CZ 457 .22LR Rifle
We received the older CZ 455 and the new 457 for comparison. The 457 sent to us was the Thumbhole model which has a sturdy laminated stock with integral trigger guard. The wood is in a classy grey/brown colour combination. Being symmetrical the stock is equally comfortable for right-handed and left-handed shooters. The stable nature of the laminated stock and the cold hammer-forged varmint barrel allow shooters to effectively engage medium and long-range targets. The test rifle has a 20" barrel (16" also available) with the option of chambering in the more powerful .17 HMR or .22 WMR. Its muzzle is threaded ½ x20 UNF and comes equipped with a cylindrical compensator.
CZ MAKES USE of a ‘silent’ side-safety, which engages when pulled back towards the shooter and is released when pushed forward – a familiar system found, for example, on Remington 700 rifles, and which works well on the range and in the field.
The bolt can be extracted from the receiver for cleaning by means of an easily accessible push-lever on the left side of the action – without need for pulling the trigger. The bolt can be opened and removed even when the safety is engaged, enabling you to safely check the chamber and to unload without releasing the safety.
The red cocking indicator on the back of the boltshroud is thin but fairly sharp, and clearly indicates visually and tangibly when the firing-pin is cocked – an advantage when shooting in dim light or at night.
The trigger is adjustable for weight-of-pull and travel, but for this the stock must be removed. Trigger-pull is pre-set to 2.7lbs at the factory but can be adjusted from 1.8 to 3.3lbs. Trigger travel is also adjustable from 0.5–5mm. The test rifle’s trigger broke cleanly at 3¼lbs with very little over-travel. I felt no need to adjust for a lighter pull as it worked well on the range and in the field.
According to CZ, the striker’s weight is 38% lighter than that of the previous model, eliminating any vibration that could adversely affect accuracy. The striker is also modified for resistance so that dry-firing for training is not harmful. The laminated wood ensures stability in the stock, preventing it from warping during changing weather conditions (which
can apply adverse pressure to the barrelled action, thereby altering barrel vibrations, hence the bullet’s point of impact). In addition, the special bedding system significantly enhances inherent accuracy.
Bolt rotation has been reduced to 60° (vs 90° on the 455), which allows for a variety of scopes to be mounted and facilitates smooth, rapid reloading.
A wide range of stocks is available, from the American straight stock, LUX, the adjustable At-one, Thumbhole, through to a long-range precision stock. I found the Thumbhole on the test rifle very comfortable to use. The rough-textured surfaces on the sides of the pistol grip ensured a firm hold (even with sweaty hands in 35-degree heat). The raised cheek-piece worked well, given my big frame, and the soft rubber recoil pad fitted perfectly to my shoulder.
The bull barrel (measuring 22mm in diameter at the muzzle) is free-floating and threaded (½ - 20 UNF) for a muzzle-brake or suppressor. The muzzle-brake comes standard, while an A-tec suppressor was supplied by the importer. Adding 147mm to the length of the rifle, it reduced noise significantly and enhanced the shooting experience. According to CZ, cold-forging the barrel bore directs the ‘flow of fibres’, which enhances the barrel’s accuracy and service life.
The improved modular system of the CZ 457 allows for easy barrel exchange (including those of the CZ 455) and is offered in the aforementioned calibres.
Selected .22LR models, such as the CZ 457 MTR, have a match chamber with CIP tolerance. Precision manufacturing and low tolerances provide 1MOA accuracy, depending on the ammunition used.
THE 5-ROUND MAGAZINE is positioned so that the cartridges are aligned with the chamber and feed smoothly with no bullet deformation – unlike some other .22LR rifles I have tested. During several range sessions, I fired about 200 rounds of various ammo brands, experiencing no malfunctions.
On the range I tested muzzle velocity over a Magnetospeed chronograph. CCI Stinger 32gr Copper-plated HP ammo averaged 1 672fps with an extreme spread (5 shots) of 24fps. American Eagle 38gr Copper-plated HP ammo averaged 1 277fps with an ES of 13fps. Comparatively, the older 455 model achieved very similar results out of its 20-inch barrel: 1 675fps (CCI Stinger) and 1 262fps (American Eagle).
At 25m (on an extremely hot and windy day) the accuracy of both rifles was impressive. The best five-shot group with the CZ 457 was with American Eagle ammo and measured 6.95mm centre-to-centre (c-c). The first cold bore shot printed 16mm higher than the group. The CCI ammo also performed well with a 5-shot group measuring 8.39mm c-c.
With the CZ 455 my daughter managed a 5.78mm 4-shot group with the CCI Stinger ammo, and she called her last shot hitting right, which opened the 5-shot group to 12mm. The American eagle ammo produced a 10.88mm group.
I later used the rifles to plink out to 100m and managed consistently to hit a round steel gong 100mm in diameter. Most shots clustered into 1.2MOA.
Both rifles represent excellent value for money, but the 457’s action and bolt (which resembles that of a modern centre-fire rifle), smooth feeding, adjustable trigger and fine accuracy puts it in a class of its own. Both will, like the old Mod 1 and 2s, last a lifetime. Suggested retail prices are R17 495 for the CZ 457 and R 13 195 for the CZ 455.
TTHE MAUSER MODEL 71 single-shot, bolt action, 11mm black powder rifles and carbines were issued to every branch of the German military from 1875 until 1882, and much later in the colonies. In fact, photos exist of Askaris (indigenous African soldiers serving the Kaiser in Tanganyika, German East Africa) still using Mauser Model 71 Jäger rifles as recently as World War 1.
Paul Mauser then used the Model 71 as the basis for his first tubular magazine rifle design, introduced in 1882, and at that time called the Model 82. Spandau troops tested 2 000 of these rifles which were accepted in 1883 as the new German issue rifle. However, Paul Mauser made some small changes that resulted in the final model being called the Model 71/84, which, in 1884, went into full production by four state factories and four private factories, the Mauser company then being one of the private firms. As it turned out, Mauser made only 19 000 Model 71/84 rifles – the other firms handled all further outstanding orders.
The new repeating rifle forced the Model 71 out of frontline troop use, so it became a secondary weapon. Military officials asked the arms industry if there was some way to convert the single-shot Model 71 to operate on a magazine system of then-unknown form – vertical feed. So Paul Mauser and his workshop crew designed a new vertical-feed magazine which he patented in 1887. Other firms such as Loewe and Erfurt designed their own models.
The Mauser system was gravity-fed, thus required the rifle to be held perfectly upright with its magazine as close to the vertical position as possible, not canting. In this position it functioned quite well with eight rounds in the magazine.
In the end, the military decided they did not need these stop-gap systems, so only a few were ever tested, and these make a rare find indeed. Other firms such as Steyr designed a similar vertical-feed unit, and some also tested the system on the Serb Mauser model 78/80 single-shot rifle.
BY 1887, PAUL Mauser had redesigned the Model 71/84 for Turkey – the Model 1887 in the 9.5mm black powder cartridge. He also converted the tubular magazine-fed Turkish Model 87 into a 7.65mm with a semi-internal magazine. Paul Mauser also designed conversions with internal 5-shot magazines for the Serb Model 78/80 single-shot rifle converted to a nitro-propelled 7mm.
All these efforts by Paul Mauser in response to such requests from the military cost the firm time and money which the military never paid for. This was part of doing business in the hope of getting some kind of contract in the end.
Readers wanting to learn more about this period of firearms development should read John Walter’s book The German Rifle published in 1979. It has excellent information on the subject, as does Dieter Stortz’s book Black
Powder Mausers.
The photos you see here are of an actual Mauser Model 71 rifle and conversion system which has been discovered in the early Mauser firm’s reference collection.