CZ 557 any good?

What is long range for you, in meters?
What is accurate.... well in whatever you think accurate is measured )
Why do you think this specific CZ is appealing to you?
 
I've got a cz550 varmint. I thought I wanted to upgrade to a 557, but I don't actually think it's an upgrade. At $1500 Canadian, I think I'm going to wait and see how they work out. My 550 is a 1/2 moa rifle out of the box. The reviews I've read seem to think it's a cheapened version of the 550.
 
The 557 is push feed, the 550 is Mauser controlled feed. Different strokes, different folks. I'd expect both to be generally very good. The 557 can be had in short action, I don't think the 550 comes in one.

Are you planning on carrying the rifle any distance? The varmint barrels are built for relatively stationary use.
 
What sort of groups should I expect from a $1500.- rifle that weights 11 pounds and is chambered in 308?
And assuming it is fired buy a true marksman ...

You can probably shoot a 1 MOA - 0.75 MOA. In order to do a group like that from a $1500 rifle you would need a very stable rest a very decent ammo and a quite a bit of skill. But you say you want a hunting rifle, so you want probably eh mmm... carry it? And you probably wont have a concrete table and rests and bags and other range setup with you, will you? And you are "new to rifles" so you won't reload you ammo and will buy factory mid to low price range ammo.

So you would be good to do 2 MOA with all these conditions at the hunt. And you real issue would be getting to and out and calculating the shot to a variable range with the first try.

For all that you don't really need 11 pound rifle in a target stock. On top of that you happen to choose a rifle which either not obtainable on Canadian market at all or at least not stocked anywhere and has to be specially ordered for you and it can take a year just to get it.

If you plan to shoot 100-150 meters on a moose its a one story. It you think that you will need to hit a rabbit at 500m its quite another story. If you plan to spend all the time at the range hunting paper its yet another. For the 100 meters you dont need the varmint barrel. For a small game you don't need 308. And for the fun at a shooting range you should not ask for "hunting rifle".
 
Ther is no way a new Hunter shood be shooting at anything past 100 yard let alone Long range you will be gut shooting everything that moves
Long range hunting is sumthing to work towards not to jump in and start shoot at animals
Slow down and buy a 22 go hunt small game and paper have sum fun
No other rifle will give you more joy and time behind the trigger then a simple 22 LR
as a new Hunter You are responsibility each time you pull the trigger and you still have to work through your buck fever small game is the best way to calm down and learn trigger control
Grouse, rabbits ,squirrels ,may not be as glamorous ad shooting deer and moose but it will payoff big in the long run
 
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Thanks for the input everyone. Much appreciated.

Maybe I need to clarify a bit more ... so I am looking for a gun that will not cost a fortune and that will shoot accurately out to whatever to hunt whitetails for ....??

For me killing a whitetail ethically means being able to put that bullet or arrow in a 8 or 9 inches circle at that distance.

I am covered out to 100m with my H&R Ultra Slug Hunter in 12ga. And I am looking for something that can go far beyond that accurately. And lets say I don't want to carry that rifle much ... so I am willing to trade weight for accuracy .... hey my H&R Ultra Slug Hunter is not a feather weight ... :)

I have a budget of about $1500.- for the rifle and maybe another $500.- for the scope ... and I don't care about weight ... and I am stuck on the .308 caliber (for whatever reason) ... and I will be using factory ammo ... So what gun with these requirements will bring me the farthest out to 8 inch groups? Uffff ... that sounds like a math calculation ... :-(

And I have a laser rangefinder, and bullet drop is not an alien concept to me .... :)

Anyhow, any input for a gun with those criteria would be appreciated.
And I am still looking for info on the CZ 557 Varmint ....

Thanks.
 
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1) To hunt whitetails you don't need this varmint. It's a heavy range gun. Look:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm7fG9QcxNA

2) You won't be able to find this specific model anywhere in stock. I've heard about some cz 557s in Canada, but never heard or saw varmint 557 around here.

3) Walk into a decent gun store near you. Ask for Tikka T3, Browing X-bolt maybe something else in the price range they have. Look at them in person and buy whatever you see more appealing to you. For what you want they all will be virtually the same.
 
I purchased (ordered) a CZ 557 Range(r) rifle yesterday from Wolverine supplies. It is ~$1,300 after tax. It was originally designed for the Canadian Rangers refit tender. It is built on the wood stock 557 design but has a 20" barrel, 10 Rd detachable mag, open sites with bothe the 19 mm dovetail scope mounts and a piccatiny rail in .308. It would be good for just about any North American purpose. Limitless scope options with both types of mounting options or a good bush rifle with the open sites and shorter barrel. I plan to stick with the open sights as a short range stalker. I already have a Tikka T3 30-06 with a scope that has good range in the open fields.
 
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