CZ 457 MDT with Lilja 16.5 inch barrel range results

The ROC

The ROC

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I received and installed my 16.5" Lilja barrel from Go Big Tactical last week.

The factory barrel headspace was 0.045". I shimmed the Lilja barrel for a headspace of 0.042". Unfortunately I left the shim kit at home so I'm unable to test for headspace. CCI SV and SK ammo have a rim thickness of 0.041".

Was able to sneak in a 25 yard range test before the rain rolled in so the 50 yard test will have to wait for favorable wind condition. Not the proper paper target by the measurements was edge to edge and minus the bullet diameter.

Today's ammo; SK Flatnose Basic, SK Standard Plus, Eley Club, Eley Tenex and CCI Standard Velocity.

Before with factory CZ match barrel:

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After with same setup, wind condition and Lilja barrel:

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50 yards to follow...
 
Curious to see your 50 yd targets. How have you been measuring your headspace?

I have a 457 and a 455 action, a 20" Lilja and a 20" IBI barrel that I have been playing around with. Both barrels were initially installed on the 457 action and I was not excited, tried both out on the 455 action and easily saw improvement. That has me scratching my head as to what is going on.
 
Poffels said:
Curious to see your 50 yd targets. How have you been measuring your headspace?
Click to expand...

I followed the Lilja's Facebook video but used my digital caliper/ depth gauge. I had to use a flat washer with a hole to help with measuring the depth then I subtracted the washer thickness.

To measure 22lr rim thickness I'm using my Hornady Bullet Comparator with the 0.243" insert.
 
The ROC said:
I followed the Lilja's Facebook video but used my digital caliper/ depth gauge. I had to use a flat washer with a hole to help with measuring the depth then I subtracted the washer thickness.

To measure 22lr rim thickness I'm using my Hornady Bullet Comparator with the 0.243" insert.
Click to expand...

The washer is a great idea, sometimes one can miss the obvious!
 
The ROC said:
The factory barrel headspace was 0.045". I shimmed the Lilja barrel for a headspace of 0.042". Unfortunately I left the shim kit at home so I'm unable to test for headspace. CCI SV and SK ammo have a rim thickness of 0.041".
Click to expand...

It's worth keeping in mind that when measuring something like this where two thousandths of an inch represent a significant difference, it's possible that a digital caliper can't give a sufficiently reliable measurement to confirm that the measurement is in fact 0.042". In this situation a depth micrometer will be able to give more dependable measurements. Standard headspace for .22LR is 0.043", according to SAAMI and CIP specs.

More expensive match ammos will have more consistent rim thicknesses between individual rounds than ammos such as CCI SV and SK varieties, which is to say that not all of these ammos will necessarily have the same rim thickness. Even single round can often have variable rim thickness. This can be seen by rotating a round in the measuring device to measure at different places on the rim.
 
Winds wouldn't calm down and got impatient so did the 50 yards and waited for any windows of opportunity to shoot my groups an now the thunderstorm just rolled in.

Still going to test for groups in the future with headspace. No regrets with this barrel purchase.

Two calculation... With and without the fliers.

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Slight breeze. Did not include the fliers in the calculations.

The CZ factory and Lilja barrel do not like this batch of CCI SV.

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Just of of curiousity did you try sorting your cheaper ammo like the CCI SV by rim thickness so the batches were more consistent?
Still some pretty impressive groups there.
 
I've done the rim thickness and weight sorting the CCI SV, Eley Edge, Match and Club when I first got my 457... Something to fill my time up at the cabin during the winter weekends. Didn't make much of a difference in my group size pre Lilja. For my shooting discipline I won't be sorting my ammo.

Maybe sometime in the future I'll swap back to the original stock and try for groups again.

Without a doubt the Lilja barrel tighten up my groups with a HS of 0.042". I shimmed to 0.041" this weekend and quite happy with the overall results especially with this lot of CCI SV. Although the SV is not BR worthy but good for practicing shooting off PRS barricades, for example a ladder or a milk crate out to 100 yards at a 2" spinner.

This barrel and HS of 0.041" loves the SK STD Plus, Flatnose Basic and Eley Club. Time for a visit to Tenda, only wish they carried Lapua.

In the meantime... Practicing for my first Outlaw match in Sept.

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The ROC said:
Winds wouldn't calm down and got impatient so did the 50 yards and waited for any windows of opportunity to shoot my groups an now the thunderstorm just rolled in.

Still going to test for groups in the future with headspace. No regrets with this barrel purchase.

Two calculation... With and without the fliers.

50052109572_daf2b5270d_b.jpg
Click to expand...
The ROC said:
Slight breeze. Did not include the fliers in the calculations.

The CZ factory and Lilja barrel do not like this batch of CCI SV.

50052660052_820b31acd5_b.jpg
Click to expand...

You have shot with several varieties of SV ammo, including Tenex, and recorded results without fliers (second target shown above). An earlier post included above shows results with and without fliers. The results for five shot groups with fliers excluded have been as low as .297".

Other than saying you have no regrets about buying the Lilja barrel, what can you tell readers about the barrel? How do the Lilja results compare with those of the factory barrel? Based on these initial results, which are early in your experience with this barrel, are these the kind of results you were hoping to achieve with the Lilja?
 
Thanks for the report,
I have herd wonderful things about Lilja barrels but have no personal experience with them.
These results you posted Seem to be typical of what other shooters are seeing out of their Lilja rimfire barrels!
Definitely looks like a solid choice to those looking to get a little more out of their CZ 455-457’s
 
Just over 500 rounds and did a nice bore cleaning to remove the carbon ring and what little leading and wax build up there was. Used a nylon brush, Rem Bore cleaner and Hoppes 9. This Lilja barrel is smooth.

 
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