I have a pretty 457 American in .22 LR, and no matter what I do, or what ammo, an inch to 1 1/2 at fifty yards is the normal five shot group. I’m wondering if any one is getting really good accuracy from these rifles ? I think I will see what others are reporting here before I spend any more time or money on this lemon. Thanks all !
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CZ457 American accuracy
- Thread starter gr8guns
- Start date
What I can come up with:
-Retighten all the screws.
-Play with action screws to see if it helps enough
-Shoot 1k through it
-Clean the barrel with Boretech rimfire blend and brass brush (for example, thunderbolt ammo has been said to have heavily leaded barrels)
-Try another scope / sighting device
-Check any muzzle device and crown for damage/bad installation
-Retighten all the screws.
-Play with action screws to see if it helps enough
-Shoot 1k through it
-Clean the barrel with Boretech rimfire blend and brass brush (for example, thunderbolt ammo has been said to have heavily leaded barrels)
-Try another scope / sighting device
-Check any muzzle device and crown for damage/bad installation
I've been underwhelmed by the 457.
Sounds weird, but have you ensured the barrel is free floated ? Also refer to the list above from @Near miss
Sounds weird, but have you ensured the barrel is free floated ? Also refer to the list above from @Near miss
I’m not thrilled with mine, but it will shoot a little better than MOA at 50 yards with good Ammo pretty regularly. I guess my 452 Americans have spoiled me.
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Hope this isn't too late to be replying. I have a 457 that started out as the At-One. It didn't shoot anywhere near what I wanted it to be. After a lot of forums and YouTube, I replaced the stock with an XLR Element 4.0, had the barrel and chamber professionally adjusted by a gunsmith, and ditched the crap rail and replaced it with the Area419 30MOA one. This rifle is now far better than I am and will stack 5-shot groups into jagged little holes at 100yds. My optic is an Athlon Helos 6-24x50. If you have any questions feel free to ask.
For what it's worth I have a 457 American and out of the box it performed well. It's favorite ammo is SK Std+, CenterX, Norma Tac22 and Fed Automatch.
I have tried some different ammo after trying all the above steps, other than replacing the scope. I can get groups at 50 yards at about 3/4 inch using high dollar match grade Center X. I have found some SK match in the white box, and it shoots about 1/2 inch with that. I'm going to try some different torque on the bedding screws, and throw some more lead down the barrel........The scope will put the shots where they belong with my Anschutz with the 666 serial number........the one my wife won't touch.
CZ 457 American...slim lines, oversized inletting,
2 moa plus at 50 yards from the factory, not a surprise.
The stock flexes very easily. Barreled receiver has some play.
What would I do? Check that all fasteners are correctly torqued.
Shoot from heavy bag with rifle supported just forward of the mag well.
Not out at the fore end to prevent springboard effect....boingggggg.
Pillar and bed the receiver. Bed the barrel. Replace with rigid stock.
Replace barrel with Lilja or Shilen or .....
2 moa plus at 50 yards from the factory, not a surprise.
The stock flexes very easily. Barreled receiver has some play.
What would I do? Check that all fasteners are correctly torqued.
Shoot from heavy bag with rifle supported just forward of the mag well.
Not out at the fore end to prevent springboard effect....boingggggg.
Pillar and bed the receiver. Bed the barrel. Replace with rigid stock.
Replace barrel with Lilja or Shilen or .....
.75" at 50 yards with Center-X is completely unacceptable. At a maximum, you should be getting 0.50" groups, edging closer to 0.40". Unless the 457's are just shit guns since the redesign...my 455 Tacticool model would consistently shoot 0.35" with Center-X.
Forgive me for assuming anything, but maybe it's you? Have other people shot the rifle with the same results? Are you shooting from a bag rest, bipod, etc., laying the barrel on the rest instead of the stock?
Unless that rifle is somehow damaged, or you are somehow inducing the bad groups, 1"-1.5" at 50 yards is just shit performance...I don't think even my cheap 10/22 using Remington Golden Bullet does that poorly.
Forgive me for assuming anything, but maybe it's you? Have other people shot the rifle with the same results? Are you shooting from a bag rest, bipod, etc., laying the barrel on the rest instead of the stock?
Unless that rifle is somehow damaged, or you are somehow inducing the bad groups, 1"-1.5" at 50 yards is just shit performance...I don't think even my cheap 10/22 using Remington Golden Bullet does that poorly.
My front action screw was to long in mine and bottoming out in the receiver before the action was tight in the stock. This would let the barrel wiggle around badly. I took just a little off the screw and now it shoots CCI SV and SK long range really good.
Submoa results from a mass produced hammer forged barrel is unlikely.
Especially when even custom rifles in a tunnel from a fixture at the factory test centers have trouble getting it done.
You can look at the computer generated target results and see that they have to work to find ammo that'll do it.
A review with more realistic results...
www.americanrifleman.org
Especially when even custom rifles in a tunnel from a fixture at the factory test centers have trouble getting it done.
You can look at the computer generated target results and see that they have to work to find ammo that'll do it.
A review with more realistic results...
An Official Journal Of The NRA | CZ 457 American Review
In 2019, CZ-USA introduced the CZ 457 American—a rifle featuring a number of upgrades based on feedback the company had received regarding its predecessors.
The best thing for my 455 was to keep shooting it.
It was meh from the factory, but after 500rds it tightened up, and after 1k,it's spectacular.
Retorque your barrel grub screws, and the action screws. Mine were seriously inconsistent tq values from the factory.
Different ammo.
Sk SV+ is always a good starting point, as well as Norma Tac 22.
It was meh from the factory, but after 500rds it tightened up, and after 1k,it's spectacular.
Retorque your barrel grub screws, and the action screws. Mine were seriously inconsistent tq values from the factory.
Different ammo.
Sk SV+ is always a good starting point, as well as Norma Tac 22.
HELOS.... OMG.... You need better than that. The Cronus or ARES are much better. But at that price point I would go to a Trijicon
5-50x56. Good shooting.....
5-50x56. Good shooting.....
I have three 457s.... a MTR, At-One and a Royal. Other than trigger work they are factory guns and will eaisily shoot .50 ctc groups at 50 yards.
One went to Lapua and shot .34 at 50 meters. Mine never give me any trouble. Even the Royal with the pencil barrel shoots well.
One went to Lapua and shot .34 at 50 meters. Mine never give me any trouble. Even the Royal with the pencil barrel shoots well.
It’s not the nut behind the trigger, unless like someone pointed out special tecniques are need to get the accuracy up. I’m pretty well disgusted with it right now. My pet 452 American shoots very well….I’m going to leave the 457 American in the safe for now. I heard the quote somewhere “ Only accurate riles are interesting. “ I’m getting much better performance with my Steyr Zephyr 2. You guys are way ahead of me when it comes to tricking out rifles. I’m here to learn. Thanks to everyone!
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Townsend Whelen said that, if my Google-fu is still up to snuff. I thought it was Craig Boddington at first, but it turns out I'm just remembering that from Craig's book when he quotes Townsend.
MrAirGunShawn, I do not have an unlimited budget, and the Helos has been rock solid for me this last year. Purchased it for $300 from Midway. Was one of their sales. I have no regrets. I might upgrade one day if my skills and budget allow it.
Slow morning at the office. 
What do ya' expect for accuracy from a mass produced rimfire rifle?
A rifle made as fast as possible, as inexpensively as possible,
in order to make it available to those without deep pockets.
Last I heard, CZ expected 2 moa with a 22lr at 50 yards, about 1 inch for a 5 shot group.
Reading reports from folks unhappy with their rifles, sent back to CZ,
retested and as long as it produced sub inch at 50 yards/meters for 5 shots,
it was returned as within production specifications.
Is it realistic to expect custom benchrest accuracy from a sporter?
What do ya' expect for accuracy from a mass produced rimfire rifle?
A rifle made as fast as possible, as inexpensively as possible,
in order to make it available to those without deep pockets.
Last I heard, CZ expected 2 moa with a 22lr at 50 yards, about 1 inch for a 5 shot group.
Reading reports from folks unhappy with their rifles, sent back to CZ,
retested and as long as it produced sub inch at 50 yards/meters for 5 shots,
it was returned as within production specifications.
Is it realistic to expect custom benchrest accuracy from a sporter?
From the time that I first saw a print ad with a photo of the new 457 American, I knew I wanted one. The appearance & proportions of the stock shape and the new action combined to give this sporter a lot of appeal to me. But it was the announcement of the 457 Varmint MTR with its tighter chamber & interesting stock design that really got me interested in owning a CZ 22RF rifle - trouble was, I had a tough time finding any of the MTRs in stock at the wholesale/jobbers I have accounts with. While waiting to find a Varmint MTR, I ordered in a couple of 457 Americans and a Varmint. One of the Americans had a very nice stock - nothing really fancy, but some nice grain, a good-looking stock. So I picked that one as my personal rifle, and put the other American & Varmint up for sale.
The weather in western Kansas in early February of 2019 when the CZ order arrived was not great for outdoor shooting of a 22RF, with highs in the low 20s. But I had the hots to get some rounds through the 457, so set up my portable bench just out the walk-in door of my heated garage/shop, and put up paper targets 50yds away. The first thing that impressed me about the 457 was how smooth it cycled, and how reliable it was - couldn't find any fault there. Secondly, after I'd pulled the bbl'd action out of the stock and gone through the process of adjusting the trigger's sear engagement, trigger return spring, and overtravel, the crisp, clean break measured 1-1/4lbs consistently, which I still think is excellent for a factory rifle in this price range. But the accuracy just plain sucked. Even shooting some pretty decent SK & Lapua ammo, I wasn't getting groups - they were more like patterns. Looking back, I don't believe I ever got a 5-shot group under 1-1/2" at 50yds, which was very disappointing. I put a few hundred rounds through it during several shooting sessions, cleaning the bore after every session. I got out my Hawkeye borescope and had a good look at the chamber/leade area & muzzle crown. I didn't see any obvious issues in the chamber, but the crown was a fugly mess of ragged, uneven cuts, so I pulled the bbl, dialed in the muzzle with a .0001" Brown & Sharpe test indicator, and cut a nice precision 11* crown. The new crown helped just a bit, but wasn't going to turn a sow's ear into a silk purse. So I ordered a Shilen #5 rachet rifled blank, parted off the 1.20" dia shank, then turned a snug-fitting tenon, chambered it with an EPS reamer, cut the extractor grooves, and finished the length at 23". I tried to match CZ's nitride finish with CeraKote by adding about 15% tungsten with graphite black, and after baking/curing, used a fresh bottle of LocTite #609 retaining compound to glue the new bbl into the 457 action. There were a couple of reasons to go this route - mainly, that I didn't want to screw around trying to cut the grub screw seats, and there's no pressure from the grub screws right there in the thinner cut-out area at the chamber. After a 24hr cure, I went to work sanding the stock's bbl channel out to float the slightly larger Shilen contour - that Turkish walnut is pretty hard wood. The finished rifle weighs about 1/2lb more than it did with the OEM bbl, and it now shoots at least as good as it looks. I wouldn't have gone to the time, effort, and expense if I weren't so pleased with the 457 action and the pretty stock, but I'm darned sure glad I did now.
The weather in western Kansas in early February of 2019 when the CZ order arrived was not great for outdoor shooting of a 22RF, with highs in the low 20s. But I had the hots to get some rounds through the 457, so set up my portable bench just out the walk-in door of my heated garage/shop, and put up paper targets 50yds away. The first thing that impressed me about the 457 was how smooth it cycled, and how reliable it was - couldn't find any fault there. Secondly, after I'd pulled the bbl'd action out of the stock and gone through the process of adjusting the trigger's sear engagement, trigger return spring, and overtravel, the crisp, clean break measured 1-1/4lbs consistently, which I still think is excellent for a factory rifle in this price range. But the accuracy just plain sucked. Even shooting some pretty decent SK & Lapua ammo, I wasn't getting groups - they were more like patterns. Looking back, I don't believe I ever got a 5-shot group under 1-1/2" at 50yds, which was very disappointing. I put a few hundred rounds through it during several shooting sessions, cleaning the bore after every session. I got out my Hawkeye borescope and had a good look at the chamber/leade area & muzzle crown. I didn't see any obvious issues in the chamber, but the crown was a fugly mess of ragged, uneven cuts, so I pulled the bbl, dialed in the muzzle with a .0001" Brown & Sharpe test indicator, and cut a nice precision 11* crown. The new crown helped just a bit, but wasn't going to turn a sow's ear into a silk purse. So I ordered a Shilen #5 rachet rifled blank, parted off the 1.20" dia shank, then turned a snug-fitting tenon, chambered it with an EPS reamer, cut the extractor grooves, and finished the length at 23". I tried to match CZ's nitride finish with CeraKote by adding about 15% tungsten with graphite black, and after baking/curing, used a fresh bottle of LocTite #609 retaining compound to glue the new bbl into the 457 action. There were a couple of reasons to go this route - mainly, that I didn't want to screw around trying to cut the grub screw seats, and there's no pressure from the grub screws right there in the thinner cut-out area at the chamber. After a 24hr cure, I went to work sanding the stock's bbl channel out to float the slightly larger Shilen contour - that Turkish walnut is pretty hard wood. The finished rifle weighs about 1/2lb more than it did with the OEM bbl, and it now shoots at least as good as it looks. I wouldn't have gone to the time, effort, and expense if I weren't so pleased with the 457 action and the pretty stock, but I'm darned sure glad I did now.
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Out of three 457’s my American is the worst shooter, but it will still shoot MOA @50 yards with Center X.
My "as delivered" 455's were capable of sub moa results at 50 yards, occasionally.
That's where the phrase "random acts of accuracy" originated.
I'm not interested in occasional sub moa groups, I want to see consistent "all day long".
But it just doesn't happen, not even with lot tested, competition grade ammunition.
If I really want to embarrass myself, I shoot for score at 50 yards.
That'll educate ya' real fast as to the true capabilities of rifle/ammo/shooter.
That's where the phrase "random acts of accuracy" originated.
I'm not interested in occasional sub moa groups, I want to see consistent "all day long".
But it just doesn't happen, not even with lot tested, competition grade ammunition.
If I really want to embarrass myself, I shoot for score at 50 yards.
That'll educate ya' real fast as to the true capabilities of rifle/ammo/shooter.
I can't vouch for the American in .22LR but I own one in .22 Mag. It is finicky to say the least. It will not shoot 40 grain ammo well, period. About 2 MOA at 100 yards.
That said, with the right ammo, in this case 30 grain VMAX either from CCI (best) or Hornady it is a tack driver. Best 3-shot group using CCI at 100 yards to date was .18 inches!
As I said, the American seems to be finicky, at least mine is. Try lots of different ammo and see if you can find one batch that works, then buy lots of it.
With the CCI VMAX ammo I can confidently stay within 1/4-inch (~1/2 MOA). Here's a couple of targets at 50 yards:
That said, with the right ammo, in this case 30 grain VMAX either from CCI (best) or Hornady it is a tack driver. Best 3-shot group using CCI at 100 yards to date was .18 inches!
As I said, the American seems to be finicky, at least mine is. Try lots of different ammo and see if you can find one batch that works, then buy lots of it.
With the CCI VMAX ammo I can confidently stay within 1/4-inch (~1/2 MOA). Here's a couple of targets at 50 yards:
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Pepper X.... I meant no insult about the Helos. I know all of these toy's cost money and many of them border on the ridiculous. Starting with the Center X ammo I shoot. The problem is that If I don't shoot Center X my groups stink and shooting isn't even fun.
But if you ever had a chance to look through the more expensive glass, I think you would be surprised at how much better they perform.
Personally I find the Helos reticle too large for fine target work and I also prefer 1/8 MOA clicks.
Isn't the whole idea to be successful at your activity and have fun?
But if you ever had a chance to look through the more expensive glass, I think you would be surprised at how much better they perform.
Personally I find the Helos reticle too large for fine target work and I also prefer 1/8 MOA clicks.
Isn't the whole idea to be successful at your activity and have fun?
It might make no difference but I have replaced the trigger spring with a .014" wire and lapped the trigger sear to a mirror finish.
I turned in the trigger screw until it fired and then backed out the screw by 90*. The trigger is very short and breaks at just over 6 oz.
This isnt my 457 trigger but after lapping with 9 and then 3 micron AO PSA film, this is the way it comes out. The springs come from McMaster Carr.
I turned in the trigger screw until it fired and then backed out the screw by 90*. The trigger is very short and breaks at just over 6 oz.
This isnt my 457 trigger but after lapping with 9 and then 3 micron AO PSA film, this is the way it comes out. The springs come from McMaster Carr.
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I have a 457 Jaguar, and I shoot .3" groups all day long at 50 yards, and have been able to shoot the occasional .75" group at 100 yards. I also have a Christensen Arms Ranger, which has a MOA guarantee at 50 yards, and it shoots 1.25" groups all day long at 50 yards no matter the ammo; I may be sending it o CA to fix. I think some of the newer rimfire guns are just very finicky. I'm also seeing a lot of folks use tuners now, but unless you have a threaded barrel, that isn't an option.
I good my American 457 shooting. I replaced the scope base, rings, and re-mounted the scope, still the same results. After changing out the scope to a recently acquired new scope, and wow ! I had a bad scope all along. She shoots pretty good ! I was going to start messing with the action screws, but I better not. My At One also shoots much better now, more consistently, after changing the stock to a Bravo Chassis........
I think a Harrel's tuner will work without a threaded barrel. So now you have "options."
Harrell Rimfire/Air Rifle Tuners
Black and silver aluminum construction Weighs 8 ounces Will fit any barrel from .750 up to 1.016 in diameter Must be bored to slip over barrel With calibers measure 1 inch back from end of barrel and specify diameter in special instruction box. ****IF YOU HAVE A BARREL OVER .750 DIAMETER THAT...
www.harrellsprecision.com
