The Unofficial CZ 452/455/457 Thread

Sweet looking set up.

I’m currently debating a CZ, or a T1X to use as a trainer. .22 suppressed will be quiet enough to not irritate the neighbors. Leaning Tikka, it can be had in a threaded 16” version, & eventually I can drop it into a VG CF Stocky’s stock, to more closely emulate my 6ARC setup.

Any thoughts as to why you went CZ that could sway me?

Great question. I have never owned a T1x, so take the below with a grain of salt.

Pros of the 457:
- Cheap, I got this one for $500 out the door
- 457s have more aftermarket support than T1x
- I already have another 457, so I'm somewhat invested in the "ecosystem" already
- I've heard a fair bit about feeding issues with the T1x; the 457s feed like a dream (I have a single shot sled, 5-rnd mags, 10-rnd mags, 13-rnd mags... they all feed flawlessly)
- 457s have the potential to be just as accurate (if not more) than the T1x (e.g., you can buy Lilja barrels for the 457 and headspacing shims for the bolt).
 
Sweet looking set up.

I’m currently debating a CZ, or a T1X to use as a trainer. .22 suppressed will be quiet enough to not irritate the neighbors. Leaning Tikka, it can be had in a threaded 16” version, & eventually I can drop it into a VG CF Stocky’s stock, to more closely emulate my 6ARC setup.

Any thoughts as to why you went CZ that could sway me?

As someone who owns both, I don’t think you will go wrong with either one.

CZ’s are nice rifles, but they have some quirks with the lineup. I’ve written on it at length over at RFC, but the long and the short of it is that none of their models is perfect. All required adjustments to make them how I wanted.

My Royal is a nice rifle. It seemed like the perfect rifle for me. 16” sporter barrel, nice stock, etc. but it has 1/2x20 instead of 1/2x28 threads. I had bad experiences with the adapter for that. I like using it for squirrels with a Banish 22. But once I get a better stock for my T1X, I’ll probably sell this rifle.

The Scout I got for my daughter is also nice. But the included iron sights are garbage and the sight mounts are not compatible with any of the better sights they offer. I picked up a cheap, but nice, American stock for her to grow into. If you watch the classifieds at RFC, you can find anything you want and many things you didn’t know you wanted.

The American only comes with a 20” barrel. And only the synthetic stock version comes threaded. I got one of these on a super sale a couple of years ago. The synthetic stock is actually pretty good. That rifle, however, was basically unpolished on the bottom of the bolt. I know it wouldn’t have taken that long to finish it, but it offended me that it shipped like that. A CZ fan I know admits that he has encountered this on about half of his CZs. I ended up selling the action and the barrel for considerably more than I spent on the initial rifle. I’m keeping the stock as another option for my daughter’s Scout.

I’ve only had my T1X in hand for about a month. I had one magazine issue in the first 50 rounds, but zero issues in the subsequent 950 rounds. In that case, I am pretty sure I loaded it too hastily. From a handling and loading perspective, I vastly prefer the T1X magazines over the CZ ones.

My CZs might be a trifle more accurate, but all three shoot well enough for squirrel headshots at 50 yards with cheap ammo.
 
The American only comes with a 20” barrel.

I believe the only barrel option for the American is unthread 24" bbl, not a 20" bbl.

While going to the CZ website to confirm the above, I saw all sorts of new options I wasn't aware of.

- new adjustable front and rear open sights
- new "flyweight" target trigger
- new Target and Hunter Veil models

That rifle, however, was basically unpolished on the bottom of the bolt. I know it wouldn’t have taken that long to finish it, but it offended me that it shipped like that.

You are not wrong here. The fit and finish between the 457 and T1x is not the same, and the 457 bolts are rough as guts from the factory. You could literally cut yourself on the sharp edges on the bolts and they sound like a zipper. That said, 15-20 min of work smooths them out considerably. I start with a medium grit stone, hitting all the sharp edges and flats on the bottom of the bolt, then I go to popsicle sticks wrapped in sand paper (240 > 600 > 1000 > 1500 > 2000 grit), then I finish with a Dremel, felt wheel, and jewelers rouge. Sounds involved, but it's not. I'm going real fast and sloppy, like each sandpaper grit is 30-60 sec of work before I switch to the next one.

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https://www.czfirearms.com/en-us/products/rimfire-rifles/cz-457-series/cz-457-target

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https://www.czfirearms.com/en-us/products/rimfire-rifles/cz-457-series/cz-457-hunter-veil

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