with mag insertion. It also comes with an extended mag release, which you will need once the metal is installed. I will say that I struggled with the release installation, not because of the part, but because of my ham fisted fingers, and I knew I was going to loose that stupid little spring. Simple installation, but like a lot of gun stuff, a little spring going into a blind hole and line it all up under spring tension and insert the pin. After getting frustrated, I put it down and thought about it, then installed the lever without the spring. Easy peasy. I took a silver sharpie and made a dot, half and half on the lever and bottom metal. Disassembled the lever, put a blob of grease on the spring to hold it in the hole, reassembled it, lined up the dot halves and slid the pin in. Why didn’t I think of that first. Anyway, it is so much better, and is so much easier to load. Thanks L3i for a great part, and maybe I helped some of you home smiths out there.
Thanks so much for the support! We're an extremely small company ( 3 people) with very limited resources (most things are packaged on the kitchen table). We absolutely love this sport and hobby so it's awesome to be able to contribute to it.
Definitely going to look into your bottom metal!
Stoked to try this out!
Snagged the grand prize raffle at NRL22 nats. MCR barreled action with a ACC gen2 & Timney.
Hoping to do a side by side comparison with my DPG CZ
I was watching the feed and saw you got it. Congrats. Feel free to give me a call with any questions.
Will do! And thank you so much for supporting the match! I think I saw more MCR barrels out there than anything, awesome to see you doing so well in the rimfire community!
Balances great with no weights. That 24 x 1.18” barrel and the Gen2 ACC is a pretty good pairing…
For those who don't check all the posts in the rimfire forum, L3i just released a 24" 1.180 Match Barrel for the 457.
Post about it: https://www.snipershide.com/shooting/threads/new-cz-457-24-1-180-match-barrel-from-l3i.7223068/
https://l3idesignsolutions.com/product/cz-457-drop-in-barrel/
Post about it: https://www.snipershide.com/shooting/threads/new-cz-457-24-1-180-match-barrel-from-l3i.7223068/
https://l3idesignsolutions.com/product/cz-457-drop-in-barrel/
It’s always a good thing when another quality supplier enters the market. Good to see.
Had both rifles disassembled and figured I’d post pics if the inletting differences between the ACC gen1 and gen2. The gen2 is definitely a lot beefier (that said I haven’t seen my gen1 be much of an issue).
Being a pre-release chassis, all things are subject to change by MDT
Being a pre-release chassis, all things are subject to change by MDT
Finally got out to shoot both rifles at the same time in the same conditions. Had to steal the scope of my centerfire rig, but I’m into rimfire mode now anyway.
Independent review, but I’ll try to not let my massive appreciation for @jelrod1 @ MCR-rifles.com for donating this barreled action & trigger and MDT for donating the pre-release chassis to the NRL22 National Championship match bias my comments. You folks make some kickass, quality stuff and your support of the sport is hugely appreciated!
Blue rifle: DPG thermal fit 24 x 1.10”, ACC gen1 w/1.5 lbs up front & aluminum butt plate, Razor gen3 on an MDT 40 MOA rail, Timney flat trigger. ~1k down the tube if I had to guess.
Black rifle: MCR built barreled action Muellerworks 24 x 1.18”, ACC gen2, Razor gen3 on an MDT 20 MOA rail, Timney flat trigger. Brand spanking new.
Both shot off a ckye pod (LW double) and heavy Schmedium rear bag. Same lot of Center-X, only a few minutes apart. I’m not a benchrest shooter, just an NRL/PRS shooter and was cracking out 5 shot groups as soon as I got stable. No adjustments for wind.
Both shot well. Only had a few shots out of each that wasn’t my fault at each distance. Further ammo testing and lot testing might be able to tighten things up a smidge, but either are super good enough for my needs. The MCR might get even better after some more seasoning. Pretty awesome to see a slip fit heavy barrel shoot this well.
MDT ACC Chassis comparison:
Gen1
Pros:
• Longer forend = easier to balance
• Magwell covers edges of factory magwell, making it a direct funnel
• Tool-less adjustments
Cons:
• Heavier buttstock = more weight needed up front for balance
• More flexible forend
• Rear magwell filler needed for easier/faster reloads (I have a 3D printed wedge in mine)
• Snug access to mag release
Gen2:
Pros:
• Super stiff forend
• Lighter buttstock
• Barricade stop cutout for sausage finger access to mag release
• Extended mag release and rear magwell guide included
Cons:
• Short LOP - maxes out at ~13.5” out of the box, had to make a 1/2” spacer and get longer 3” 10-32 screws to fit me
• Shorter forend is harder to balance, but now that we can get proper heavy barrels, little to no weight is needed.
• Magwell spacer required some filing to allow clearance for L3i billet mags
• Magwell sides don’t cover factory magwell, making a catch for mags while inserting them.
• Grip is tiny and has lots of sharp edges. Feels like it’ll be a throwaway for most. MDT’s good grips are $$$.
I’m not sure which chassis I’ll run moving forward. Both have some solid pros and cons to them. Would love to see an Elite inlet for the CZ. I’d pay the premium to get R-Lock, better adjustments, a fully dialed magwell, the better grip and stay.
Little bit of material removed from magwell filler to allow clearance for L3i mags. This is off the back side, where the chassis makes contact with the filler piece.
Independent review, but I’ll try to not let my massive appreciation for @jelrod1 @ MCR-rifles.com for donating this barreled action & trigger and MDT for donating the pre-release chassis to the NRL22 National Championship match bias my comments. You folks make some kickass, quality stuff and your support of the sport is hugely appreciated!
Blue rifle: DPG thermal fit 24 x 1.10”, ACC gen1 w/1.5 lbs up front & aluminum butt plate, Razor gen3 on an MDT 40 MOA rail, Timney flat trigger. ~1k down the tube if I had to guess.
Black rifle: MCR built barreled action Muellerworks 24 x 1.18”, ACC gen2, Razor gen3 on an MDT 20 MOA rail, Timney flat trigger. Brand spanking new.
Both shot off a ckye pod (LW double) and heavy Schmedium rear bag. Same lot of Center-X, only a few minutes apart. I’m not a benchrest shooter, just an NRL/PRS shooter and was cracking out 5 shot groups as soon as I got stable. No adjustments for wind.
Both shot well. Only had a few shots out of each that wasn’t my fault at each distance. Further ammo testing and lot testing might be able to tighten things up a smidge, but either are super good enough for my needs. The MCR might get even better after some more seasoning. Pretty awesome to see a slip fit heavy barrel shoot this well.
MDT ACC Chassis comparison:
Gen1
Pros:
• Longer forend = easier to balance
• Magwell covers edges of factory magwell, making it a direct funnel
• Tool-less adjustments
Cons:
• Heavier buttstock = more weight needed up front for balance
• More flexible forend
• Rear magwell filler needed for easier/faster reloads (I have a 3D printed wedge in mine)
• Snug access to mag release
Gen2:
Pros:
• Super stiff forend
• Lighter buttstock
• Barricade stop cutout for sausage finger access to mag release
• Extended mag release and rear magwell guide included
Cons:
• Short LOP - maxes out at ~13.5” out of the box, had to make a 1/2” spacer and get longer 3” 10-32 screws to fit me
• Shorter forend is harder to balance, but now that we can get proper heavy barrels, little to no weight is needed.
• Magwell spacer required some filing to allow clearance for L3i billet mags
• Magwell sides don’t cover factory magwell, making a catch for mags while inserting them.
• Grip is tiny and has lots of sharp edges. Feels like it’ll be a throwaway for most. MDT’s good grips are $$$.
I’m not sure which chassis I’ll run moving forward. Both have some solid pros and cons to them. Would love to see an Elite inlet for the CZ. I’d pay the premium to get R-Lock, better adjustments, a fully dialed magwell, the better grip and stay.
Little bit of material removed from magwell filler to allow clearance for L3i mags. This is off the back side, where the chassis makes contact with the filler piece.
I just added a Boyd AT1 stock and was wondering about bedding it. Any advice?
Won’t hurt, but might not help either. Try it and see. I’d go for pillars as well.
.17hmr
.22lr
Have a 22wmr tube ready in the rear..just need another lefty action.
.22lr
Have a 22wmr tube ready in the rear..just need another lefty action.
I love surprise text messages from Modacam. My rifle isn’t quite done yet but getting closer. The barrel is a MullerWorks 13t 1.25” straight finished at 25”.
Sweet! That 1.25" is THICK. He's got my action now, I can't wait for a text from him.
Some more in-progress pics. The scope base is going to get relieved so it can slide forward.
Lots of people have tested and proved that a CZ with a good barrel can keep with Vudoo and RimX. The CZ 457 action quality is top notch and even slip fit match barrels like from places like Modacam or Lilja (an others) are on par with the best rimfires out there. The main reason to go Vudoo, RimX, or B14R is if you want a Remington 700 footprint. There are more options for chassis/stocks, triggers, and bolt knobs for that platform. Also, it can be used as a trainer for centerfire a little more effectively.
DPG does what you're talking about with truing up the receiver and threading a barrel onto it. I've only heard good things about Kenny's CZ 457 builds like this and most will agree that there's no loss in precision/accuracy going this route.
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I really want the 457 in a manners and I know a guy who will thread it and rebarrel and open up the stock. it may save me a couple thousand over a custom and be exactly what I want.
just mainly was making sure it would feed and eject as good as the big boys, plus not cause me any accuracy problems.
my savage b22 precision gives some pretty gnarly SD and ES with all ammo so I'm wary now, dunno if it's the crappy barrel or the super crappy action. super fun toy though.
The cool thing about the cz is that you don't have to thread to rebarrel. It is a pretty simple process to swap out a barrel if you have some basic tools. Put a Timney on and bottom metal from L3i for nice improvements while you have it apart. I have the vpt, and the original 16" barrel shoots good, but doesn't balance well on barricades and stuff, so I have one on order from L3i. Was a 12 week lead time so now we wait. I may have to open my barrel channel a little, but we will wait and see.
@Cody S , the stock CZ457 feeds and ejects generally better than many of the RimX and Voodoo action/magazine combinations until you fiddle with them.
The only time I’ve seen them have issues on the line is if the stock plastic bottom metal and magazine well starts to fail. If you replace that up front, feeding and ejection are money.
The only time I’ve seen them have issues on the line is if the stock plastic bottom metal and magazine well starts to fail. If you replace that up front, feeding and ejection are money.
I'm a big fan of the Manners CZ stocks. We have the older version without the adjustable butt stock and will be doing the something similar with opening the barrel channel and dropping in a heavy barrel (going with the L3i 1.180 barrel). Unless you mess with something within the action you won't have any issues with feeding or ejecting. One thing to note though is your chamber might affect how easily you can chamber some rounds. My vudoo is really hard to chamber cheap ammo in. Not a big deal, but something worth noting as I was using cheap Fiocchi ammo for the initial 1000 round "seasoning". It chambers Norma and SK just fine though so no complaints.
Like @502Chevelle said, you don't really need to have the barrel threaded to get great results. But it probably won't hurt. However if you're trying to keep the budget down a little more you could get great results with a lot of drop-in options. You can also have one thermal fitted - shank slightly oversized where the action is heated to expand the metal while fitting the barrel. This makes for a really solid lockup and is common practice on 10/22s.
There are a lot of reasons you could be seeing large numbers on SD and ES. Cheaper ammo, lower tolerance chamber, shorter barrel, firing pin design, headspace, etc will all factor into this. What ammo were you using on the B22?
CZ action donor rifle: $550
Krieger barrel blank: $400+
Barrel profile, chamber & crown: $300+
Can your guy cut threads in the hardened steel action and finish the tenon for less than $400? If not, you're money ahead just going for a DPG, and if they can, you're within a few hundred bucks of a known and proven package.
I've never had a CZ not feed (sample size 5). I've had one with weak ejection - swapping extractor & ejector with OEM parts solved that one. I've had aftermarket barrels (Lilja) cause major extraction issues. Chamber is critical for extraction performance in any rimfire.
The wait time sucks, but I'd buy a DPG all over again.
I've tried some lot tested(for other guns) Midas+ I've got, also some lapua long range and some RWS R50 that is a known performer. definitely rulled out ammo with the rws.
it grouped super well with the RWS r50 and decently well with the midas+
but other known barrels are getting an SD of 5 and I'm getting an SD of like 18 with the rws.
I have not touched the firing pin yet, will look into that next week thanks.
significantly less than dpg for my case. I will save a couple thousand doing the CZ route as opposed to a full custom I think and he's done several 457s, I was assuming they're all nitrided.
Interesting...like you said, for what you're shooting I wouldn't imagine the SD and ES would be that bad.
More build pics from Modacam. It’s almost there. He’s putting on some final touches. Looks like she’s a shooter.
Veeeery nice!! If I may ask, what chassis is that and is it ambi or available as left-handed?
I would put in the work to find a lefty 457 if I could put it in a decent stock/chassis.
It’s a Grey Birch La Chassis with the 16” rail. For a heavy barreled CZ I would recommend against it. The chassis had to be modified to clear the 1.25” barrel which in turn made the front way too flexible. You’ll have to reinforce the front end which mine is currently under the knife for before it heads out the door. That said I don’t think they have a LH model. I could be wrong.
First time poster.
Testing out my new LRP in the backyard.
Scope Vortex Viper 6.5 x 20 x 50 on Burris sig Zee rings. UTG 360 Bipod. The rest is bone stock straight outta the box.
Tested a few different ammos but the Eley Tenex won it for me @ 50 meters
Only put a small handfull of rounds through her and need to make a few adjustments to trigger, but for now its doing what its supposed to.
Testing out my new LRP in the backyard.
Scope Vortex Viper 6.5 x 20 x 50 on Burris sig Zee rings. UTG 360 Bipod. The rest is bone stock straight outta the box.
Tested a few different ammos but the Eley Tenex won it for me @ 50 meters
Only put a small handfull of rounds through her and need to make a few adjustments to trigger, but for now its doing what its supposed to.
Grey Birch makes it in a LH version. As 021411 pointed out the 16in forend is very flexible. I installed a 1/2x1x12in brass plate into the channe land sandwiched it with a generic 16in arca rail underneath. Stiffened it up nicely and balances extremely well with a 21in Lilja barrel. With the lack of choices for a LH457 chassis it's a viable option with a little work to the forend. Other than that it's a very solid well machined chassis.
Attachments
PDC makes a nice lefty chassis. I have the Grey Birch on a Ruger CSC 1022 and love it. I don’t. Price the flex when I’m shooting so it didn’t matter.
Speaking of.. Modacam made a small steel piece bolted on the inside that bridges the forend with the action part of the chassis. I also have a 17” universal rail from Area 419 installed. He said it stiffed it up by a lot.
She is definitely thick. The barreled action made it in yesterday. I had Jonathan send the chassis separately because of my distrust of having too many eggs in one basket with the postal service. The chassis is arriving Tuesday.
Although I already had a Timney trigger installed I wanted to try out a Jard. After tweaking the trigger with the middle weight spring installed I have it set to about 7 oz. There’s no discernible creep however there is definitely overtravel built in. If you’ve ever shot a Bix’n Andy trigger then you’ll know how it feels.
Here she finally is in all her glory. As pictured she weighs 17 lbs 4 oz and is well balanced with and without the bipod.
Quick and dirty shakedown with some CX I had. I know I can do better but was on a time crunch. I was focused on shooting something else and prepping for a match.
Their Backorders are always way overstated. I would place the order.
