CZ 457 17 HMR Varmint Range Report

dreadpirate · Mar 14, 2019

This heavy barrel bolt gun is accurate. I shot with CCI A17, Hornady VMAX, CCI Varmint. They all shot pretty well, I got the best group at 100 yards with CCI A17.

Here are some results from 50 yards:

dreadpirate · Mar 14, 2019

I got this one at 100 yards:

dreadpirate · Mar 14, 2019

But then things opened up at 100 yards, and the groups there after got worse:

dreadpirate · Mar 14, 2019

So I remounted the scope and insured the screws were at the correct torque, and the scope absolutely level side to side.

Racer Doug14 · Mar 14, 2019

Barrel might still need to break in. Or, may have gotten hot?

dreadpirate · Mar 14, 2019

Racer Doug14 said:
Barrel might still need to break in. Or, may have gotten hot?

Also had a 13 MPH wind that picked up that was not helpful.

dreadpirate · Mar 14, 2019

And here is the rifle; Leupold 3.5-10X scope. I think you get what you pay for.

Racer Doug14 · Mar 14, 2019

dreadpirate said:
Also had a 13 MPH wind that picked up that was not helpful.

Wind. The nemesis of the tiny .17

dreadpirate · Mar 14, 2019

I am a total convert to 17 HMR. At first I thought why get a 17 HMR when I can get 223 ammo at about the same price. Indeed, I have a Tika bolt gun in 223 that is awesome. But the low recoil and fairly quiet report make this a hell of a rifle.

And while I do believe you get what you pay for, I have a Savage 22LR bolt gun that is almost as accurate as this one at 50 yards, and it was less money. This CZ was almost $500. The Savage was like $350. But the CZ is just that much better.

Racer Doug14 · Mar 14, 2019

The .17hmr is a wonderful round. Flat and accurate. Also, very deadly to vermin. You'll get it dailed in and shoot it a ton.

TomisinMd · Mar 15, 2019

beautiful rifle! dumb question, but are the rings lapped in?

dreadpirate · Mar 15, 2019

TomisinMd said:
beautiful rifle! dumb question, but are the rings lapped in?

I never have lapped scope rings. Is that something you have found helpful?

fidelity · Mar 15, 2019

dreadpirate said:
And here is the rifle; Leupold 3.5-10X scope. I think you get what you pay for.

Nice shooting and really pretty rifle. I have a CZ 455 American in 22 Mag that I'm eager to take out for a spin at 100 yards (they've been nicely discounted since the 457 line was released). It's wearing a Weaver Grand Slam 4-16x. Thanks for your detailed range report. Enjoy these type of threads.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

dreadpirate · Mar 15, 2019

fidelity said:
Nice shooting and really pretty rifle. I have a CZ 455 American in 22 Mag that I'm eager to take out for a spin at 100 yards (they've been nicely discounted since the 457 line was released). It's wearing a Weaver Grand Slam 4-16x. Thanks for your detailed range report. Enjoy these type of threads.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

I went back and forth as to whether or not to get the varmint barrel or lighter barrel. The lighter barrel would make for a handy rifle; but that varmint barrel is accurate.

dreadpirate · Mar 16, 2019

Two more things I should comment on; I don't particularly like the 10 round magazine. The one I got I had to very lightly sand one edge so it would lock securely into the rifle. The other thing is I don't like a big wobbly magazine sticking out of a bolt action rifle. The rounds do not (in my opinion) chamber as well as a 5 or 7 round mag. Even better - I would rather have a rotary mag for a bolt gun.

The other thing I encountered was a hang fire. I squeeze the trigger and I hear click - bang, that fast, but definitely a hang fire, using the Hornady ammo. It was out of that 10 round mag; perhaps the round did not seat well? I have never ever had a hang fire in my entire life until then.

Racer Doug14 · Mar 16, 2019

I dont believe lapping rings on this setup would help. Low recoil and distant limits on 17hmr, dont warrant the extra effort. IMO

fidelity · Mar 16, 2019

dreadpirate said:
...
The other thing I encountered was a hang fire. I squeeze the trigger and I hear click - bang, that fast, but definitely a hang fire, using the Hornady ammo. It was out of that 10 round mag; perhaps the round did not seat well? I have never ever had a hang fire in my entire life until then.

Did you check the brass? Firing pin impression look good? On RimfireCentral, a few people had mentioned firing pin issues in the new 457 rifles. (most reports there are very positive though - with rifles showing great accuracy)

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

dreadpirate · Mar 16, 2019

fidelity said:
Did you check the brass? Firing pin impression look good? On RimfireCentral, a few people had mentioned firing pin issues in the new 457 rifles. (most reports there are very positive though - with rifles showing great accuracy)

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

I fired 5 1/2 boxes of ammo through it and only had that one hang fire. Next time I will examine the brass. It really was a fraction of a second delay; click bang.

TomisinMd · Mar 22, 2019

dreadpirate said:
I never have lapped scope rings. Is that something you have found helpful?

Extremely for any scope mount. it's surprising how little ring contact with the scope there can be until you lap them in and see it.

Bugthor · Mar 31, 2020

Nice set up. What brand of rings did you use? Is that Leupold a 3i?

CZ 457 17 HMR Varmint Range Report

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