CZ457 - Why We love it

Even in it's most basic form, the little CZ457 has some wonderful features, a few of which may be less obvious at first glance. Some of these have caught our attention since picking our Varmint model up and have led us all the way to developing a revolutionary chassis system around it. Here's why...

Anyone following us will know it started with the Tikka T1x. My own gun was brilliant in it's own right, but I wanted a dedicated chassis (not a modified T3x version). The EXO was born and gradually developed, culminating in the latest X2 chassis system - specifically engineered for PRS competition.

That was a couple of years ago and I'm still just as passionate about all thinks Tikka, however; having now played extensively with the competitor produced by CZ, there are some key features that set the two platforms apart.

One of the key selling points of the Tikka T1x as well as many other .22 platforms (Rim-X, Voodoo, Bergara B14R etc.) is that their footprint is based on their larger centrefire cousins. Fine - this is practical if you're looking to share a chassis and there's an argument that aftermarket sales will be easier to navigate. My issue with this concept relates to balance point. Take a look at the receiver design of any of the guns listed above and they are all extraordinarily long for such a small cartridge. This is also evident when looking at the AICS .22 magazine systems often being used for competition shooting - I get it, they have the increased capacity necessary for competition (12+ rounds). However they also get in the way of the chassis' barricade stop - pushing all that geometry forwards, making it even harder to get the perfect balance point (over the barricade bag).

Let's assume that the barricade stop is going to be located in roughly the same plane as the front face of the receiver. The difference between the Remington 700 clone actions and the little CZ is quite clear:

The next element I'm fond of with the CZ is how light the bolt lift is. CZ have clearly developed this extensively over the years, as there's a very subtle and smooth process to cock the firing pin, meaning little disturbance to the gun when taking repeat shots on the same target. I found the T1x was prone to snatching and sending the point of aim off by a far greater degree.

The trigger of the CZ457 is also a highlight. Whilst it may be a little heavy for some (even on it's lighted setting), it remains smooth, clean breaking and repeatable. An aftermarket spring (£10) was also enough to make it perform like a much more expensive aftermarket trigger unit.

Some people seem to dislike the barrel retention method of the CZ457 - two 45 degree grub screws that pin the tenon in place. I agree this doesn't provide the reassurance or repeatability of a threaded tenon, however I also expect that the fitment is secure-enough, so long as you're not regularly removing the barrel. With a .22, I'm not sure you'd have good reason to? The greater issue here is with achieving the correct headspace, however there are plenty of aftermarket bolt and barrel shims to achieve this, and it's not particularly difficult to do so.

So, what's not to love?...

There are a couple of things that I'm not a massive fan of. The fragile little cocking indicator is a bit flimsy and screams as being something has been value-engineered too far. The bolt handle is a little short for my liking. This is probably quicker to cycle, however I'd prefer a little more length (a few mm would do it). Again, this is easy to solve and new bolt handle will be going on there soon.

The tight magazine well... And there's more to this one than meets the eye.

The CZ action was originally built around the needs of smallbore hunters. The little metal box magazines were perfect in three to five shot capacity - fitting flush into the stock and being extremely reliable at the same time. However, the needs of the competition shooter are somewhat different. For starters, they're going to be running a magazine of at least 12 rounds - ideally a few more 'just in case'. There are plenty of good aftermarket magazines out there - especially the notoriously well-engineered NDr mags that we supply in the UK. But whilst these serve a purpose well, there is an argument to suggest that they exaggerate the issue of the little CZ's tight mag well. The small opening within the receiver coupled with the angled approach, make for a very specific geometry stack, where the .22lr rounds must sit one atop of another. With the 'rim' protruding from the cylindrical case, each round must be pitched at an ever increasing angle to be fed smoothly by the spring and follower mechanism below it. This results in the banana mag profile that is now quite common for any CZ457 shooter using their gun for competition..

Unfortunately, this then creates another disadvantage when dropped into a chassis system, where the magazine can be tricky to release (with the lever obscured) and, worse, causes a conflict with the barricade stop area - sometimes being used as the barricade stop itself. Cue, fractured mag-well guides.

Our Q-Mag system is being developed alongside the established success of our X2 chassis to tackle these issues. It will soon be available for those who are seeking the ultimate solution; all the best bits of the CZ457, within a dedicated competition chassis and mag system - elevating it to outperform even the highest budget competition platforms.