First CZ Rifle

Finally got the new rifle out to the range. Since I don't yet have any fancy match-grade ammo, I had to make due with an abundance of Federal Champion 40gr round nose, rated for 1240 fps. The rifle works OK with it, but the accuracy isn't stellar.

After about 10 rounds to get it zeroed for 25 yards, I punched these patterns into an M16A1 silhouette paper target.





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At 25 yards, the largest 5 shot group (upper right) was 0.75", with the smallest at 0.41" (upper left).

I will say, this ballistic calculator app i got Strelok Pro is great. Punch in the numbers and it yields remarkably good doping adjustments.




Out at 100 yards, the results with this ammo weren't nearly as consistent.



Top two silhouette 5-shot groups measure 1.45" (left) and 1.55" (right).

Middle two groups are both at 2.8".

Bottom right is 3.0", and the worst group was bottom left at 3.7"

Honestly I wasn't expecting much better than 3 MOA for cheap bulk ammo so the top two groups were a pleasant surprise. With match grade standard velocity ammunition, hopefully I'll get it down below 1" groups. I know that high velocity bullets tend to reach transonic just after 50 yards which can cause the bullet to destabilize in flight and reduce precision. 1070 fps ammunition should be just barely subsonic at the muzzle and thus avoid destabilizing in flight.

(please excuse the "meters" caption I wrote on the targets, as my brain was frozen at the range today and was engaged in a conversation with someone else while I was writing. Probably a negligible difference at 25 but at 100, that's a 9 yard/27 foot discrepancy).

LocoGringo said:

To give you some hope, I got my 457 Varmint back from the gunsmith last Monday and I shot it Tuesday to test ammo and silencer combinations. I cleaned it thoroughly the night before to make sure I started with a clean bore and that there were no bits of metal left in the bore. I shot 5-round groups at 50 yards using just the thread protector that the gunsmith made and blended to the muzzle with an 11 degree target crown, a Dead Air Mask silencer and a TacSol Axiom silencer. The ammo I tested was CCI SV, Norma Tac-22 and Eley Force which all showed promise from the original barrel length of 20.5".

The first 3 targets fired were using the thread protector and were as follows: 1) the cold bore shot nicked the edge of the center dot and the following 4 shots went into 1 hole about a quarter inch to the right with a distance center to center of .145" measured with my calipers. 2) The next 2 targets were excellent as well with the largest group of 5 being .33" center to center as measured by calipers.

Interestingly, the suppressors opened up the groups with the exact same ammo from the exact same box. Some other ammo/silencer combos showed promise, but need further testing. Be patient and learn the rifle and I won't be a bit surprised if the groups tighten up after a bit of use and using good ammo.

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Yeah, I have a brick of CCI Standard Velocity on order to try it out with, and I'll be getting some Wolf Match Extra by the end of the year to try as well. I'm guessing the CCI SV will considerably tighten the groups at 100 yards.

Consistent 0.33" 5-shot groups at 50 yards is 0.63 MOA, which is absolutely phenomenal for any rifle. You have a top 1% rig there, cherish it!