CZ 457

[Greedus]

KRG Bravo for the CZ 457,

Is there any better source for best price other than KRG themselves? I found them on line, then the famous NOT IN STOCK at checkout.
My Pro Varmint shoots very well, better then I expected, 3/4 inch or better at 50 yards( sort of wondering if I should postpone the Lilja barrel on back order) just that the stock isn't comfortable to shoot, and heavy.

appreciate the input,

 

[DaveCo]

KRG Bravo for the CZ 457,

Is there any better source for best price other than KRG themselves? I found them on line, then the famous NOT IN STOCK at checkout.
My Pro Varmint shoots very well, better then I expected, 3/4 inch or better at 50 yards( sort of wondering if I should postpone the Lilja barrel on back order) just that the stock isn't comfortable to shoot, and heavy.

appreciate the input,

I just picked one up for my 457 from Snyder Precision (Cattleman99 on this site). Black Friday deal, shipped very quick.

KRG Bravo Chassis

snyderprecision.com

They're a KRG Dealer, so also have most of the add-ons you may want/need.

Hope this helps,

Dave

 

[AirGunShawn]

FMCDH,

That SCAR looks nice.....

Yes... the 457 trigger mod is super simple. Replace the trigger spring with one from McMaster Carr and lap the sear with some
9 and then 3 micron AO PSA film. Take 10 seconds to sand the ends of the trigger pin down to ease it's reinsertion. Back off screw
number 53 until you only have about three threads engaged and lock it down with the hex nut.
Use some silicon grease to hold the spring in place while you guide it into the housing and align it with screw center line number 53.
Screw #49 inward until the FP drops on an empty chamber. Then back it out by say 90* for starters. You should have a short, crisp
7 oz. trigger. ( #49 is labeled backwards. Turning in reduces the sear engagement )
Lapping the chrome blade takes about 40 minutes while the black blade takes less than 10 mins.

I used to provide kits that had all of the stuff required to do 4 trigger jobs. my spring was .014" wire and the Yo-Dave wire was .018"
About half the spring rate if I recall correctly.

I'm sure I have kits laying around or am happy to give you the information if you would like it.
I recommend putting on a Vudoo knob and an Anarchy Outdoors extended mag release too. Even the old Flaig ACE trigger shoes
#21` and #22 work really well. It's been a long time but you may need a Lumley 5-16-24 to M6-1 thread adapter as well.

 

[R_Swanson]

Hey guys, I want to pick one of these up. I have never been behind one. A couple questions:

- From my research it seems like there is no discernable difference in accuracy between the MTR and the standard varmint. Some guys see slightly better accuracy with the MTR, but others don't, so it seems like a toss up. Is that the consensus?

- Any feedback on the Manners stock on the Precision Trainer? 457's are hard to get ahold of, but you can get the Manners version.

- If I go with a Area419 rail, is a raised comb a must? Seems like it would be from looking at how high it is, but pics can be deceiving.

- This brings me back to a question about the Manners - if a raised comb is highly preferred, has anyone asked Manners if their adjustable cheek spacer works on this stock?

-Looks like the Varmint versions come with a 20.5" barrel vs the 16.5" of many of the other versions. Is the 20.5 preferred?

 

[AirGunShawn]

My MTR has cold bore issues. My At-One with the non match chamber out shoots the MTR. I have 3 of the 419 rails and have
no problem with them at all. I want the rifle to be comfortable to shoot and for it to fit me, not me contorting to fit the rifle.
I hated the small factory ball so I replaced it with a 419 knobs. Shortly after I replaced all three 419 knobs with Vudoo
knobs because they are somewhat nicer.
Have you considered the B14R steel bbl ? Why did you decide against it?

 

[WeeHooker]

I've been pretty happy with my stock CZ 457's. Enough so that I decided to put a custom CZ 457 project gun together from scratch. Started with a new American Synthetic 17 hmr and went from there. IBI 22" barrel, A419 rail, AA bolt knob and extended mag release.,15 oz factory trigger ( for now as my Timney order kept getting pushed out) . Couldn't decide so I tried both an Oryx and XLR 4.0 chassis . Ended up deciding on the Oryx. and added their ARCA rail and MTD grip. I got some good Black Friday deals so total investment is WELL under my $1200 budget (once I resell the XLR) . Hope to get it to the range this weekend and break it in. Anyway, just figured I'd share.

 

[R_Swanson]

My MTR has cold bore issues. My At-One with the non match chamber out shoots the MTR. I have 3 of the 419 rails and have
no problem with them at all. I want the rifle to be comfortable to shoot and for it to fit me, not me contorting to fit the rifle.
I hated the small factory ball so I replaced it with a 419 knobs. Shortly after I replaced all three 419 knobs with Vudoo
knobs because they are somewhat nicer.
Have you considered the B14R steel bbl ? Why did you decide against it?

Have never gotten on the Bergara bandwagon, their centerfire rifles are fine but I've never been impressed enough to buy one, so I havent looked into it much.

Why that over the 457 or T1x? Because of the 700 footprint or other reasons?

 

[lash]

- Any feedback on the Manners stock on the Precision Trainer? 457's are hard to get ahold of, but you can get the Manners version.

- If I go with a Area419 rail, is a raised comb a must? Seems like it would be from looking at how high it is, but pics can be deceiving.

I’ve only shot my MTR vs. my Savage Mark II BV, so cannot comment on your first questions.

Per the two questions above,
My preferences for stock style are almost always filled by Manners’ products, so I’d be biased.
I use the 419 rail on my MTR and for my face and scope, found that the simple addition of a 1/4” suede leather scope pad fits perfectly. Depending upon your cheekbone height, the Area 419 may or may not be slightly too high.

 

[R_Swanson]

I use the 419 rail on my MTR and for my face and scope, found that the simple addition of a 1/4” suede leather scope pad fits perfectly. Depending upon your cheekbone height, the Area 419 may or may not be slightly too high.

Right - this helps. I was more wondering if its a known thing, where most guys are adding comb height, etc. If its not thats good news.

 

[AirGunShawn]

Swan,
I just wanted a new .22 and found myself bidding on BG. The B14R looked decent enough so I thought I would give it a try.
Truly the only thing I knew before purchasing the Bergara was that my LGS guy was always talking them down.
I was unaware of the 700 footprint feature. Since I don't normally build guns, that feature carries little weight with me.
I don't tend to jump on band wagons either. I don't follow popular opinion and don't know what guns are popular this week.
My B14R shoots just as well as my V22 does. I have 3 457s, MTR, At-one and a Royal. I like the MTR the best. I didn't care for
the At-One or Royal once I got my hands on them. I considered a TX1 a few times, a pal of mine speaks very highly of them.
I believe he has three of them. I don't care for the stocks they have. Over all I feel like the B14R fits my needs pretty well from
the factory. I don't mind changing small items like the bolt knob or doing some trigger work but that as much as I want to do.
I didn't like the Bergara trigger so I came up with a mod to give it an adjustable sear and to lower it's weight to 11 oz.
I enjoy doing that kind of work because it's a puzzle for me to solve. And since the trigger module is riveted together in 7
places, it made it more challenging. Someone opened their trigger up and once I saw it's internals I had a concept within five
minutes. Doing it was merely a formality. Any way.... I'm sick as hell and gotten off track. As I think of my guns, I'm not impressed
by any of them. They are like my pets and I like them all for different reasons. I do know that the more money I pay for a gun
the more judgmental I become. Still they are all just guns and all for sale.

 

[AirGunShawn]

Here is the B14R trigger once opened up. Something I was not willing to do. I should clarify, I like working on
guns. I enjoy refining existing designs. I don't want to be buying all sorts of new parts for them. The published
low end for this trigger is 2 pounds 4 ounces as I recall. From the factory it's long and heavy. 20 minutes and 20
bucks makes a world of difference. Keeping all of my factory components allows me to stay in the factory class
at my LGC.

 

[WeeHooker]

Adding a sear engagement screw is about the best bang for the buck in M14R mods you can make. I have a new Timney trigger that was intended for my 14R custom build. It sits there unused because I'm quite content with the pair of 20 oz factor triggers I now have on both my 14R's.

 

[R_Swanson]

@AirGunShawn that write up helps, appreciate it. What about the bolt on the B14R? I have read complaints in reviews about that (in regards to force necessary to work the action and it not being as smooth as the 457 or T1x.

I mostly have Sako's and Tikka's, so I do like the idea of the T1x... However I dont see the T1x in stock anywhere, so that might be moot if I want one soon. You can get a 457 if you want to pay up for the manners stock, and you can get a Bergara barreled action B14R too.

By reading the forum it seems like all three of these guns are pretty equal when it comes to accuracy, unless I am missing something.

 

[Manning5R]

I wonder why there isn't a B14R sticky thread...........Like this 457 thread is. Hmm.

 

[nhdeadhead]

I just picked up a 457 barreled action and plan on putting it in a Krg bravo, I purchased an additional 10rd mag but didn’t realize till afterwards those may not work with the new chasis? will the 457 mags work or did I make a mistake?

 

[WeeHooker]

I just picked up a 457 barreled action and plan on putting it in a Krg bravo, I purchased an additional 10rd mag but didn’t realize till afterwards those may not work with the new chasis? will the 457 mags work or did I make a mistake?

The Bravo uses a AICS sized mag slot which can make guiding those small CZ mags into place an Easter egg hunt. Most report that adding the Anarchy Outdoors Mag Well Filler designed for the Bravo cures any 10 round mag issues. ( There might be issues with 5 rounders if memory serves though ) I have no experience with the 457 and Bravo myself though.

 

[WeeHooker]

The 457s have superb triggers unlike the 452 where you either had to play with springs until you got something decent or the 455s where the same thing applied, but the set trigger pull was pretty awesome and a great shooter.

But they also respond incredibly well to a simple spring change. I struggled to get any of my 457's below the 2# mark with factory adjustments. They were very decent but not quite as low as I wanted. A $2 spring change and I'm at 15 -20 oz on 3 different rifles. ( as selected).

 

[DaveCo]

I just picked up a 457 barreled action and plan on putting it in a Krg bravo, I purchased an additional 10rd mag but didn’t realize till afterwards those may not work with the new chasis? will the 457 mags work or did I make a mistake?

The KRG Bravo for the CZ457 uses the CZ factory mags. When you're on their website, be sure you are reading descriptions of the rim fire models, there are differences (for example, the tooless lop set up for rim fire is $49, the centerfield one lots more).
To your specific question, both the 5 and 10 rnd mags work fine. It is a little fiddly inserting the 5s, but I don't compete, so hasn't bothered me yet. The 10s are much easier to extract. I don't have either the extended mag release or the mag well filler, but probably will soon. I have heard (second or third hand) that with the filler you want the extended mag release, and also with the filler the 5s may be less than ideal.
If I pick them up, I'll let you know. For now, 10 rounders will work perfectly with no mods.

Dave

 

[nhdeadhead]

Thanks Dave for the clarification and I’d be interested in hearing the feedback if you go that route.

 

[Boatninja]

I wonder why there isn't a B14R sticky thread...........Like this 457 thread is. Hmm.

Pretty curious myself. I have both and don't have a favorite at this point, but I'm leaning towards the B14R for target and competition and 457 for hunting. I know way more competitors that shoot the B14R, but that could be my area.

 

[AirGunShawn]

If you use a .014" wire diameter spring and lap the sear it's pretty easy to get your 457 trigger to the 7 oz. range.
If instead of adding a 4-40 set screw to the B14R trigger you use the heaviest 6-32 long nose spring plunger, for
$5.00 you get the adjustable sear and the 11 oz trigger.

I just sold my Sako Quad Range which was very smooth. I have been accused of being overly critical more than once
but still don't feel like my Bergara .22 action is anything but fine. I would take my factory B14R over any of my 3 factory
CZ 457s. Keeping in mind that the only thing I'm going to do is bench rest type shooting at paper or steel. She would
be a little heavy to take into the woods but I don't hunt so it's a mute point.
I had two MAS 45s and one was stiff closing. A few strokes with a needle file removed the offending bur and things were
all good. I guess I mean to say that when I run into something I don't care for, I figure out what the problem is and resolve it.
I just bought 2 ten round mags for my Winchester 52 and they were both a little fat. only by about .004 and .006" but that
was enough to make them miserable to use. With a little work and some cold blue they are now suitable for use.
And just because I could.... I added a 6-32 set screw in the B14R trigger for over travel too. Both my long nose spring plunger and my
over travel set screw are fairly long and have the nylon locking element. I found that using a second set screw to lock the
first would always change the sear setting a little bit.

 

[bbhank]

Here is mine, MTR all dialed in with Area 419 Gear. That group was shot with Eley Match EPS. She also likes to eat SK Standard plus!

 

[flatland1]

I used Bscar 25 MOA scope rails on all three of my 457s - Varmint MTR, VPT, and American - with TPS TSR low rings holding 30mm Athlon Ares BTR & Midas TAC scopes - and for my facial bone structure, much prefer the lower Bscar rail to anything that's taller. The OEM barrels of the American & VPT were not up to par accuracy-wise, so I replaced both with Shilen ratchet rifled select match blanks chambered with my PTG EPS reamer. I'm a lousy offhand shooter, but still enjoy shooting the American offhand, while the Manners on the VPT is very good in positional shooting. Don't have much use for the MTR since I put the Shilens on the other two rifles, even though it's not a bad shooter. It just doesn't compare to the Shilen accuracy, and I prefer the Manners on the VPT to the MTR stock. I do appreciate the fact that CZ took the gamble to provide a fully adjustable trigger on the 457 action - I've got mine set right at or just a hair over 1lb and am more than satisfied with them, even though they feel awfully heavy after shooting my V-22S with its Flavio Fare trigger set at less than 2oz...

 

[mulish]

What is the largest barrel in diameter I can put on a CZ 457 , without hurting the action.

 

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

When I put my 457 action into a MDT chassis, I used the recoil lug. IIRC, it isn't really held tightly by the chassis or the action? In a stock or in a chassis, should it be bedded somehow? Seems like it should have a set screw from above or front back to lock it into place?

The lug seems to be a check item on CZ design list- Recoil Lug, Check. It doesn't seem that it adds any 'recoil' action? Is it to help keep people from crushing wooden stocks?

 

[Boatninja]

^^^this^^^
I have chased those things all over my shop floor and was wondering the same thing, I have been tempted to epoxy that thing in to the receiver several times.

 

[WeeHooker]

When I put my 457 action into a MDT chassis, I used the recoil lug. IIRC, it isn't really held tightly by the chassis or the action? In a stock or in a chassis, should it be bedded somehow? Seems like it should have a set screw from above or front back to lock it into place?

The lug seems to be a check item on CZ design list- Recoil Lug, Check. It doesn't seem that it adds any 'recoil' action? Is it to help keep people from crushing wooden stocks?

There is a manufacturers video out there saying to put the action into chassis loosely/untightened first. Then you bang the butt of the rifle down to set the action, recoil lug and chassis tightly (rearward) before torqueing. Vudoo and others recommend the same with other actions. Makes sense. That's what I have been doing with all my rifles including my cz's

 

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

There is a manufacturers video out there saying to put the action into chassis loosely/untightened first. Then you bang the butt of the rifle down to set the action, recoil lug and chassis tightly (rearward) before torqueing. Vudoo and others recommend the same with other actions. Makes sense. That's what I have been doing with all my rifles including my cz's

^^^
Interesting, since I put some pretty good backward/down pressure on the barrel action when I set it in the ACC chassis. I don't think the gun rattles, so the lug must be somewhat secure.

 

[WeeHooker]

^^^
Interesting, since I put some pretty good backward/down pressure on the barrel action when I set it in the ACC chassis. I don't think the gun rattles, so the lug must be somewhat secure.

I would agree. Nothing moves when it's all torqued down. I do think that getting the recoil lug hard against the faying surfaces of the receiver and stock (in the direction of recoil) is a good precaution though.

Interestingly enough, the XLR chassis I bought came with it's own 457 recoil lug. It fits so tight , it had to be snapped in! Really getting tempted to keep it and start another 457 build!

 

[flatland1]

The Manners stock that comes on the CZ457 VPT has its own lug glued in from the factory.

 

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

Bad idea of the day. When putting in a barrel, there has to be some clearance between the barrel and the action. Would applying something to the barrel tenon help to keep the barrel better seated? I was thinking that some epoxy would work, but that would glue the barrel to the action.

What about some rosin used on scope rings? Or maybe just some loctite or anti sieze? Something to fill the gap?

Just leave it alone?

 

[fredfish]

What is the largest barrel in diameter I can put on a CZ 457 , without hurting the action.

I have 2 drop ins that are .9. I don't think your going to get bigger?

 

[fredfish]

I used a micrometer to measure my 457 receiver for setting the depth for my Lilja barrel. I can't remember the shim combination, but setting the headspace to 0.040 solved the extraction problem I was having with it set at 0.043. Looking at a post I made on Rimfire Central I think I used a shim combination for .006. RWS variants work fine, but it was a little hard closing the bolt with Eley Club.

My Lilja shims are now .003 for maybe .039 or .040 HS. Eley or RWS, thats it. My other one .043 with Bartlien for everything else.

 

[Navy Gunner]

Busting my 457 cherry tomorrow. I've been shooting my wife's Savage MKII BTVS with Athlon Ares BTR 4.5-27. It's a good little rig but left me wanting something a bit better.
Got a new CZ 457 VPC MTR. Installed MKM Adaptive Grip w/ thumbrest, Area 419 30 MOA base, 12" universal Arcalock rail, clamp, bolt knob and an Atlas CAL bipod. Did an aluminum tape bedding job on the stock and it's topped off by a 7-35 Leupold MK5 w/Tremor 3 on a LaRue 50 BMG QD mount w/ additional 30 MOA.
Tomorrow will be a full day of ammo testing and data gathering. Can't wait.

 

[sea2summit]

So I broke down and set up some trainers for Christmas presents (pro varmint and AT1 16”). 2.2 was doing ammo testing at 25m yesterday and just as he finished a fly started walking up the edge of the paper, a bet was made, I lost…but I’m still pretty dang happy.

For shooting middle of the road ammo on hand I’ve been very impressed. They were playing “HORSE” at 100m on some ~2.5 MOA targets and the games went pretty long, finally had to tell them no more prone.

 

[adubeau]

I got my self a CZ457 AT-ONE 16.5" barrel - for Christmas with Arken SH4 6-24x50 GEN2(MILS) Atlas bi-pod.. Did some ammo testing yesterday @ 50yds. of Eley Match, Eley Force, Eley Club , Eley semi-auto bench, Aguila Super-extra, CCI sub-sonic and RWS Special Match. wind was about 2 -5 mph, damp with some fog around 35 degrees with some sprinkles of rain here and there... Be back out, weather permitting to test the Wolf Extra Match..

 

[Boatninja]

After installation of a Lilja .22 WMR barrel the bolt on my CZ 457 is very hard to close. I have checked and rechecked everything that I can think of, any ideas other than shipping to Lilja? They have been very helpful in the past but hate to bother them if there is something stupid I'm missing.

 

[Merlin O]

Bolt is hard to close without a round in the chamber? I would suggest you have someone else read the instructions and redo/check your math and see if you both arrive at the same figure for your shims.

​

 

[Gunnie88]

View attachment 6971660

That was posted on the rimfirecentral thread in the CZ section.

It’s sexy for sure. Their wood quality is pretty incredible.

 

[WeeHooker]

It’s sexy for sure. Their wood quality is pretty incredible.

I don't know for sure but I believe that CZ reserves some upper level wood for the Royal model. They don't all look like the picture but I can say mine has some really nice figure and color throughout..

 

[Boatninja]

Bolt is hard to close without a round in the chamber? I would suggest you have someone else read the instructions and redo/check your math and see if you both arrive at the same figure for your shims.

​

No shims needed. When I didn't find shims and didn't unpack the barrel personally I thought that the shims were thrown away with packing but contacted Lilja to purchase them and was told that Lilja .22 WMR barrels don't use shims, chamber is cut to exact SAMMI specs, only their .22LR barrels use shims. Hence my post, I didn't want to contact Lilja and sound like a dumb-ass twice.

 

[fredfish]

I just took a short piece of 0.062 rosin core solder, formed it into a "U" the same diameter of the rim of a cartridge, stuck it to the bolt with grease, closed the bolt. The outer edge of solder will get smashed and become the thickness of the headspace. Measure carefully with calipers. Kinda sorta similar to using plastigauge, but I couldn't find my old stash of plastigauge.

The bolt recess has a big part in headspace!

 

[fredfish]

No shims needed. When I didn't find shims and didn't unpack the barrel personally I thought that the shims were thrown away with packing but contacted Lilja to purchase them and was told that Lilja .22 WMR barrels don't use shims, chamber is cut to exact SAMMI specs, only their .22LR barrels use shims. Hence my post, I didn't want to contact Lilja and sound like a dumb-ass twice.

I had problems with bolt guide. You had to change mags and take out shim, I'd check around there

 

[300zx_tt]

First time shooting my MTR. Slight breeze and upper 20’s to low 30’s. This was 50 yards with federal gold match.

 

[WeeHooker]

View attachment 7775675View attachment 7775676

First time shooting my MTR. Slight breeze and upper 20’s to low 30’s. This was 50 yards with federal gold match.

Looks like you got a good shooter with some nicely colored wood too. Love my MTR VPT as well. Enjoy it.

 

[Appalachian]

My third 457 gave a good showing the other night for a short barreled gun. ARA Factory class, 5 card match. 2440 Agg. I’m relatively new to bench rest so I was thrilled with that.

and I bought my fourth 457 at the match. There isn’t a 24” barreled 457 @1 or VPT to be had in the country so I think I scored with this used one. I would have preferred a VPT, but I wanted a longer barrel to better buck the wind.

 

[riverman1]

Can the Manners stock, for the 457, be bought separately? I am considering purchasing a Varmint that already has a Lilja barrel on it. It has a nice piece of wood on it that I would like to sell to help offset the cost of a tactical style stock. I shoot Grayboe Renegades on my centerfire rifles and would like to replicate them as closely as possible. The Manners is the best I have seen so far.

 

[JFive]

They can be purchased through Manners, 7-8 month lead time.

 

[riverman1]

Ah man! 7-8 months!

 

[JFive]

That's what i was quoted a few weeks ago, but that was custom color might be less time for standard color.