First rifle advice – CZ 457 Varmint or standard?

grauhanen said:
Sweeping generalizations have shortcomings. Both rifle makers make a lot of barrels. Not all are equally good or otherwise. In other words, not all Tikka .22LR barrels are equal. Same goes for CZ barrels.
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This is generally true :) but CZ has known about these issues for years and chose to do nothing when it would be a pretty easy process to improve. They know most people don't have borescopes and many of us would not call them on the advertised 1MOA or better accuracy.
Spare parts are out of stock everywhere. Even in the Czech republic. If the bolt handle breaks (like there are many reports of), it is considered user error and there's no recourse.
Fortunately my CZ457 is ok. Doesn't do 1MOA even at 50y though (I tried 30 kinds of ammo). It does do 2MOA at 100y with the right ammo. Which is ok for me.
My 21 years old Savage MK2 shoots way better.
 
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It's a first rifle. To me, that means that it must have iron sights; you may not decide to use them long term, but IMHO you should at least learn how to use them effectively before you move on to optics. I occasionally meet "shooters" who have never fired a rifle with open iron sights...and it shows. Iron sights represent one of the most basic shooting skills of all. Shooters who don't know how to use them are sort of like sportscar drivers who can't drive a manual-transmission car. The term "posers" comes to mind. :)

Wood vs. synthetic? Well, if you need to ask...you don't deserve wood! :) Lol, honestly, it's entirely personal preference. If you don't prefer the looks and feel of wood, get the synthetic; less trouble and maintenance, more durability, and a few marks and scratches won't be a concern because the thing looks like crap right from the get-go. :)

Again: this is a first rifle. Don't worry about match chambers, heavy barrels, etc. Any CZ you choose will be more than sufficiently accurate to teach you how to shoot, and to satisfy your requirements for years or more likely for life. Don't try to delude yourself that you won't buy other guns, because you will. Buy something now that feels right and looks right to you; keep it forever and add on later, or sell later and upgrade. It's not a lifetime commitment, unless you decide to make it one. Good luck, and enjoy! :)
 
legi0n said:
This is generally true :) but CZ has known about these issues for years and chose to do nothing when it would be a pretty easy process to improve. They know most people don't have borescopes and many of us would not call them on the advertised 1MOA or better accuracy.
Spare parts are out of stock everywhere. Even in the Czech republic. If the bolt handle breaks (like there are many reports of), it is considered user error and there's no recourse.
Fortunately my CZ457 is ok. Doesn't do 1MOA even at 50y though (I tried 30 kinds of ammo). It does do 2MOA at 100y with the right ammo. Which is ok for me.
My 21 years old Savage MK2 shoots way better.
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My 2 cents...

IMO, CZ, like other manufacturers are becoming more of a marketing concern than a rifle maker (Savage has got so many models, same with the Ruger 10/22 until recently... they actually made some meaningful design changes with model reductions recently). Their designers are great at coming up with very marketable designs and features that people will buy; and I believe, not paying as much attention to process engineering issues. Regarding fit and finish, I have owned a lot of CZs over the years; the 452 is the epitomy of fit, finish, art and ballance in their time when it came to an "every one's" rifle. There were a hand full of models that catered to specific needs. The 455 was introduced with more models and stock configurations and the changeable barrel. Still nicely machined with good fit and finish, but they dropped the recoil lug, no pillars in the stock, but very loose holes for the action screws. Now, before thinking "you don't need a recoil lug in a .22!", there were quite a number of these rifles got bumped on the but-stock, and cracked, or sheared a big flake of wood from behind the tang of the action. I got a nice 455 action to coustomize at a reasonable price because the CZ Super Match got bumped and the stock broke. CZ noticed this issue and the 457 now has a chincy plastic recoil lug; some models have plastic bolt shrouds. Retooling costs a lot, retooling every years for model changes and feature additons cost money. CZ used to build a few models to a quality point, now the build a lot of models to a price point. Price increases have outstripped our rate of inflation.

I'm not saying that I will never own a 457, but I don't see a need presently. Frends let me shoot theirs; the reduced bolt travel opening and closing and the recoil lug are improvements; fit and finish is not, the side safety may be seen as an improvment; for me, the old bolt safety is instinctive, so no advantage. It seems that lots of people are changing the new-improved adjustable trigger with after market triggers, or buying spring kits to improve them. So, no big improvement either.

In the 2010's everyone and their dog was customizing a Ruger 10/22, today, it is CZ. Lots of 3rd party companies supplying stocks, chassis, barrels, triggers, knobs, bells and whistles.

Tika and Anschutz seem to not have followed that trend. Tika has way less models. Anschutz has had less regard to price point and more concern about quality.

If someone is planing to customize, I would suggest following the route I did and pick up a reasonably priced used 455 that will likely already shoot very will, and will develop over time.
Here is a photo of mine old 455 now:
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My suggestion would be to check out the 457 Pro Varmint or the At-One Varmint. If you plan on keeping the original stock anyway.

If you’re going to put it in a chassis then you may as well buy whatever one has the barrel profile and length you like best, at the cheapest price.

I’ve found 457s to generally be very accurate and have shot up to 200yds with them.

MDT makes great chassis for CZ rifles and we will hook you up with a great price too. If you decide to go that route send a PM or email over!
 
A lot depends on what you're using it for. I find I need at least two, one heavy rifle with a big scope for benchrest and one much lighter with a smaller scope and more carefully considered ergonomics for shooting offhand. And then there's PRS with the art of compromise between those extremes tuned to the game as it's played, so that can be a third .22 rifle. Which to buy first depends on where your interest sits or which competitions are played where you shoot.
 
I’d just buy the varmint barrel. You can drop it in a chassis later and be happy with it. If you get a sporter than you’ll probably want to replace the barrel sooner than later or end up selling the whole gun to get a heavier barrel version.

As far as stocks go I wouldn’t get too hung up on wood vs synthetic, features is what you’re looking for. Adjustable length of pull, cheek riser, bipod attachments and maybe some mlok slots for weights is ideal, but any stock will work to get your feet wet.

I wouldn’t get too hung up on tikka vs cz. The cz 457 is really well supported through aftermarket parts.
 
I picked it up today. CZ 457 Training rifle. Still in the box. Got to wait until I get set up with a range.
 

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